God’s righteousness…

Pentecost 19

In Philippians 4, Paul writes of his credentials as the very well-bred, pureblooded Hebrew man of the tribe of Benjamin who has studied the law and the prophets and was a Pharisee. His credits include things which are impressive to the reader, but not now to him. Paul understands that all his zeal and his hard work and the letters of authority he carried are nothing compared with knowing Jesus Christ. He writes of the surpassing value of this knowledge of Jesus as Lord, and the deep way in which this is not just a head knowledge but something of the depth of his being which has responded to Jesus and now lives only for him. It’s not enough just to know of Jesus, but to really know him and therefore to be aware that there is nothing more precious to have than Jesus Christ. Even so, Paul understands that this is not something he could earn like he could pass his examinations in school. It’s a gift from the Lord himself who has taken the things Paul once saw as valuable and brought him to understand that they could not give him what he sought. Only faith in Jesus could bring Paul a right standing before God which was untouchable by the corruption in his own humanity. The righteousness of God is accessed by faith and given by God through the grace he has poured out on us through Jesus. It’s not our own, it’s his righteousness, God’s righteousness which we can’t ever grasp ourselves no matter how ‘good’ we are. Paul with all his credentials could never be good enough to be as good as God. Neither can we. Yet God gifts that righteousness to us when we come to him by faith in Jesus. Paul is overwhelmed by the enormity of the gift and only wants to be as close to Jesus as he can be. He wants the resurrection and the life found only in Jesus. He wants the prize of being one who truly knows the Lord and belongs to and with him in eternal life. I want to press on towards that goal too. Let it be my prayer always, Lord Jesus, to truly walk in the heavenly call you have for me, to be always reaching for that deep place where I find true life in you. Can I get an ‘amen’?

Janice

This Week:

Regular Worship Times

Parish Contact Details

Please Note:

Craft will stop after this week and start back 7th October and Thursday prayer group after this Thursday and start back 8th October.

Reminder of upcoming events:

Notices:

Message from Janice

Thanks for all the prayers and support shown to me while I have been recovering from Surgery this past week, and to all my family on the death of my mother, especially for the care shown to us at my mother’s funeral. I am blessed to be among you, and I praise God for his blessings to me.

Janice

Operation Christmas Child

Next Sunday – 27 September will be our packing day for Operation Christmas Child. Be part of blessing a child with love and giving some hope. Items will be provided. To cover contents and postage, the cost is $25 – cash or card. Let’s aim for 60 boxes in 2026 – that’s 60 children’ lives impacted by God’s love and our prayers.

Planning Permit

Morning Peninsula Shire Council (MPSC) has issued a Planning Permit for the building of our new hall – PRAISE GOD. The Endorsed Plans are posted to our building information notice board in the Narthex. This now ushers in a wide range of activities from
• drawing up detailed set of drawings
• approval of these by the Diocesan Building Committee, and
• submission to MPSC for a building permit.

CMS Anna visit to St Marks

Saturday 31st October – Sunday 1st November Exciting and informative events are planned. There will be a luncheon on the 31st and Anna will be with us for our Sunday services on the 1st. Further details to follow. See Carol.

CMS Summer Conference

7th & 8th January at Crossway Baptist Church Early bird tickets are now available online https://my.cms.org.au/ Speak with Steve Parkinson for more details.

This Week’s Prayer Focus

In our country and the world:

• 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 St John’s Flinders with St Mark’s Balnarring, their Vicar Rev’d Keiron Jones and Deacon Rev’d Christine Barren.
• Keiron, Vicar of Flinders/Balnarring.
• 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 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 Family of Ann Marie Spagnolo, William, Kevin, Anne, Doris B, Ellen, Ted & Monica, Lorna, Louise, Jen, TJ and family, Karen, Mary, Jan K, David, Belinda, Robyn, Phillip, Nikki, Jason, Rhiannon, Richard, Pat, Keith S, Harry, Mike, Chloe, Jessica, Audrey, Backy, Fred, Robert.