Sunday 21st May 2023
You are welcome to worship in person this Sunday at 10.15am. Hand sanitizer and masks are available if you would like to use them.
We are also live streaming of our services. The service can be seen each Sunday morning commencing at 10.15am. Here is the link to our YouTube channel to access the live streaming: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHEm1fJeADpcP6gO1BsBKcg
“Suffering for being a Christian”
1 Peter 4:12-17, 1 Peter 5:6-11
Peter was writing to the Christians of Asia Minor who were suffering persecution for their faith. Since their beginnings, Christians have faced opposition in various degrees and at the most extreme, from Nero’s persecution to that of various country’s regimes from the Middle East and Asia and Africa today.
He explains to his readers that they should rejoice in their suffering as they are sharing in Christ’s suffering for us.
He exhorts them to resist evil and stand firm in the faith and that God will make them firm and steadfast. This holds true for us as well. While we are not at the same extreme level of persecution in the western world, we are fully aware of the current groundswell of anti-Christian rhetoric.
The term Christian was initially a slur, it then became a name we were proud to bear, but it is fast becoming an aspersion on us again. Peter tells us not to be ashamed, but to praise God that we bear that name. If we should become anxious over this, we are reminded to cast all our anxiety on Him who has saved us.
Alan Findlay
Our Mission is to
Connect with people in Jesus;
Build each other up in faith; and to
Become Like Jesus.