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<h1>Welcome to St. Alban's Anglican Church</h1>
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<h4>For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. </h4>
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<A HREF=#sub1> General information</A>
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<A HREF=#sub2> Sermon Notes</A>
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<A HREF=#sub3 > What we believe</A>
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<A HREF=#sub4> Community House</A>
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<A HREF=#sub5> Other links</A>
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<a href="mailto:albans@chariot.net.au"><img src=/art/Mailto.gif></a> We'd be glad to hear from you!
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<A NAME=sub1><h3>General Information</h3>
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif > St Alban's Church is a congregation of the Anglican Church of Australia in the Diocese of Adelaide. We are located at 31 Jetty Rd., Largs Bay, South Australia. You can contact us by phone - (08) 8449 6643, and our Priest in Charge , <a href="mailto:albans@chariot.net.au">David Wright</a>, - (08) 8449 3403.
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> We gather in worship of the Triune God of love at 9.30 on Sunday weekly. We would be delighted for you to join us in hearing of the love of God which is made known in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our Sunday service has a strong focus on worship through music, hearing of God's word and faithful biblical preaching.
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif > We have a Sunday School which meets soon after our service begins (during term time only), and which joins us in church for holy communion. Every second Sunday we hold a 5.00pm evening church service. This is a informal service with a shared dinner afterwards.<p>
<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif >Youth Group meets every Friday night through school terms. Contact Theres Bertram at the church church office for more information
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif > Home Bible study groups meet during the week. For more details <a href="mailto:rooak@ozemail.com.au">email us!!!</a>
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif > Our Clothing Shop is open Monday to Thursday mornings, 9.30am - 12.30pm. It stocks good quality, bargain priced women's and children's clothing.
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif > Largs Bay is a beachside suburb in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Our congregation serves the larger part of the Le Fevre Peninsula, along with several churches of other denominations.
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<A NAME=sub2><center> <bold>SERMON NOTES </bold>
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Sunday December 21st, 2003
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THE REASON FOR THE SEASON
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(Revelation 21:1-8)
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Do you have any idea why the heck we celebrate Christmas? (It is so buried theses days under crass materialism and gross self-indulgence. Surely it might be better to call the whole thing off. Perhaps we could just at least take a stand against the gross excesses. What if Christians stopped giving gifts to each other - Lord knows we have enough stuff already! - and just gave to those who really are in need.)
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John tells us in his first letter that the reason the Son of God appeared on earth was to destroy the works of the devil (1John 3:8). What terrible works they are - sin, death, hatred, division, discord, guilt, bitterness, isolation, defilement, immorality, fear, ignorance, deception, arrogance, pride. And what a great work of Christ to come to destroy all this. This Christ has done by his sacrificial death and mighty resurrection. And the fruit of that is that at the end, when the victory of Christ has been worked out in history through the preaching of the Gospel, there will be no more death nor mourning, nor crying nor pain any more. And nothing of evil - the cowardly (who have been held in fear of death by guilt), the unbelieving (who have rather believed the lies of the evil one), the vile (who have defiled themselves through disobedience), the sexually immoral, the occultists, the idolaters, and all liars - none of them will have a place in the new creation where only righteousness dwells.
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In his Gospel john records Christ's words: "In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth." (John 18:37.) Not only to tear down and destroy what is false and evil did Christ come, but more importantly to establish what is true and right. he came to do His Father's will. And that will was that there be with God in a new heavens and new earth at the end of history a pure, clean, holy people with Him into eternity. This is the heart of John's vision in this section - the glorious bride coming down from heaven prepared by God the Father Himself for an eternity with His Son.
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This purpose then divides the world. There are those who will be destroyed and those who will be saved. All of us rightly belong in the first category in and of ourselves. But whilst we were defiled by and caught up in the devil's works, Christ has come to destroy those works in such a way as to save and redeem us to Himself. His death and resurrection was so that we be not destroyed. Have faith in Him and do not miss the reason for His coming.
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<a name=sub3><h3>A Short Gospel Summary</h3>
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<h4><img src=/art/bullets/Cyanball.gif > GOD IS OUR FATHER AND CREATOR.</h4>
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<STRONG>God has made us; we belong to Him. He has made us to be His children. He is our faithful Father who always provides and cares for us even though we have rejected His love. He rules over all the world, and is determined for us to come back to His loving arms.</STRONG>
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "In the beginning, God created the universe." (Genesis 1:1)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "God said, 'Now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us'....So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female and blessed them..." (Genesis 1:26,27)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "Never forget that the Lord is God, he made us, and we belong to him. We are his people, we are his flock." (Psalm 100:3)
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<h4><img src=/art/bullets/Cyanball.gif > HE SENT JESUS CHRIST HIS SON AS OUR LIFESAVER.</h4>
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<STRONG>The human race, sadly, has rebelled against God. Our rebellion has caused great grief both in the events of history and in each human spirit as we have come under God's judgment. Yet the Father has not written us off. God determined to rescue us from our sins and to bring us back to himself by sending his Son. </STRONG>
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "Sin came into the world through Adam, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole of the human race because everyone has sinned." (Romans 5:12)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are pardoned....When I did not confess my sins, I was worn out from crying all the day long." (Psalm 32:13)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> The angel said of Mary, "She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus - because he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; to set free the oppressed and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people." (Luke 4:15-19)
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<h4><img src=/art/bullets/Cyanball.gif > JESUS DIED AND ROSE AGAIN TO SAVE US.</h4>
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<STRONG>When Jesus died on the Cross, he took all our sins upon himself. He defeated them. He died and went into the grave to show that death, which came through sin, was also defeated. He rose again to show his victory. All who trust him and what he did are saved.</STRONG>
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "Jesus carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by his wounds that you have been healed." (1Peter 2:24)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that we in union with him we might share the righteousness of God." (2Corinthians 5:21)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "Because of our sins Jesus was handed over to die, and he was raised to life in order to put us right with God." (Romans 4:24)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "By the free gift of God's grace all are put right with him through Jesus Christ who sets them free. God offered him, so that by his death he should become the means by which people's sins are forgiven through their faith in him." (Romans 3:24,25)
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<h4><img src=/art/bullets/Cyanball.gif > THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME TO MAKE US PART OF GOD'S KINGDOM.</h4>
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<STRONG>We cannot know these things to be true for us unless God shows them to us, and causes us to understand them. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring these things to our hearts.</STRONG>
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> Jesus said, "Unless you are born again you cannot see the Kingdom of God." (John 3:3)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> Jesus said, "When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment." (John 16:8)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> Jesus said, "When the Spirit comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the truth." (John 16:13)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "The Spirit makes you God's children, and by the Spirit's power we cry out to God, 'Father! My Father!' God's Spirit joins himself with our spirits to declare we are God's children." (Romans 8:15,16)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "I want you to know that no one who is led by God's Spirit can say, 'A curse on Jesus!' and no one can say 'Jesus is Lord!' unless he or she is guided by the Holy Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:3)
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<h4><img src=/art/bullets/Cyanball.gif > BY BELIEVING WE BELONG TO GOD'S KINGDOM.</h4>
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<STRONG>We do not need to earn God's love for us. It is given to us freely as a gift. Our way into knowing God's love personally is simply believing that God has done all these things for us.</STRONG>
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "'What must I do to be saved?'.... 'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved - you and your family'... At that very hour, he and all his family were baptised at once. He and his family were filled with joy, because they now believed in God." (Acts 16:30, 31, 33, 34)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "Each of you must turn away from his sins and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ and your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> "Even before the world was made God had already chosen us to be his through union with Christ, so that we should be holy and without fault before him. Because of his love, God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his sons - this was his pleasure and purpose. Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son! For by the death of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God, which he gave us in such large measure!!" (Ephesians 1:4-7)
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<a name=sub4><h3> Community House </h3>
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Our aims are:
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> <STRONG>1. Helping with the needs of family groups and children.
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> 2. Contact, friendship and support for the elderly.
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif> 3. Providing a venue for small community based relational groups to meet. (Please contact Penny Patterson on 8449 5852 for further information.)</STRONG>
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SERVICES OFFERED
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<STRONG>1. COMMUNITY CLOTHING SHOP</STRONG>
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Open Monday to Thursday , 9.30 AM - 12.30 PM
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Good quality infants', children's and ladies' clothing, nursery items and some toys are available at very low prices.
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<STRONG>2. ENGLISH CONVERSATION GROUP</STRONG>
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Thursdays, 12.30 PM - 3PM
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An opportunity for people from non-English speaking backgrounds to practice their conversation skills and to make friends. Contact Elizabeth on 8449 3403
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<a name=sub5><h3>Other Links</h3>
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<img src=/art/bullets/Blueball.gif > You can learn more great stuff following the links below.
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<a href="http://anglicansonline.org">Anglicans Online! - international contacts </a>
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<a href="http://www.anglican.org.au/">Australian Anglicans Online </a>
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<a href="http://www.anglicare-sa.org.au/adelaidediocese/">Diocese of Adelaide </a>
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<a href="http://www.newcreation.org.au/">New Creation Teaching Ministry </a>
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<a href="http://www.cms.org.au">Church Missionary Society</a>
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<a href="http://www.spcka.org.au">SPCKA</a>
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