Dear Church
I hope and pray you've had a week full of blessings. I can't believe we're into our 13th week of lockdown—and counting. We all know how hard it's been on our children, youth and loved ones. I'm certainly living in HOPE that things will improve. One of the definitions of Hope I found online is as follows, "Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world." The definition of Hope, I live with is, "better days ahead." I strongly believe they will come. I trust things will improve over the next few weeks. It's great to see so may families picnicking around the Hills area.
During the week I met with Gabrielle Thomson at Turkeys Nest Reserve—Beaumont Hills, to plan and pray over our worship roster until December. Little did we know it would turn out to be one of Sydney coldest days in September. For a while I wondered if it was going to snow or not. We persevered out in the open, sitting on our camping chairs, the Lord was good to us and we were able to finish our work.
When we return to church in the next few month, please keep in mind we'll need to start our Nominating Committee process. Until then, please keep on serving and giving of your time, resources and finances.
I'll be on annual leave next week, so please make contact with Pastor Josh, Pastor Jess or Marvin Malcolm if you're in need of anything.
Devotional
Have you ever watched the news broadcast of a missing person? As I saw a report on a missing teenager, the family being interviewed all wore picture badges displaying the person’s face. They not only wanted this face in public view for possible recognition but also they wanted this reminder close to their own hearts. Just having this type of memorial helped this grieving family pursue their hopes of finding their child.
"So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the Lord continually,"Exodus 28:29
As discussed in Exodus Chapter 28, Aaron wears a garment that has the names of each of the twelve tribes of Israel etched in precious stones and placed over his heart. This robe is worn by Aaron as he enters the most holy place in the presence of the Lord. Aaron represents the people to the Lord and is a continual reminder of who they are to the Lord.
Today, we have Jesus Christ who is our High Priest and who bears our names before the Lord. We, too, are considered as precious stones before the Lord as our names are placed over the heart of our Savior Jesus.
How many of us truly realise how precious we are to the Lord?
When life’s ups and downs seem to dominate our time and thoughts, we may not realise we have a High Priest who is continually presenting us and our needs to our heavenly Father. Sometimes, we, as believers, stray from our Father’s presence, maybe fall out of fellowship or a regular time of prayer and Bible reading.
During those times, I can picture Jesus going before the Father with a picture badge over His heart reminding the Lord of His child who has gone astray. More than anything else, the Lord desires a personal relationship with us and never wants us to be lost or to be away from Him.
Yours—Because of Jesus
Pastor Pablo Lillo
Preaching Roster: Castle Hill
September
25: Pastor Joshua Stothers "Three Lies The Devil Temps Us With"
October
02: Youth Service wit Pastor Jack Ryder
09: Mitchell Strahan
16: Pastor Terry Johnson, AUC President
23: Pastor Pablo Lillo
30: Pastor Josh Stothers
Offerings: Castle Hill
September
25: Local Church - Castle Hill
October:
02: Education, Mountain View Adventist College
09: Local Church - Castle Hill
16: ADRA Projects Australia
23: Local Church - Castle Hill
30: Local Church - Castle Hill
Combined Church: Closing Sabbath via Zoom
Dear Church, you’re all invited to join us for closing Sabbath on September 25, 4:00pm to 5:30pm—online.
It's a special time when we can catch up and sing, prayer together, and inspire each other with wonderful stories, shared prayers and much more.
Zoom Login Information
Topic: Castle Hill Church: Closing Sabbath
Time: September 25, 2021, 4:00pm - 5:30pm
