Pastoral Letter 40

Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,

Grace and peace to you all.

After two successful Sunday worship services, we have officially reopened our doors for worship and fellowship, within the restrictions of our COVID-safe plans. I am glad to let you know that the government has announced further easing, which will allow us to sing during worship services with masks on. This will be effective starting from next week onwards.

Last Sunday was a special day for those who were able to join our St. Andrew’s Day Service, followed by a COVID-safe Morning Tea. We had some guests and visitors with us, including our Presbytery Minister Graham Perry who said a few words and led us in prayer. We really enjoyed the long-missed Morning Tea and fellowship time. This was the first since Mid-March. The church Council has decided to have Morning Tea following our Sunday Services starting from tomorrow and onwards. Please be aware that we are having a Christmas Eve Service, hopefully on the lawn if weather permits, followed by supper (coffee, tea, juice and biscuits). On Christmas Day the service will be at 9:00 am and no Morning Tea.

The church premises are being cleaned and sanitised weekly on Saturdays, ready for use on Sundays. Upon arrival, the door rosters will check your temperature and register your name and details, as required by the government. Hymn Books will not be handed to you and you are required to sit on the allocated seats. The seats that are marked by stickers are the ones not to be used. You will not find Bibles on the pews. Mark will be playing some of the hymns on the organ and some hymns will be played as videos on the screen.

It was agreed that we will not clean the church after our Sunday Service, because it is not used during the week. The cleaners will do a thorough cleaning and sanitising of the church each Saturday. We will review this in January. Each individual will be responsible for cleaning his/her seat and surrounds after morning tea. Those serving morning tea, using disposable cups, will serve tea/coffee and individually wrapped biscuits to seated members. Those rostered for Morning Tea will also clean the kitchen and washrooms afterwards. No tablecloths will be used.

The Exodus Foundation has confirmed the collection day to be Monday 14 December, which means we still have two Sundays to bring gifts and food for the traditional Christmas food and gift collection. If you can, please bring some more and make this Christmas special for the less fortunate.

Also, you can make a donation to the AMAA’s Christmas Joy Package with much needed Christmas gifts for the children of Armenian and Artsakh.

As I write this letter, the Solar Panels are being installed on the roof of the Hall. Our Sustainability Grant Application to the Lane Cove Council was approved and we have accepted it as an early Christmas gift. Thanks to the local Council and thanks to God.

In the meantime, please continue to pray, remembering those who need our care, support and love.

Here are some prayer points for this week:

1. Pray for our Service tomorrow as well as the services during the Advent and Christmas Season.

2. Pray for Armenia and Artsakh. Though the conflict is stopped, there are many unresolved issues.

3. Pray for world peace and ask for God’s blessings.

Krikor

At Peace with Him

2 Peter 3:8-17

Many people today have no peace in their lives. So, what do they do?

They look for the next great thing to bring them peace. They look for new friends. They look for a new job. They look for a new doctor. They look for new medication. They look for a new counsellor or therapy.

But the peace doesn’t come.

And no matter what they try, the peace doesn’t come. Why? Because they are looking in the wrong places. They are looking for something they can do and control. But no matter how many times they keep looking in those same old places, they still won’t find any peace there. Because it isn’t there. The only thing there is more chaos, hurt and disappointment.

Do we want to find peace this morning? If we want to find true peace this morning, then we need to look into the place where promises are made that are never broken. We need to look to the One person who will never hurt us or disappoint us. We need to look to the One who when He was born, the angels proclaimed a promise to the whole world and said: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Was that a promise of world peace? Eventually, but not now. So, what kind of peace were those angels promising that Jesus would bring? They were promising that Jesus would bring the kind of peace that Peter is talking about in our passage this morning. The promise of peace that was given on that very first Christmas morning is laid out here in four parts.

First, the peace of Christmas claims a promise – Verses 12-13:

Do you ever find yourself thinking about the future? Thinking about the future is a scary thing, taking into consideration what’s happening at the present. The future is unknown. And in many ways, it’s a mystery. We see wars and hear rumours of wars. We see the economy crumbling. We see the moral fabric of our world being destroyed. We see children being raised with no parents and no sense of morality. School shootings, church shootings, mosque shootings, violence, immorality, aggression, war, terrorism, abuse, displacement of people, refugees, etc. We look around us and what we see doesn’t paint a very good picture of the future. But I thank God that our hope for the future doesn’t rest in what we see. Our hope for the future doesn’t rest in the governments, tyrants, dictators and people. Our hope for the future doesn’t rest in the economy. Our hope for the future doesn’t rest in school systems or social programs or anything man made.

People can only hope in one thing, that we need a Saviour. We need One who will right the wrongs. We need One who will fix what’s broken. We need One who will cleanse us from sin. We need One who will remove the curse and cleanse creation from its evil. And the only One who can do that is the One who created it in the first place. The only One who can truly bring peace to this world that is marred by sin is the One who created it perfect in the first place. And He will. The first time Jesus came, He came as a baby in a manger. The first time Jesus came, He came to seek and to save that which was lost. But the next time He comes it will be different. The next time He will be the fire that will cleanse and purify His creation at an elemental level. His children who are called by His name. His children who are saved by His blood. His children who have cried out to Him in salvation as their Lord and Saviour will pass through that purifying fire. We will be protected and rewarded as verse 13 says: “in keeping His promise.” And then we will see peace and no more conflicts. No more turmoil. All will be made new. That’s a promise. It’s a sure promise that is rooted and grounded in the faithfulness of God Himself. And it’s a promise that we can claim. It’s a promise that we can look for with eagerness and anticipation. The peace of Christmas claims a promise.

Second, it also cleans a people – Verse 14:

All of that future stuff is great. But that’s just it, it’s all in the future. But what does it mean for us today? Is there peace for today, or is it all just somewhere off in the distance? The peace for today is because of that promised peace. That’s why Peter starts verse 14 with the words “So then” (wherefore). Because we can claim the promise of Christmas, we can have peace in our life today. We can have peace about what is ours today. Peter is saying that, because we are looking to the complete and total purifying work that Jesus is going to do in the future, it has to impact our life today. It will impact us so that we will be diligent in the way we live for Him. We will live our life in the way we want Him to find us when He returns. In other words, we are going to live our life with the end in mind.

The sad thing is that there are so many people today who call themselves Christians, who don’t have peace in their lives. They might have even been baptized, even have a hope of heaven someday. But they live like none of that has anything to do with their lives today. They live like it has no bearing on how they live their lives today. This results in chaos, confusion, uneasiness and a lack of peace. If we are living our life in rebellion to the Word of God, we will never have peace in our life. Because the true peace of Christmas cleans us. When Jesus saves us, He creates us anew and saves us so that we will bring Him glory. And we can’t bring Him glory if we are living in a way that is contrary to His Word. To experience the true peace of Christmas, we must be diligent. We must be diligent first of all to be found in Jesus. We have to have believed Him for who He is and have to have trusted Him with everything we are. And as part of diligently being found in Jesus, we must allow Him to cleanse us. All we have to do is let Him. We can’t do it on our own. No amount of self-effort or reform can give us the peace that comes from the cleansing of Christ in our life. No amount of our own effort can give us the peace of Christmas this morning. Because it’s only the peace of Christmas that can clean people.

Third, the peace of Christmas cleans a people. It also completes a provision -Verse 15:

Thank God for His long suffering or patience. The original word that’s translated as longsuffering is a compound word. It literally means “long of spirit”. Some translations use the word patience. That’s what it means, but it doesn’t paint the picture the same way that longsuffering does. Longsuffering is something that we lack. Think of all the times that we have failed Him. Think of all the times that we have fallen short of what He expects of us. Think of all the times we were more concerned about our comfort than His glory. Think about all the times when we were more concerned about the things that we wanted to do than what He wanted us to do. Look at how long God has put up with Israel. Ever since He first called them up out of Egypt, they have rebelled against Him. Yet He has designed history to finish in their return to Him. Is there peace in that? There is peace in the fact that God finishes what He starts. When God makes a promise, there is peace in the fact that He is faithful to keep His promise. The peace of Christmas claims a purpose, cleans a people and completes a provision.

Finally, it calls for a proclamation – Verse 15:

The peace of Christmas calls for a proclamation. On a couple of occasions, Peter and Paul had their differences. The Bible tells of a time when Peter messed up his witness one time and Paul called him out on it. But both Peter and Paul understood the peace that comes from trusting Christ. They understood the fact that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for peace. It is the only hope for eternal peace because one day this place is going to be dissolved in judgment. It’s the only hope for present peace because of the righteousness of Christ that He gives us that we can never hope to attain on our own. And it’s the only hope for assured peace because Jesus finishes what He starts and is faithful to keep His promises. Both Peter and Paul understood that. They understood the Gospel. They understood the good news of Jesus. They understood that as God Himself, Jesus emptied Himself of all the glories of heaven and came to earth. God became flesh in the form of a baby in a dirty little stable in Bethlehem. God the Son became flesh, endured every temptation, suffered every pain, and passed every test… all so that He could become our substitute. All so that He could die in our place. All so that He could be our peace. Peter and Paul knew that, so they were compelled to tell people about it. They were compelled to write to people. They were compelled to talk to people. They were compelled to preach and teach and witness—no matter what it cost them. Because the kind of peace that Jesus offers is the best news ever offered. And that kind of news just must be told. It must be proclaimed. There is a lost and dying world who is starving for peace this Christmas. The peace of Christmas calls for a proclamation.

But before we can make that proclamation to others, we must make a proclamation for ourselves. If we have never proclaimed Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, none of this peace applies to us. We can hunt and look and strive and we will never find it on our own. We can never find it on our own because there is nothing, we can ever do to earn it. It could only be bought with the blood of our creator. So, He did. Jesus paid the price for our peace with His blood.

The question is, will we take the peace He offers?

Romans 10:9-10 tells us what we have to do to claim His gift this morning. It says, “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart you believe and are justified; and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved”.

If we need peace this Christmas, today is the day to claim it.

Today is the day to believe that Jesus died for us and is alive today.

Today is the day to publicly proclaim Him as our Lord and Saviour.

When the invitation sounds, come and proclaim His peace today. Amen.