St George’s St Stephen’s St Stephen’s Holy Trinity Sunday, 9 August 2020

PARKES PEAK HILL BINDOGUNDRA REEDY CREEK 10th Sunday after Pentecost

Anglican Parish of Parkes – parkesanglican.org

Connect - Grow - Serve and Go! Our Vision is to be a growing faith community of lives transformed by Christ.

Our Mission is to be followers of Christ, who, with God’s help, encourage Spirit-filled people to share and teach God’s word.

Bible thoughts for the week — God’s glory

This week in Matthew’s gospel we read about the miracle of Je-sus (and Peter for a bit) walking on water (Matthew 14.22-36). In our Romans passage, Paul talks about the contrast of walking in the law, as Israel insisted upon doing, or walking in faith, by be-lieving in Jesus (Romans 10.4-15).

It is very tempting to look at these readings as just speaking to us about our own walk through life and what God can offer us to help us along the way. However, the real point of these passages is not just US. They are about GOD. They reveal the glory, the faithfulness, the love, the holiness and the eternal, sovereign power of God.

All too often when we read the bible we scan the few verses we have selected to read for things that they say about us. We look for instructions, for directions, maybe for help with a specific problem. Reading the bible this way is fine. The bible is certainly meant to teach and encourage us.

However, these things are secondary to the real point of the bi-ble which is – to tell us the story of God. The bible is a revelation of who God is and what God does in the context of our history. It tells us about His character, His plans and His purposes. It tells the story of God who was so loving and so powerful that he cre-ated a whole world to delight in and share his love with. It tells the story of God’s heartbreak, anguish and holy anger when the

August Birthdays Geoff Robinson (3rd) Jaliha Jones (5th) Margaret McMillan & Liesel

Walters (6th) Geoff Cabban (7th) Shirley Edwards (8th) Tony Vickers

(11th) Jordan Moody (12th) Paul Moody (15th)

Jordan Powter (18th) Liam Moody (21st)

What’s On This Week

At St Georges

Sunday 9 August 9:00am Communion Service

On-line Services

Anytime Weekly Online Service

You can watch this service anytime by following the link on our

Website @ parkesanglican.org or from our Facebook page.

Sunday 9 August 7.30am Weekly Online Service

For those who want to join with others online we will broadcast

the Weekly Online Service through our online church platform

at parkesanglican.online.church.

Zoom Meetings

Saturday 8 August 4.00pm Prayer Meeting

Wednesday 12 August 7.30pm Bible Study

people he created for love rejected him. It recounts God’s merciful plans to rescue us from the consequences of our rebellion. And it reveals God’s plans for His recon-ciled creation.

So I encourage you this week to read the story of Jesus walking on water in Matthew’s gospel and see Jesus, God with us, who walks into our path to save us from sin and death and reconcile us with God forever, not just to help us through our present stormy days.

When you read chapter 10 of Romans, I encourage you not to see this as the story of Israel’s failure but to know it as an assurance of God’s triumph. To see that the pas-sage, indeed the whole bible, is pointing to Jesus who was the word of God from the very beginning; who ful-filled the law by coming and living a life pleasing to God in all ways and yet nevertheless offered himself as the perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.

God’s revelation of himself throughout the whole bible shows a loving and faithful God who is active and sover-eign over all creation. We are not the source of God’s power. It is God who acts to achieve his own purposes. In these passages God shows us that He can walk on wa-ter and He can cause us to walk on water. He shows us He can create nations and enslave and free nations. He tells us that He can bless all who call on Him.

When we read these passages they should bring us to worship. Not the kind of worship that seeks something back from God for our own benefit. Worship that flows from us in response to the wonder and awe and rever-ence we feel in the face of knowing the power and the glory and the heart of our God.

In Christ’s Love Natalie

Readings This Week Lectionary Genesis 37.1-4, 12-28 Psalm 105.1-6, 16-22 Romans 10.4-15 Matthew 14.22-36

Giving

Figures for July 2020 Total collections $6,256.00 July target $10,720.00 Shortfall -$4,464.00

Parish Directory

Rector — vacant

Locum Rev Natalie Quince 0411 763 448

Hon Assistant Deacon Rev Liesel Walters 0414 735 554

Office Parish Office: 6862 1868 PO Box 86, Parkes E: admin@parkesanglican.org.au W: parkesanglican.org

Currently closed

Georgie’s Anglicare Ph: 6862 2954 M: 0438 143 527 Food Pantry: 10am-3pm Thursday Farmers’ Pantry: 12:30pm - 2pm Friday Boutique: 10:00-4:00pm Mon-Fri Wardens (Parkes) John Unger 0429 196 705 Bruce Hall 0428 866 676 Cheryl Thompson 0409 621 900 (Peak Hill) Judith Stanford 6869 1691 Dianne Hutchins 0416 035 804 Ron Farley 0437 691 457 E:ststephensanglicanchurch88@gmail.com

Readings Next Week Genesis 45.1-15 Psalm 133 Romans 11.13-36 Matthew 15.21-28 Electronic Offering

Central West Credit Union BSB: 802 394 Account: 38970 ANFIN Phone: 07 3835 2355 Client Number: 6185

Sentence of the day

They cried out in fear, but Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do

not be afraid’. Matthew 14.26-27

Collect of the day

Mighty God and ruler of all creation, give new strength to our faith, that we

may recognise your presence even when all hope seems lost. Help us to face all

trials with serenity as we walk with Christ through the stormy seas of life and

come at the last to your eternal peace. We ask this through Jesus Christ our

Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and

ever. Amen

Services over the next few weeks

We will continue with our 9.00am Sunday combined communion service for the

month of August.

From the first Sunday in September we will conduct a traditional communion

service at 5.00pm Saturday evening and a contemporary service at 9.30am Sun-

day.

We will continue to produce our weekly online service. You can access this ser-

vice from our website, Facebook page or DVD. We will broadcast this service at

7.30am Sundays via the online church platform. We will also include a commun-

ion component in our weekly online service on the second Sunday of each

month.

Obviously these arrangements are subject to change depending upon advice

from health and church bodies.

Prayers

Heavenly Father, as we’ve seen the escalation in our own nation over

these past weeks, our hearts go out to those who are in lock down once

again; to those who are infected and currently battling the disease, and

to our health workers and political leaders as they try to map their way

through this challenge. We also know heavenly Father, that in countries

overseas, that battle is far harder; the challenges, greater; the hospitals

under more strain. And so we pray heavenly Father that in your kindness,

you would turn around this virus and limit its impact. We pray Father for

a successful outcome for the search for a vaccine, and we pray that our

own economy and the economies of nations overseas, will in time

bounce back, to provide for people everywhere.

Save us from being anxious and help us to keep trusting you day by day,

in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Bountiful God, give to this parish a servant pastor who will faithfully

speak your word and minister your sacraments; an encourager who will

equip your people for ministry and enable us to fulfil our calling. Give to

those who choose, the Bishop and the clergy election Board and Di, Mark

and Sandra from within our parish, wisdom, discernment and patience,

and give to us warm and generous hearts for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

Thank you that you hear our prayers.