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WELCOME
What does it mean to belong? How will people know they belong? These are the questions we ask at Chatswood Seventh-day Adventist Church: “the church you belong to” and we’d love to hear your answers.
As of January 1, Tim Shelton will be the official pastor for Chatswood Church although he will still be on annual leave until February 1. Tim graduated from Avondale College in 2005 with a Grad Dip (Theology) and has worked with Blacktown and Parramatta Adventist churches since then.
I first met Tim in 1996 and knowing something of his heart and soul, I am confident that he too will depend on God for His vision and strength and by God’s grace, God will be glorified in and through him. Wishing you well Tim!
All Saturday morning programs will continue over the Summer with the following exceptions:
December 26 – no Kids’ Club, Bible Study or Worship Service
January 2 – no Kids’ Club
January 9 – no Kids’ Club
We apologise for any inconvenience. Should you wish to meet with another Adventist Church, the closest church to the north is Wahroonga, to the east is Manly, to the south is Woollahra and to the west is Ryde. Thank you for your understanding.
Mm, in all honesty I don’t have a lot to say today. I’ve just signed in for the last time as the pastor of Chatswood Church and tomorrow’s my last day with these crazy people so really I’m just here to fare ye well.
It’s incredible to think how much God has grown both me and Chatswood Church these last six years, and I’m just so grateful I can leave in a good space. I seriously don’t think I could leave feeling more loved and appreciated, and my surprise (but not ) farewell last weekend couldn’t have more meaningful. So yes, thank you God, to say the least. And thank you Chatswood Church . . .
“When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5) Stick with Him!
I have to say it is with mixed emotion that I post my very last sermon for Chatswood Church. After six years of working alongside these people and growing with them, there is much to miss. But more of that another time!
This last sermon is all glory to God for 3 things I have learnt about Him through my experiences with Chatswood Church. It goes without saying that I will never be the same.
Sue Redman – November 28, 2009
This last week I booked my car in for a service which I have to confess is something I’ve been meaning to do ever since I got back from Singapore in June. I usually book my car in around May and November every year, but when I came back from holidays mid-year, I hit the ground running with Jesus. All about life as you know, and for one reason or another there always seemed to be more important things to do.
Earlier this year I was talking with a friend about 25 yo – 40 somethings in the Adventist Church and somehow that conversation has emerged into a new ministry called Submerge. Last weekend we held our very first Submerge event in Sydney’s CBD and the feedback has been exciting. “My eyes have been opened,” said one person. “I want to go deeper. For real.”
The twofold purpose of this first Submerge event was to help people go deeper with God and share faith with their friends. We wanted to help people take the next step in their journey, no matter how close to or far from God they were, and we wanted to help them share Jesus with their generation.
Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that the feedback was so positive. All we did was provide a simple program with a simple agenda but I guess that’s all our generation needs. A safe place to be real. To ask questions. To share experiences. To be inspired. The presence of God.
This year’s Christmas Service will be our final Jesus. All about life event for 2009 and a celebration of Jesus birth, death and resurrection. Christmas Services are very relaxed and real at Chatswood Adventist Church, and we’d love you to join us for this and a scrummy vegetarian lunch to follow.
Near the village of Edwinstowe in the heart of Sherwood Forest stands Major Oak. Major Oak, as you may know, is a huge oak tree approximately 16 metres in height, 3.5 metres in diameter, 23 tonnes in weight and 800-1000 years old. According to local folklore, Major Oak is where Robin Hood and his merry men found their shelter.
Another famous oak tree is Bartek Oak in Poland. Bartek Oak is only 625 years old but it out-heights and widths Major Oak in that it’s approximately 30 metres tall and has a 13.5 metre waistline – a little wide for tree-hugging. Bartek Oak’s crown spans 40 metres and it’s under this tree that King Casimir III was pictured holding his court.
The next oak (see ppt), The King Oak in Denmark, is estimated to be between 1,500 and 2,000 years old. It lives on an island I don’t know how to pronounce (Sjaelland) and is thought to be the oldest living organism in northern Europe.
A few years ago I received some very confronting news which in all honesty, broke my heart. I don’t think I’d ever been so confronted up until that time, and even as I write, just the thought of such sadness still makes my tummy turn.
As I think about what happened next however, again the same feelings flow, but this time feelings of amazement, awe, gratitude, significance, love. I guess that’s what I feel every time God speaks to me like He did back then, but seriously, can you imagine what it would be like to be in the midst of such sorrow and have the words, ”Psalms 34:18″ come into your head. Okay, so I didn’t know what Psalms 34:18 said at the time either but when I opened my Bible and found, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit,” my pain was somehow muted. I instantly had hope.
The last couple of days I’ve been writing my sermon for this weekend and if you watch the video when it’s uploaded or you read the transcript below, you will soon realise I have wrestled with the topic of healing for many years. I still don’t profess to have all the answers but I now have peace, praise God, and I want to share what brings this peace with everyone. Read on I say! Or if you can, come hear this sermon in person this Saturday at 11.00am!
Sue Redman – October 17, 2009
It was February, 1986 and it was my older sister’s birthday. For some reason we were only allowed to have birthday parties with more than one friend every seven years as a kid, so being my sister’s 14th birthday, this meant a grand occasion. Grand occasions on wheat and cattle properties usually meant things like Dad teaching our friends how to ride the horses. Or building bonfires and cooking damper on sticks. Or making cakes together and leaving half the mixture in the bowl so everyone could eat the leftovers while the other half cooked.
) farewell last weekend couldn’t have more meaningful. So yes, thank you God, to say the least. And thank you Chatswood Church . . .
