For the harvest…

Pentecost 10

Our sermon this Sunday will be from our Archbishop, Ric Thorpe, on Matthew 9:35-38. It is a follow on from the draft vision which is being formed for the next 10 years called, ‘For the Harvest’. Abp Ric is reflecting on Jesus’ words ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few, ask therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field’. The harvest began on the hills and in the plains of Israel among the Jewish people. As the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ spread, so the church grew, and the Jewish leaders became unhappy with this. They did not want to accept that Jesus was the Messiah. They actively tried to squash the news of the resurrection, and when that didn’t work, they persecuted the church. As a pharisee named Saul looked on the Jewish leaders stoned Stephen. This same pharisee would one day become the Apostle Paul, converted by a personal encounter with the risen Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul stepped enthusiastically into spreading what he now knew to be the truth about Jesus as the Messiah and we have the many letters he wrote to prove this, as well as Luke’s meticulous recoding of his missionary journeys in Acts. Yet Paul longed always for his fellow Jews to turn to Christ as he had done. He always preached first in the synagogue in a town before moving out into wherever the Christians were gathering. Many did come to Jesus, but many did not. Paul says he has ‘great sorrow and unceasing anguish’ even feeling he could wish himself ‘accursed and cut off from Christ’ for the sake of his own people. He can see how lost they are even though they have all of the Old Testament promises, the covenants, the law, the patriarchs – everything which is theirs through their kinship to Abraham– but they do not have the Messiah by faith. They are not children of Abraham by faith in Jesus, adopted by grace into the family of Christ. They have blood relationship with Jesus and Abraham but inheritance into the kingdom of God is not by DNA, it is by grace through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For many of us we have family who are not yet our Christian family. Perhaps if we are to start praying for the harvest, we might begin our prayers there as together we ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to our kin that they may also be saved. For whom will you pray this week?

Janice

This Week:

Regular Worship Times

Parish Contact Details

Save The Date:

Notices:

The LORD: slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love

Old Testament talks by Bishop Paul Barker on the Character of God These talks will take place over 3 Wednesday evenings on July 22, 29 and August 5 at 7.30pm in person at GWAC but can be live streamed via the link www.gwac.org.au/livestream Well worth the watch!

Op Shop

If you have a 1/2 a day spare once in a while and would like to assist us in the shop, we have a variety of ways in which you can help out including : Tip Runs , working B’s. Weekly sorting, cleaning, sewing counting jigsaw pieces!, or going on the shop roster once a month. Every little helps and we would love to hear from you.

Vicki. 0425770197.

National Grandparents Conference

National Grandparents Conference on Saturday 29th August 9am to 4.30pm livestreamed online at St Mark’s direct from the conference happening in NSW. Please let Graeme King know asap on 0490664843 if you are planning to be there so registrations can be finalised. Cost $30 (discounted for a group of 10 or more).

Men’s Breakfast

August 15th at 8.30 to 10 am Our speaker is Neil Johnson $5 for egg and bacon roll, tea and coffee. BYO gf bread.
RSVP Steve by SMS on 0437984679 and take away the guesswork for shopping.

Australian Anglican Church Calendar 2027

These are now available at a cost of $18 each plus postage of $5.80. Please contact Keith Thomas by late August if you wish to buy one. Bulk orders incur reduced costs (depending on numbers ordered).

Step Back In Time: A Simple Biblical Meal Experience

You are warmly invited to share in a special evening inspired by the simplicity and spirit of meals in Biblical times. Gather around a table where food is shared, not rushed-where conversation, connection, and quiet reflection are part of the experience. Rather than recreating a perfect historical feast, this evening offers a gentle step back in time-an opportunity to experience how people once gathered, ate simply, and connected deeply with one another. All welcome.

Saturday 5th September 2026 6pm to 9pm here at St Mark’s
Cost $33 per person. Bookings via https://www.trybooking.com/DNRMY

This Week’s Prayer Focus

In our country and the world:

• For de-escalation of the Middle East war.
• For the people of Israel and Iran and Middle East countries.
• For the victims and those who are mourning after the Bondi terrorist attack.
• For all needing support following home invasions and all other violent attacks.
• For Government action to address the out-of-control protests in Melbourne.
• For the Government plans to address the rise of antisemitism in Australia.
• For families suffering as a result of violence and home invasions.
• For those facing homelessness, hardship, anguish and despair amid rising costs.
• For all in Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine and Myanmar.
• 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 Melbourne Archbishop-elect Right Reverend Dr Richard (Ric) Thorpe as he prepares to move from London to Melbourne.
• For Archbishop Geoffrey Smith’s ministry as Primate of Australia.
• For the ministry of Bishop Paul Barker in the Jumbunna Region and Archdeacon Rev’d Sam Bleby, in the Frankston Archdeanery.
• In our Deanery, we pray for the parish of All Saints Rosebud with St Katherine’s McCrae and their Acting Vicar.
• For the work of the Church Missionary Society and Wei-Han the Victorian Director.
• For Anna Radkovic our CMS Link Missionary in Watamu, Kenya.
• 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.
• For the finances of our Parish.
• For the success of our building permit application.
• For our Parish, its people and those we reach out to every week.
• For the success of the new Beachside Youth program.
• For the Alpha program, the leaders and all who will attend.
• For the 9am at home prayer time for the Parish, Dromana & Mornington Peninsula.
• For all members of the Parish Council.
• That the Good News of Jesus will be known in Dromana.
• For Kevin, Anne, Doris B, Ellen, Ted & Monica, Lorna, Louise, Jen, TJ and family, Karen, Mary, Jan K, David, Belinda, Joan R, Robyn, Phillip, Nikki, Jason, Rhiannon, Richard, Pat, Keith S, Harry, Mike, Chloe, Jessica, Audrey, Backy, Fred, Robert.