Three more sermons from a series looking at “Kings & Prophets — Between the Exiles”

Zedekiah by Will Briggs, June 26, 2011

Habakkuk by Joshua Skeat, July 3, 2011

Obadiah by Will Briggs, July 10, 2011

Two sermons looking at the book of Acts — the first giving an overview of the book and examining its place in the Bible, and the second from Pentecost Sunday.

Acts 1 by David Owens, June 5, 2011

Acts 2 by Will Briggs, June 12, 2011

The first five sermons from a series looking at “Kings & Prophets — Between the Exiles”

Ahaz by Joshua Skeat, May 1, 2011

Hezekiah by Will Briggs, May 8, 2011

Manasseh by Joshua Skeat, May 15, 2011

Josiah by Will Briggs, May 22, 2011

Zephaniah by Joshua Skeat, May 29, 2011

Two topical sermons, examining the biblical significance attributed to blood and water. The teaching coincided with the occasion of three baptisms (Water) and Resurrection Sunday (Blood).

Water by Will Briggs, February 20, 2011.

Blood by Will Briggs, April 24, 2011.

Two sermons from the book of Joel.

Part 1 by Will Briggs, April 10, 2011.

Part 2 by David Owens, April 17, 2011.

As opportunities have arisen throughout 2011 we have focussed our teaching on the 39 Articles of Religion, engaging with these statements that have historically been a foundation of the Anglican Church.

On April 9, 2011, Connections Minister Joshua Skeat was ordained as a Priest in the Anglican Church. Leading up to this event, teaching was provided on the history and tradition of ordination in the Anglican Church.

Article XXIII: Of Ministering in the Congregation
by Will Briggs, March 13, 2011.

The final sermon in Connections’ Interrogate a preacher series from March 6, 2011 was the following one by Joshua Skeat:

Why are there so many names for God?
Why does God refer to himself in different ways?
I understand Jesus as the bit of God that became Human, and God who created and the Holy Spirit — can you explain the trinity?

Teaching in subsequent weeks looked in more depth at the three members of the Trinity:

Father
by Jonathan Adamczewski, March 20, 2011

Son
by Will Briggs, March 27, 2011

Holy Spirit
by Joshua Skeat, April 3, 2011

KLT (Kids’ Learning Time) is Connections’ ministry for kids offered as part of our regular Sunday worship. We are currently offering activities which cater for primary school and pre-school aged children.

Our KLT programme follows Scripture Union’s Bible-focused Light material which encourages a personal relationship with Christ as well as an understanding of the Bible and the Christian faith, and a life lived for God as light in our world.

Over the next four weeks the KLT programme will have as focus: Jesus, the friend.
Oct 2      John 3: 1-21          Fresh Start
Oct 9      John 4: 3-42          No secrets
Oct 16    John 4: 43-54        Healing World
Oct 23    John 5: 1-18          Helping Hand

Wednesday 24^th Aug 2011

@ The Eaton’s

5 Hambledon Avenue, Burnie 

7:30 pm Dessert and tea / coffee

8:00 pm Planning meeting

Please join us as we plan for the future of our KLT program and the building of a supportive and supported KLT team.

Topics for discussion on 24th Aug:

• Behaviour management
• Rostering and resourcing KLT groups

Contact Heather 6431 8539 for more information

Teaching from our Summer 2011 series.

What are pastors (ministers deacons etc) paid to do all week? I realise they preach on Sundays and need to prepare for this, (but this is sometimes done by other people) so what else is their job description? Just curious, not an attack in any way.

by Joshua Skeat, from January 9, 2011.

We keep getting told in the bible not to do all this fun sin, otherwise we won’t get in to heaven – what do we know about heaven that makes us think it’s so good anyway? What’s heaven really like?

by Jonathan Adamczewski, from January 16, 2011.

1. What is spiritual abuse and how can it be demonstrated in the church by pastors and members?
2. What are the traits of spiritually unsafe people (similar to 1st)?
3. How can mental illness affect the outworking of charismatic gifts?

by Will Briggs, from January 23, 2011.

Please tell me things about the Grace of God and its importance in the New Testament.
Can you explain how God’s grace is outworked in our daily lives – particularly in our relationships with others?

by Joel Kettleton, from January 30, 2011.

Questions from the kids:

Why does church go so long?
How did God get alive?
Why did God make people?
How would I explain God to my friends?
Why do you wear robes when you get ordained?
Why do we have to go to church?
What does God look like?

by Kate Boughton, from February 13, 2011.

How should a Christian react/respond to the recent painting depicting the substitution of people (disciples of Christ) for Tassie Devils? The artist wanted to highlight the plight of the cancerous growth devastating the Tassie Devils. Are Christians ‘open game’ (compared to other faiths)?

by David Owens, from February 27, 2011.

Why are there so many names for God?
Why does God refer to himself in different ways?
I understand Jesus as the bit of God that became Human, and God who created and the Holy Spirit — can you explain the trinity?

by Joshua Skeat, from March 6, 2011.

Connections has always had at its heart a desire to build a Christ-centered and authentic community. On Saturday, we saw some of the fruit of that community in action as a we spent the day in glorious Winter sunshine blitzing the Briggs’ family backyard to bless them as they prepare to move to Hobart in the very near future. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day, as these photos show, with a wide selection of our community from the very smallest to the biggest helping out in various ways.

The incarnation in the Gospel of Luke
by Joshua Skeat, from December 25, 2010

The incarnation in the Gospel of Matthew
by Joshua Skeat, from December 26, 2010

The incarnation in the Gospel of John
by Will Briggs, from January 2, 2011

We are excited this week to be able to access the new Somerset primary gymnasium for the first time.  Over the past two months, we have been meeting at Cam Rise Uniting church, and have enjoyed the challenges and opportunities that meeting in the afternoon have presented. During this time, we have particularly enjoyed the opportunity to share an evening meal after each of the gathering and have been greatly blessed by a number of people in our community who have cooked meals for us during this time. Let me take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all who cooked, served, cleaned up and organised in the kitchen during this time, your love, generosity and service has been very much appreciated.

With our move to the gymnasium we are returning to our regular Sunday morning timeslot, this means that our gathering arrangements will be as follows:

Connections Sunday Gathering
10am @ Somerset Primary School, Beaufort St.
(directions can be found here)

There are a couple of important things to note with regard to the gymnasium. The first is that we have been requested to not have any dirty shoes on while inside at all – this includes both carpeted and non-carpeted areas. This means that there is a possibility that you may need to take your shoes off before you enter on Sunday. It may be a good idea to bring a pair of slippers to put on to keep your feet warm, or at least wear some extra socks. The second related point is that the gymnasium is a  colder environment than we have been used to meeting in and the heating options are uncertain at this point in time. We strongly recommend dressing warmly.

Other arrangements that are important to note:

• Pre-gathering prayer: 8:30am @ the school
• Music practice: 9:00am @ the school

While in many ways this is a return to an old venue – we have previously met in the gymnasium when it was West Somerset Primary – renovations mean that this will be a new experience for us. As a result, our first setup in the gym is likely to involve a number of arrangements and re-arrangements as we try to manage the space the best we can and a small team of us will play around with various options on Saturday afternoon. Our regular setup time will be on Saturday evenings, starting Saturday 23rd July.

Please pray for us as we transition to this new venue, particularly as the little bugs and kinks are worked out. Pray that the return to the school will be a blessing for both us and the school and that it would present us with opportunities to reach out to the community in Somerset.

In 2008, Connections presented a six week teaching series with the title “Money, Sex & Power”, one sermon on each topic followed by a sermon that addressed specific questions that had been asked about the topic.

You can read Will’s comments on the series in this post from August 2008. The three teaching sermons are available here:

Power — July 27, 2008

Money  — August 10, 2008

Sex — August 24, 2008

All people working with children and young people in the Anglican Church in Tasmania are required to complete a ChildSafe application and training process.

If you are not yet ChildSafe accredited and are interested in finding out a bit more, there will be some ChildSafe training offered in Ulverstone this Saturday 16 July from 10:30 – 12:30.

Please contact Heather on 64318539  if you would like more details and would like to be involved.

In March, Will and Gill announced that Will would not be applying for the Rector position in the Parish of Burnie and that they would be knocking on other doors in pursuing God’s call on the next stage of their family’s ministry.

Recently Will announced at Connections and subsequently on his blog that they are bound for South Tasmania:

Bishop John has announced that I am to be appointed as the new Senior Associate Priest of St David’s Cathedral and as his Research Assistant.

He writes, “Please pray for Will and Gill and their children as they make their move from Burnie to Hobart in August and as they settle in to a new place and new season of their lives”, and we would echo that request.  There is much to do by way of logistics and organising schooling and accommodation etc down south as well as getting our house ready to leave here in Somerset.  Please especially pray as we leave the Connections and Burnie church communities and connect with those at the Cathedral and in Hobart.  In all this  we have already seen much of the grace of God in sovereign providential provision and all manner of generosity and for that we are most thankful.

I am looking forward to working with the Dean of Hobart, The Very Reverend and most excellentRichard Humphrey who has a strong vision for the ministry of the cathedral in the city of Hobart.  The opportunity to assist Bishop John as he leads the prophetic voice of the church in the community is also a privilege.  Gill will continue as an honorary deacon and shape her ministry around the opportunities that become apparent.

We will be leaving Burnie with some sadness, of course.  There are wonderful people and an awesome community here, many of whom have been with us and us with them through thick and thin and ups and downs.  We arrived eight and half years ago, when we were in our twenties, with only the first three of our four children. This is where I made many first steps in ministry, and many mistakes, and learned much.  We have walked through some fire and times of pain, but also times of excitement, passion and purpose.  We rejoice in all that God has done, through Connections Church in particular, as well as the other places we have ministered.  We look forward to what God will do through his people on the North West Coast.  In everything there is a testimony of God’s grace which we will never be able to forget.

So, onward Christian soldiers! With our eyes on him, the author and perfecter of our faith.

While we will be saddened to say goodbye to the Briggs family who have been such an integral part of the Connections community and have impacted many of us through their ministry and friendship, we are excited by the opportunity that God has opened up and the future that He has planned for them.

Will and Gill have also announced a “Bye Bye Burnie Brunch” at their home, on Saturday 23rd July:

We are moving to Hobart and this is chance to say goodbye. Open house – any time between 10am and 2pm.
Just drop in.
Bring something to nibble or to slurp.

Connections will say goodbye to the Briggs family during our gathering on the 24th July. During this service we will pray Will, Gill and the kids out, and celebrate what God has done in and through them during their time at Connections. We will provide further details for this gathering in the coming weeks, but keep it free in your diary!

We continue to pray for the Briggs family, particularly for all the details of moving house and school to be sorted quickly and for a smooth transition for all.

As you may be aware, Sunday the 22^nd of May will be Connections last Sunday gathering at our present venue in Somerset Primary School as they prepare to move to the new school at the other end of Somerset. During the interim period, we won’t have access to the new primary school hall either.

After prayerful consideration of a number of venues and starting times, and with our various needs in regards to access to facilities for Kids Learning Times and access to a venue for setup and packs, our gathering arrangements for the interim period will be as follows:

Connections Sunday Gathering

3:30pm @ Cam Rise Uniting Church, Wragg St. Somerset (directions can be found here)

This start time will allow us flexibility in accessing the venue for set-up and pack-up, as well as providing opportunities for community meals. On the 29th May, our first Sunday in the venue, we will be holding a dinner following our gathering – all food will be provided and it would be great to see you there.

We understand that this arrangement may not be suitable for everyone. If you are unable to join us during this time, please contact Joshua, as we consider options for the best way to keep our community connected. As always, being part of a small group plays an important role in keeping connected, if you are not part of one already and would like to be, please let us know.

The prayer time and set-up time will be confirmed each week via email, however at this stage, we intend to begin set-up at 1pm @ Cam Rise. We are still finalising plans for the regular prayer time.

Please continue to be praying for our gatherings each week, for opportunities to share the gospel with our community, and also for Somerset Primary and the community as the school transitions into their new area.

As part of Connections growing small group ministry, today sees the launch of Mostly Mums and Munchkins. Running fortnightly on a Thursday morning, this group will be built around bible study, conversations and sharing life for mums. Children will be looked after and morning tea provided at each session.

Please be praying for this ministry as it kicks off, for energy for those organising and running it and that it would provide opportunities to share Gods’s love and life with mums in our community. If you’d like to know more about Mostly Mums and Munchkins, or you know someone who might be interested in coming along, please see the file below.

Mostly Mums and Munchkins Flyer

This was recently sent to our prayer email list:

Dear Prayer Partners

Thank you for your ongoing prayer support, it is greatly appreciated. What an exciting Summer we had, being challenged by the Q&A series: “Interrogate a Preacher” and the visiting preachers who contributed to this series, as well as by the opportunity (and need) to meet in different venues for a number of weeks as the Somerset Primary School hall was unavailable, including a combined service in the Parish, which was a great success.

We are now back in our regular venue, and meeting at the new time of 10am each week, and as we head into Autumn, we ask you to pray for:

1. Building Project
As we have mentioned previously, we are currently awaiting the results of our submission for funding under the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS). This submission would see us build 24 low cost housing units and a community centre to act as a base of ministry and mission for Connections. Please continue to pray:

Sermon on the nativity story
by David Owens, from December 19, 2010.

Slides are also available.

Sermon on Hebrews chapter 13
by Jonathan Adamczewski, from December 12, 2010.

The final sermon in the series includes an overview of the book of Hebrews and the teaching we’ve heard from it, and is a call to holiness.

“May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

As you would be aware, throughout 2010/11 our minister, Will Briggs, has been acting as Locum Tenens for the Parish of Burnie. This has been a time of significant change and growth within the Parish, and we have been blessed by Will’s leadership and passion.

This situation has also been somewhat unusual, as it is not common for a minister working within a Parish to be asked to fill the Locum role. This in turn has implications for the advertising and filling of the role of Rector of the Parish – the stage in the process where we now find ourselves.

On Sunday, Will read the following letter at both Connections and St. George’s:

March 20, 2011

Dear brothers and sisters in the Parish of Burnie,

Our God is a faithful God.  The evidence of his faithfulness is clear in how he has been with us as a Parish and as individual congregations in recent months.  The statement “His Spirit is with us” is declarative and true.

The Parish is now ready for the nomination process for a new rector.

Over the last few months Gill and I and our children have been putting much prayer and thought into whether or not I would apply for the role. We have been asked by the Vicar-General to finalise that decision as there are implications for the nomination process.

We agree that is right to make our decision clear.  And it also seems right to us that I should not apply for the role of rector.

In this instance it is also not right for me to consider being, once again, the Connections Minister under the new rector.

We have come to trust that God is asking us to trust him, in a process of knocking on other doors and exploring how we might serve him in another place.  We do not yet know where, when, or what that might be.

We do know that God is faithful to his people.  He has blessed and continues to bless the Connections congregation with the gifts amongst us, not least of which is that of the Connections Leadership Team, and the leadership and pastoral gift of Joshua Skeat.  The Burnie congregation is also mutually blessed with the gifts amongst us and is ably lead by Aileen Fitzgerald.  This circumstance will also be a blessing to whoever the next rector is.

Gill and I always held as a hope that we would be part of a Christian community who, when the time was right, would bless us and send us out. That time is near, but not quite yet.  Our current task is to seek to faithfully discern where he is calling us and follow him.

We trust in and value your prayer as we do so,

Yours,

Will.

While this season will be tinged with sadness as we prepare to say goodbye to the Briggs family, we look forward to seeing what God has in store for them next and for the opportunity to pray them into their next appointment. Please continue to pray for Will, Gill and the children, during this season of discernment and transition.

Connections is supported by the Bush Church Aid Society (BCA).

BCA recently announced that they have appointed our own Joshua Skeat to a Ministry Training Apprenticeship based at Connections.  This is what they have announced:

Joshua is the first Ministry Training Apprentice to come out of the Connections Church which is headed by Will Briggs and is one third of Tasmania’s Imagine Project. Formerly a teacher, Joshua is now working with Will to develop his ministry skills through his experience at Connections. BCA is providing a training scholarship as part of it’s Ministry Training Programme.

Joshua is also being ordained as a priest soon.  The ordination will be in our Parish and will be lead by the Connections team.  It will take place at St. George’s church in Burnie on Saturday April 9th at 11am.

On Monday night the Leadership team met to consider, amongst other things, the feedback from our recent survey regarding the shift from a 10:30am to a 10:00am start time. Throughout our deliberations, we recognise that there are sometimes competing interests and needs with regard to a start time, and have appreciated the feedback that we received.

After careful consideration, I can confirm that we will be continuing to start our Connections Sunday gatherings at 10:00am.

On Sunday 20th February, we braved the windy conditions and icy cold river, to celebrate the baptism of 3 young members of the Connections community: Melody McPherson and Elizabeth and Lachlan Skeat. It was exciting to share in this important step in our youngsters lives and to affirm our commitment as  a community to stand together with their parents and bring these children up in a full knowledge and understanding of their faith, and an ever deepening relationship with Jesus.

As I mentioned on Sunday I am able to confirm our venue for this week;

• If it is a fine/dry day: We will meet outside on the Somerset Primary School grounds.
• If it is a wet day: We will meet in the Somerset Surf Club.

I will send out an email on Saturday (once we are more certain of the weather) to confirm which venue we will be at.There are a few arrangements that are important:

• We will need to set up on Sunday morning – extra hands are going to be very helpful. Set up will start at 8:30am. If you are able to help this will be very greatly appreciated.
• If we are meeting outside, please bring hats and sunscreen, a drink, and your own chair or a blanket to sit on
• Don’t forget our service begins at 10am!

We are looking forward to the Rev. Kate Boughton joining us this week, she will be teaching on a selection of the questions that our kids have asked.

After a fantastic time down at the Oldina reserve last Sunday (you can read about it here: http://bit.ly/hhnGVd), this week, Sunday February 6th we will taking the opportunity to join with the Burnie congregation and celebrate together as a Parish with Bishop John. During this service a number of people will be taking the opportunity to confirm the faith that was declared at their baptism and be formally recognised and received into the Anglican church. This is a time of celebration and joy and we look forward to sharing in it together.

The service will start at 9:45am @ St George’s in Burnie, which is located on the corner of Mount and Cattley St. A Map can be found here: http://bit.ly/fvIo5s.

We look forward to seeing you there.

If you would be interested in being Confirmed or Received into the Anglican Church, we would love to provide the opportunity at Connections later in the year, please talk to Josh or Will if you are interested or would like further information.

Psalm 19 starts:

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

To this we can add a resounding ‘Amen’! Particularly after the day that we enjoyed on Sunday.

In the glorious Summer sunshine, it was fantastic to join together as a community and praise our Creator God in the midst of his creation! We were blessed by the teaching of Joel Kettleton — currently an Ordinand, soon to finish studying at Ridley College in Melbourne — and it was encouraging to many to see our community join together to share life over a BBQ and picnic (and game of cricket!).

Sharing life doesn’t just happen on Sundays though. We encourage you to take the opportunity of fine weather and warm evenings to invest in building community with those around you. Invite some friends for a meal, get some families together and enjoy a day at the beach or the park, or have a BBQ with your workmates. Take the opportunities of this Summer to invest in your relationships, in your community and share Jesus.

This Sunday, the 30th of January, Connections will be taking advantage of the beautiful Summer weather and instead meeting at the Oldina State Forest reserve. We will start at 10am as per usual, and encourage you to bring along your lunch and join us for a picnic as we celebrate as a community and share life with one another.

Although our location will be different, we will be continuing with our ‘Interrogate a Preacher‘ series, looking at a question this week on God’s Grace, its importance and its outworking in our lives.

How do I get there? (view map: http://bit.ly/h89t1F)

• From Somerset: Follow the Bass Highway towards Wynyard.
• Continue past the turn off at Doctors rocks, and through the roundabout.
• Take the third road on your left after the roundabout (Oldina Road).
• Follow this road for approximately 3 kms and then take the road to your right. This will lead you to the reserve (we will also put up signs where possible).

What do I need to bring?

• Chairs or a blanket to sit on
• Hat, Sunscreen and Drink
• Your own lunch (we will bring the church BBQ if you would like to cook something)
• Your friends – this is a great opportunity to invite people to join with us as community and enjoy some fun in the park

We look forward to seeing you there!

Dear Prayer Partners

Thank you for your ongoing prayer support, it is greatly appreciated. It has certainly been exciting to be part of the Connections community in recent months, with a lot of different things happening and more opportunities to work in and around Somerset, serving God. In November we witnessed the Ordination of two of our members; Joshua Skeat and Gillian Briggs to the Diaconate and we look forward to what God has in store for these two as they follow His lead. Please pray for both Joshua and Gillian and their families, particularly as they begin their ordained ministry.

As we head into what will be a busy Summer, we ask you to pray for:

1. Our families
During the Summer a large portion of the Connections community will be involved in various camps and conferences as well as visiting their families elsewhere and going away for a vacation. Please pray for:

• Safe travel
• Opportunities to share Jesus with friends and family
• Rest, relaxation and re-engagement with God during this time

2. Connections Summer
Summer is always a good opportunity to try new things and explore new possibilities and previously this has been a time of real encouragement and growth for Connections – we look forward to seeing what God has in store for us this Summer. One of the things that we are trialling this year is a preaching series based on questions from our church community (details can be found here: http://bit.ly/hFj1il). Please pray for:

• Wisdom and discernment from the preaching team as they tackle the questions that our community ask.
• God to challenge our thinking and change us
• Opportunities to reach out to the community through the Summer

3. Building Project
As we have previously mentioned, we have been exploring the possibilities of a building project, investing in an affordable housing and Community Centre development for Somerset, to be able to use as a base for ministry and mission. The application process for funding has been undertaken and we are now waiting to hear if we have been successful. Please pray:

• that the application is received well and that funding is made available
• for the tender process surrounding the purchase of the land needed to make the project happen
• that the community of Somerset would be blessed by the proposed development of the site

4. Growth
Connections has undergone a significant period of growth this year, with a number of families joining and shaping our community. We are particularly thankful to God for the the blessing and encouragement that each new face brings. Please pray for:

• the continued growth of the community
• our new members that they would settle in quickly and be blessed and encouraged by their time with us

5. Our Leadership
Since our last update, Will has been unwell and has been on a period of extended leave. He is currently beginning to get back to full strength and reengaging with the Parish. Added to this, there have been a number of events and illnesses that have taken their toll on the leaders of Connections and their families. Please pray:

• for Will, Gill and the kids as Will continues his recovery and returns to his role as Locum in the Parish
• for healing for those in our midst who are still sick
• for strength and encouragement for our leaders during this season

Blessings
Joshua