Greystanes – Merrylands West Anglican Church

From time to time, local churches – as well as denominations – plan large scale outreach events. The Billy Graham Crusade in Sydney in 1959 is one of the best examples seen by many of us. In 2009, the Anglican churches in Sydney aim to offer a Bible (in one format or another) to every Sydney-sider.

All this is wonderful. But sometimes we may feel that the results are all up to us. This can lead to all sorts of bad things – including the temptation to try to manipulate people into making some kind of “decision for Christ”. The truth is far more wonderful. 

Acts 18 is a powerful reminder that the results of evangelism (and therefore the methods we must use) are God’s work – and his alone.

We invite you to join us on Sunday morning at 8:00 and 9:30am as we hear the message that Paul heard as he preached the gospel in Corinth in the midst of opposition.

When the apostle Paul arrived in Athens, he found it was a city where people loved to hear the latest ideas. And he certainly brought some news they hadn’t heard before!

They were also super-religious – but they didn’t know the true God.

So what would Paul say to these people? How could he share with them the most important news of all?

Join us on Sunday morning to hear Paul’s surprising message to the people of Athens – in Acts 17:16-34. As well, we’ll be celebrating Education Sunday with our Sunday School and Youth Group. They’ll be helping us thank God for the wonder of being able to know him.

As part of that, we’ll be announcing presenting this year’s Midas Foster Bible Award. (The award is given in memory of Midas Foster, pictured. She was a member of St. Matthew’s up until the 1970s.) 

That’s at 9:30am on Sunday – September 23rd. All welcome. 

If we’re convinced that the news about Jesus is the greatest news of all, how do we get that news to others?

On Sunday (September 16), it's our privilege to have Grahame Smith, National Director of the Bible League in Australia, as our guest.  Hear from Grahame how we can help get copies of the Scriptures to all sorts of places around the world – both to those who haven’t heard – and to our brothers and sisters in Christ who don’t have copies of the Bible for themselves.

On Sunday we’ll have just one gathering at 9:30am. We’d love to see you then.

And to learn more about the Bible League, see their website (where you can also learn about Bibles for the Persecuted). 

In the view of many today, missionaries are a hangover from a long bygone age. They are irrelevant – worse, unwanted intruders, bringing messages that no-one wants to hear.

If that is one popular view, then the followers of Jesus must have a radically different understanding. The message of Jesus is the life-saving message that men and women everywhere need to hear. And this Sunday we’ll see two aspects of the going-out of the gospel to the world.

First, God’s word makes it crystal clear that the saving news is for everyone – no matter what their ethnic or cultural background.

And second, we see men and women rejoicing as they hear, and receive, the news about Jesus.

In both of these aspects, today nothing has changed. It’s still wonderful news – and it’s still for everyone. Including you!

We invite you to join us at 9:30am on Sunday morning as we learn together from Acts 15-16.