That which is a grace is always a free gift given without consideration of the merit of the recipient. The gifts of God through Jesus are graces simply because we don’t deserve them and we can’t attain them by our own effort. When we read John’s account of Jesus’ meeting with Nicodemus, we see God’s grace at work. Jesus describes his crucifixion, being ‘lifted up’, as something which will bring life. This life is eternal and will come by faith in the Son of Man – Jesus. The next verse is one of the most amazing statements of the grace of God in scripture. That God loves the world so much that he gave his only Son is astounding given that the world doesn’t acknowledge God much and many people’s lives are filled with the sorts of things God finds abhorrent. That the love of God for them is strong enough to overlook the sin and corruption of the world and that God still sent his Son to save them, and that we are them – every human being is counted in ‘the world’ – so none are outside the reach of God’s grace, is magnificent and humbling. Jesus died on the cross for every person – grateful or ungrateful, obedient or disobedient, rich or poor, slave or free, Jew or gentile, any skin colour, orientation or religion, from every nation or mix of peoples on the earth throughout time – this is the grace and mercy of God writ large. The cross allows us to enter into Jesus’ words after John 3:16 with an understanding that it is not God’s will that any be lost to him. Rather it is God who has reached out across the ages and given all he had so that we can have eternal life in him. He doesn’t want to condemn the world but people condemn themselves by choosing against his loving rule. Some will always choose evil and refuse the good but that’s not what God wants. If he could, the Father would bring every one of them into his love and give them life. The issue here is not about an angry God but the freewill of those he created for his glory to choose their pathway in life, and their actions within it. The good news is that it’s never too late for anybody to come to the Father and ask forgiveness so they can step into the eternal life Jesus died to give us. The Father’s love for every person is never going to fail. Our call is to make that love known so that every person knows it’s okay to come to him as they are. Jesus’ death is the guarantee that what they will find will be forgiveness, mercy, and grace, not condemnation.
Janice
This Week
| SUNDAY: | Holy Communion, 8.45am |
| Family Service, 10.30am | |
| MONDAY: | Study Group, St Mark’s, 7.00pm – 9:00pm |
| Contact Kevin or Anne (0438 234 857) | |
| TUESDAY: | Zoom Prayer Meeting, 1.30pm |
| Contact John (0421426156) | |
| Zoom Bible Study Group, 7.00pm | |
| Contact Graeme (0490 664 843) | |
| WEDNESDAY: | Bible Study Group St Mark’s,11.00am |
| Contact Keith (0419 551 082) | |
| Cuppa, Craft & Chat Group, St Mark’s, 12.30pm | |
| Contact Robyn (0409 425 044) | |
| THURSDAY: | Women’s Bible Study, St Mark’s, 9.30am |
| We will be using Cynthia Heald’s book | |
| “Becoming a Woman of Grace” | |
| Contact Fay (0401 404 280) | |
| Men’s Coffee & Chat Blackthorn Café, 10.00am | |
| Contact Steve (0437 984 679) | |
| ALPHA Course | |
| Contact: Carol (0411405597) or Steve (0437984679) | |
| FRIDAY: | JANICE’S DAY OFF |
| NEXT SUNDAY: | Holy Communion, 8.45am |
| Family Service, 10.30am |
Regular Worship Times
| SUNDAY: | 8.45am | Holy Communion |
| 10.30am | Family Worship with Children’s Ministry | |
| (Holy Communion – 1st Sundays) | ||
| 6.00pm | Healing Service – 1st Sundays | |
| WEDNESDAY: | 10.00am | Holy Communion |
Parish Contact Details
| Monitored contact points | 0493 280 691 |
| contact@stmarksdromana.org.au | |
| Parish Web Addresses | www.stmarksdromana.org.au |
| Facebook page | https://www.facebook.com/stmarksdromana |
| Pastoral Care Coordinators | Kevin and Anne Cranwell (0438 234 457 Kevin) |
Notices:
Thank You…
Thank you to all who helped at the Vicarage working bee last week.
Alpha…
Alpha is continuing and the Lord is blessing us richly. Thank you for your prayer involvement so far. We do need food. There are two weeks in March for main courses and we need slice or cake each week. Hospitality is a significant part of the Alpha evening. Thank you.
Our Celebration will be on 21st March at the Church. Please pray about who you can invite or come yourself and hear wonderful testimony of the graciousness of God. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. 1 Jn 3:1a
Resurrection Garden…
We are creating a resurrection garden in the front garden of the church as a static display to draw the attention of those walking by. We will also have a contemplative walk with the biblical stations of the Cross going into the front garden in the next week. These will be there for the lent/easter season and then be taken down. Go check them out!
Janice
10:30am Service Media Team…
We still need a second person to learn how to set up services for the 10.30am service. Please speak to Anne or Janice.
Fencing & Security Project…
As you all know we are upgrading the fencing and security around St. Mark’s. Rev. Janice has spoken about this and we would welcome any contributions. If you would like to make a donation towards this project, please put any cash into an envelope marked “Fencing/Security” and put it in the offering bag on a Sunday. We will provide you with a receipt and keep these monies aside for the project. If you wish to give to this project electronically, please speak to Janice as we are keeping these monies in a special account.
This Week’s Prayer Focus
In our country and the world:
- For all suffering damage and loss caused by the violent storms in Victoria.
- For all in Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine.
- For those facing homelessness, hardship, anguish and despair amid rising costs.
- For families affected by violence.
- For those affected by natural disasters in around the world.
- For King Charles III, the UK and the Commonwealth.
- For peace and unity in countries around the World.
- For aid agencies such as “Save the Children”, Oxfam, CARE, UNICEF, World Vision.
In our community:
- For teachers and students.
- For doctors, nurses, paramedics, Coast Guard, the CFA & SES.
- For local community outreach groups such as the Dromana Community House and “Food for All”.
In our Diocese and beyond:
- For Archbishop Geoffrey Smith’s ministry as Primate of Australia.
- For Archbishop Philip Freier’s ministry in the Diocese of Melbourne.
- For the ministry of Bishop Paul Barker in the Jumbunna Region and for Archdeacon Helen Phillips in the Frankston Archdeaconry. Give thanks that Archdeacon Helen is now well and beginning to return to work.
- In our Deanery, we pray for the Parish of All Saints Rosebud with St Katherine’s McCrae and their Vicar, Rev’d Lynda Crossley.
- For the work of the Church Missionary Society and Wei-Han the Victorian Director.
- For Anna Radkovic our CMS Link Missionary.
- For Christian churches around the world to be free to worship and be witnesses of the love of God as shown through the coming of His Son.
In our Parish:
- For our leadership and ministry teams.
- For Rev’d Janice O’Gorman our Vicar.
- For the finances of our Parish.
- For our Parish, its people and those we reach out to every week.
- For the success of the new Family and Children’s Ministry.
- For the 2024 Alpha program, its leaders, and all who attend.
- For the 9am at home prayer time for the Parish, Dromana & Mornington Peninsula.
- For the 2024 Alpha program, its leaders, and all who attend.
- For the Alpha Holy Spirit Day next Saturday 9th March.
- For: Joy, Helen R, Jessica, Audrey, Joan, Backy, John R, Margie, Fred, Robert, Jan, David, Guy
