Update No. 408
Good Afternoon Redeemer Family
Sermon Recordings
This week, Sean preached from Hebrews 10:5-7 and reminded us that God’s will was never fulfilled through repeated sacrifices or human effort, but through the once-for-all work of Jesus Christ. The law reveals God’s holiness and our need, but it cannot remove sin; only Jesus, who willingly came to do the Father’s will, can truly save. By His perfect obedience and finished sacrifice, Christ has secured full forgiveness and lasting sanctification for His people, calling us to rest in “this man” Jesus Christ alone.
If you weren’t able to make it on Sunday or if you’d like to listen to this sermon or any previous sermons, they’re all available here.
ReMemer Church
It’s a big email today…
Announcement from the Maessens
For those of you who weren’t able to be at church on Sunday, Paul announced that he and his family will be leaving Redeemer in the near future. Please be in prayer for their family and for the wider Redeemer church family as we all come to terms with and adjust to this significant change. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Paul and Sarah; they would be happy to talk through them with you.
Below is the statement that Paul read out during the service:
”After over 10 years and much prayer, Sarah and I have decided to leave Redeemer to follow theological convictions God has placed on our hearts. I didn’t feel I could pursue other training or churches and be fully committed here. This wasn’t decided lightly (or quickly!), but I’m sorry for any shock this causes. No one has failed us and no one should feel they "could have done more." - We've been richly blessed, well supported, and ridiculously loved. We're grateful to Sean and Amy, Steve and Jacquie, Rex, Gareth and Danni, the elders, the music team, and my small group for your leadership, friendship, encouragement, and prayer. We've made many forever friends and spent some of our earthly time with our eternal brothers and sisters. We feel we owe a debt of love and care we could never repay to all of you - and that's OK; We will boast in how the Lord has richly blessed us. We'll be around for a few weeks to transition our roles. This isn't the end of our friendship - I'd still love to visit and catch up. You have our numbers and know where we live. Thank you all for your grace. I don't have all the answers yet, but I'm committing my actions and this church to God for his greater mission.”
Redeemer Men’s Breakfast
Our first (mostly) monthly men’s breakfast is coming up next month, Saturday, February 14th. Regular time and place!
No Sunday School
Just a reminder that there will be no Sunday School during the School holidays. We will have activity sheets and sermon notes available as per usual.
Free Pram
Landon and Racheal have a pram that they would like to give away. If this is something that you, or someone you know, could use, please get in touch with either of them. You can find their contact details in the Church Directory (hopefully they’re up to date!).
SGA Missionary Pastor Report
You can read the latest SGA Missionary Pastor Report here.
Study at Grace Theological College
There are a couple of classes we would like to encourage the folk and Redeemer to consider studying at Grace Theological College. You can read about both of these in the images above. If you want more information about studying at GTC, you can click on the images, and you’ll be directed to the GTC website. If you are interested in studying, Sean would love to chat to you about your options and how the church could support you.
Serving Rosters
The Notices Roster, Scripture Reading Roster and Intercessory Prayer Roster have all been updated through to the end of March. Please check to see if/when you have been rostered on. You can access the roster through the new website, and you can find instructions on how to access the new website at the end of this email.
Church Directory Update
Some of you may not be aware that we have a Church Directory (previously known as the Family List). I am currently in the process of updating this list. If you receive this email and are currently a regular attendee at Redeemer Church, then you are listed in the Church Directory. The Directory is accessible through the new website.
As part of the update, I want to add photos for everyone. We are only a small church, but it can still be helpful to have faces to associate with names. Each individual person has their own entry, so each person will have a photo. You have two options: you can send me a photo of yourself, or we can have someone take a new photo sometime on a Sunday.
As well as the addition of photos, if you have a new phone number (or if you’ve never given us your phone number) or if you’d like to update your email or address, please send those details through to me as well.
I will also bring some physical forms to pass around during morning tea on Sunday. You can update or add your details that way if you prefer.
This Directory is only for our church family, and it will be password-protected, so your details are safe.
Redeemer Chuch WhatsApp Community
In an effort to improve communication and connection within the Redeemer Church family, we have set up a Redeemer Church WhatsApp Community. A WhatsApp Community is slightly different from a standard group. Rather than just being one big conversation thread, there are different groups within the community that you can join. At this stage, we have a Men’s Ministry group, a Women’s Ministry group and a General chat group, plus community-wide announcements.
The weekly update email will still be the primary way we keep the church informed and advertise events, etc. The purpose of the WhatsApp community is to send out quick reminders for specific events, send invites, make time-sensitive announcements and potentially post church-wide prayer requests.
As I said on Sunday, we will see how well this works and how we can best utilise it. If it ends up not being used, then we will reassess whether we keep it active.
Click here to join.
Redeemer Church Website
The long awaited church website is now live! I have included a video above that explains how to access and navigate the website. Rather than having individual accounts, we just have one password for everyone. You need a password to access the main dashboard and a password to access the Church Directory, but they are the same password.
Website: redeemerchurch.co.nz
Password: StrongHold-Jeremiah16:19
Reflection For The Week
“The use of the Moral Law is threefold. The first use shows our weakness, unrighteousness, and condemnation; not that we may despair, but that we may flee to Christ. The second is, that those who are not moved by promises, may be urged by the terror of threatenings. The third is, that we may know what is the will of God; that we may consider it in order to obedience; that our minds may be strengthened for that purpose; and that we may be kept from falling.”
- John Calvin