Naringal Church

On behalf of the church, I would like to offer Val and the Ballinger family our heartfelt condolences on the passing of John. It's hard to believe that he's gone, and hard to imagine coming to church without his welcoming smile at the door. In his own humble way, John lived out his faith each day. "He walked the walk". May we be inspired to continue the good work as a tribute to him.

Malcolm

Over the next three Sundays, we will focus on the coming of Jesus to the world, and the impact He had on the people who met him. The sermons will be:

1. Jesus and the Shepherds
2. Jesus and the Wise Men
3. Jesus and Me

The coming of Jesus was an event that changed the world forever. It was predetermined and preordained.

Galatians 4:4-5 (NIV)
4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

The barrier between God and mankind was broken. We no longer have to be separated or alone. Praise God!

Matthew 1:21-23 (NIV)
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."

The Church Leadership have set a goal to have the Youth Group up and running again by the start of the 2012 school year. We can do this by employing someone again, as we did with Kath, or by finding a person or team willing to lead in a voluntary capacity. One suggestion has been to have teams of people helping out on a rotational basis, similar to what is currently in place for "Kid's Alive". We also may consider changing the meeting time from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. If you think you could be part of this team, please speak to Malcolm or Phil C asap. We will need to make a decision soon.

Members of the broader Naringal Baptist Church community took part in a traditional Maori 'Hangi' meal last saturday, as part of the evening's Vision Night.
The Hangi was organised by Warren and Leann Martin and the following discussion meeting facilitated by Sean Kenny.
The meeting looked at the past and present direction of the church and encouraged the church community to reflectively consider God's will for the church in the future.
Deciding how to best utilise the block of land recently purchased by the church will be an ongoing process with further meetings due in the coming months.
There was quite a turnout to the event and just under $100 was raised for charity 'Peter's Project'.

More details of the evening can be found in the Pastor's section, here.

A gallery of pictures can be found here.