As they waited, they asked a question that showed they didn’t really understand what the Kingdom of God was to be like.

Jesus gently corrects them, and in turn us, about just where the Kingdom is, what people will be in that kingdom, and when it will come.

Listen to this sermon on Acts 1:1-11 preached 9am 24th January 2010 at Sylvania Anglican Church.

It was clear that Pontius Pilate was convinced of the innocence of Jesus, and yet he willingly sent him to be crucified.

Listen to this Bible talk on the crucifixion of Jesus, as preached on 22nd November 2009 at Sylvania Anglican Church.

I spoke on Matthew 2:1-12 and invited the congregation to consider the two reactions to the birth of Jesus. Some followed the star to him and worshipped him (i.e. the star gazers) but others followed the star to try and kill him (i.e. Herod).

Near the end of the talk you’ll hear a badly-distorted recording of an original song I performed. Please adjust your headphones accordingly!

Please let me know if you have any technical difficulties with this, as it’s my first attempt at a podcast!

“In normal situations, we listen to the Bible read before the preacher explains and expands the text. Wouldn’t it be better to hear the Bible expounded, and then hear it read? The text would gain even greater clarity, and the meaning would be amplified by the exposition just presented by the preacher.”

Well, it might shock you to know that before I had written the article, I had never seen this done in real life. It was simply an exercise in kite-flying, so to speak.

Anyway, when I put together the runsheet on Sunday for the gathering I was leading, I gave it a try, and it worked a treat. Not only did the Bible reader read with more clarity (since she had just been given a twenty-minute preparation for her task), but the whole congregation also benefited from hearing the word of God, after it was explained.

What’s more, it made the reading of the Word appear to have a centrality in the gathering that I’ve not experienced before. It was as if the reading of the sermon passage was the peak of the word ministry.

Have you ever tried this retrospective reading? Have you ever witnessed it first-hand?

The beauty of WordPress is that I can give all the leaders passwords, and they can help me keep the site up to date. I think one of the great advantages to using a CMS (Content Management System) is this ease of entry and editing. I remember in the not-so-old-days that to update a website required major HTML editing, with FTP and all other primitive nasties. Now, those days are behind us.

We’re also planning in time to convert our website to use the upcoming www.cyiada.com platform. Check out that blog to find out what is being planned!

I have just got back from a great weekend away with Slice, the junior youth group at Sylvania Anglican. And I can confidently say that it has been an amazing weekend.

Part of the challenge of the youth ministry at this church has been getting the kids from church families to connect with kids outside the church. Despite our plans, the Friday afternoon timeslot didn’t work well for our junior high group, as, amongst other reasons, many of our church kids couldn’t make it. So we ended up with two mainly distinct groups. So, we have decided to merge the two groups and run Slice at 10am on Sundays.

This weekend was the first time we brought the two groups together, and it was a real success. Because no one group dominated the weekend, we were able, in the power of the Spirit of God, to create a new identity for the group. God has done a great work in our midst, and we now have a great year 5 to 8 group with a healthy mix of boys and girls, and kids from church and non-church backgrounds. The 12 kids on the weekend, plus our great team of 5 leaders, forms something new and very exciting.

Stay tuned to find out how the first group goes when we get back in February!

Jodie has had a great year at work, launching and leading the new Youthworks ‘Year 13’ program. He keeps wishing it was around when he was 18, so that he could’ve avoided making his mistakes as a very young adult. He also keeps training people in youth ministry, organising the TWIST conference, and doing youth ministry and music at our church at Sylvania Anglican.  And last, but certainly not least, he loves relaxing with family and friends, usually with coffee in hand!

Mandy has been a busy mum, running a household of  three kids plus Hugo, our newborn (13 May 06.) She leads the ‘WOW’ (Women on Wednesday’) Bible study, and co-leads the youth with Jodie. As ‘Chief of Staff’ in the McNeill household, she continues to avidly watch ‘The West Wing’ for tips on how to keep the President in line.

Liana (9 in January) has entered the ‘Tweens,’ and seems only days away from adolescence. She loves to sing, dance and talk (frequently all at once) and would love a pony if she could somehow sneak one into her bedroom.

Jemimah (8 in February) is loving school, and continues to keep up with her older sister in many ways. She shares the family love of music, but has developed an uncharacteristic love of maths (drawing upon talents previously undiscovered in our DNA.)

Oscar (4 in January) loves anything with wheels. He plays with his cars 24/7, and only pauses when he stops to watch his favourite DVD…yes, ‘Cars!’ He loves preschool and continues to be a testament to the difference testosterone makes in a growing child.

Hugo (8 months) is a ‘mini-me’ version of Jodie…permanent smile, blonde hair, and an attention span that should keep the makers of Ritalin in business for years. Despite a few respiratory illnesses, he keeps smiling, and smiling…

2006 has been a great year for the McNeills. We have settled in well to our new house in Sylvania (yes, ‘The Shire!’) and are continuing to love our church, job, and spending time with our friends and family, both new and old. We are thankful to God for our health, and for the ways in which he keeps sustaining us through the normal ups and downs of life. Overall, it has been a full-on year, with a new house, child, and job responsibilities for Jodie, which has made us feel a bit too frantic at times. But we look forward the opportunity to consolidate our roles and responsibilities in 2007 (i.e. less changes… yeah, right!)

To God be the glory!

I was a great joy to experience the enthusiasm and excitement of the leaders as we start something new and even a bit groundbreaking! We’re starting a group for years 6 to 8, and it’s going to run from 3.15 to 5.15 on Friday afternoons. The plan is that it will help smooth out the ‘bump’ between our children’s ministry and the teenage youth ministry.

However, in many ways nothing is really new. We’re still preaching Christ in his word to young people, encouraging them to pray and serve God and each other, and we still will provide leaders who love and care for them as spiritual parents. Nothing new there.

Pray that the new ministry next term will meet its goals, and will be a place where people Grow in God!

To find out about ‘Slice’ visit http://www.youth.sylvaniaanglican.org

This week’s ‘JOLT Year 6 Leavers Camp’ marks the start of my new role at Sylvania Anglican Church. I have accepted an voluntary position as the Honorary Youth Minister. In addition to my current full-time position at Youthworks (with the dual roles of Youth Ministry Trainer and year 13 Director), I will now coordinate the weekly running of this parish-based youth group (adding a third ‘hat’!)

This is only possible due to the strong youth leadership team in the church. The five existing leaders will continue to make the day-to-day things happen, but I will provide overall training, support and pastoral care to them. I will also regularly lead and speak at the Sunday afternoon group, and lead a mid-week Year 6 Mens Bible Study group.

Whilst this new role will take up some time and energy, it will give me more focus and ongoing hands-on activity in youth ministry. Whilst I have been continued to be active in youth ministry over the past three years at Youthworks, my role in this one church will give me ideas and an extra affinity with the youth ministers and leaders I train and support throughout Sydney and beyond.

The youth group at Sylvania Anglican is called ‘JOLT’ and currently has five leaders, and around 12 students at high school. This week we took away on camp eight year sixers who have been a part of our mid-week kids club. They will join the JOLT group on Sunday 9 October.

The McNeill family have now begun at St John’s Anglican Church, Sylvania. Whilst I continue my full time role at Anglican Youthworks, this ‘Shire’ church is the new home for me and my family on Sundays.

Paul Sampson, Rector of Sylvania, put me to good work straight away–two sermons back to back on the book of Acts.

For more details about Sylvania, visit http://www.sylvaniaanglican.org/