The Link

November 3 2013

Neil Ryan Senior Pastor

Seth Emery Youth Pastor

Kathy Heath Childrens Pastor

Gavin Jones Pastor, LifeChurch

Allan Stanley-Smith Pastor, Pastoral Care

Welcome

November 3 2013

Welcome to Unley Park Baptist today. It is great to have you with us. If you are new to Unley Park, we appreciate that it can be daunting to walk into a new church, so as much as we can, we want to help you feel at home here. In the pew in front of you please find a black folder that contains a white care card for you to complete. There is also a "Welcome Pack" available for you that, among other things, has a special Care Card for you to record your visit and for us to follow up any requests you make. All Care Cards should be "posted" as you leave the church, in the locked box on the table by the "Baptistry Door".

10.00am Morning Tea: Morning Tea Next Week: 5.00pm

Morning Worship Gavin Jones Andrew & Nicole Hunt, Chris & Bec Graves Cherene Slater, Gisela Toelken, Joan Kidman Life Church

Finances
October 2013 Giving Target Cash Giving to date Electronic Giving to date Total Giving October Bushfire offering 26,385 8,524 9,680 18,204 917

Account Name: Unley Park Baptist Church Inc

BSB: 704 922 Account Number: 100013066

Offerings Confidential

Just a Minute
Rob Waldron writes... A common experience among many Christians is a sense of inadequacy when challenged by difficult questions. We can feel intimidated, and perhaps confused, when we are asked such questions as - 'If God created the universe then who created God?' or 'If God is a God of love then how come there is so much suffering in the world? How do you answer such questions? Imagine you are having a dinner party and you have invited some of your work colleagues to share a meal. As the evening progresses the conversation turns to areas of religion and Christianity in particular. Almost certainly both of these questions will be asked and you as both host and a Christian feel obliged to offer a convincing answer. What do you say? Too often, I think, we feel the need to be very well informed in all aspects of our faith, particularly in areas of contention. We may feel we need to be experts in science, philosophy, ethics and theology. Let me suggest how you might like to respond. Initially, I see no problem in answering a question with a question. To the first question 'If God created the universe then who created God?' I would reply with something like ''Exactly where does the problem lie?' Then maybe - 'You mentioned God - how do you understand God?', and then - 'Does science propose a better solution to what occurred prior to the big bang?' and so on. These questions require no in depth knowledge on your part but they do make the questioner vulnerable as to how well he or she might have researched and thought through the issue themselves. So often we presume the questioner is very well informed when we are challenged on matters of faith but by asking for further definition about various points of the question then the questioner may recognise his or her limited knowledge of the issue raised. It's only after all facets of the question have been explored that you may wish to say something along the lines of - 'God is eternal, he exists outside of time and space, and so before or after, or cause and effect are irrelevant concepts when talking of God'. And so try and develop the technique of exploring the question and challenging and probing the questioner. They may then wish to explore more objectively matters of faith. Of course, I am not suggesting we don't pursue knowledge, particularly in areas of theology, but we do need to meet people at their level and not shy away from genuine questions. Be confident, and always be ready to give a defense of 'the hope that is within you', and just occasionally it's OK to say - 'I don't know'.

Baptismal Service
Next Sunday 10th November, two men from Iran, Barham (Benjamin) Khojasteh and Ahmad Ali Hosseinzadeh will be baptised. This is an opportunity for us to hear their story and celebrate this occasion with them. This will be followed by a BBQ at the church after the morning service. Anyone who would like to share fellowship with these two men and join the BBQ are asked to contact Allan Stanley- Smith for catering purposes.

Sympathy extended
We extend our love and sympathy to Cliff Parken whose brother Link died suddenly on Wednesday 23rd October. Link and Cliff were close, contacting each other each week. This time is particularly difficult for Cliff as he was unable to attend Link's funeral due to his hospitalisation.

Wednesday Night Small Group Bible Study

This coming Wednesday evening, November 6, at the church from 7.45-9.00pm Geoff & Amanda Dyer (YWAM) Missionaries going to Kazakhstan will be sharing about their journey of faith. Join us for an informal, interactive but challenging evening.

Munchiez Teams
We will be listing which team is on for the current week on the back page of the Link. Please keep an eye out for your rostered dates.

Iranian meal for 20s to 30's+

All singles and young couples in the 20s to 30s+ age group are invited to a special and unique meal of Iranian cuisine. th When - Saturday 9 November 2013 Where At the church Time - 6:30pm Contact Allan or Seth ASAP for catering purposes Allan 0400 150 569. Seth 0415 486 256 (Preferably when he returns from PNG!)

Thankyou
Can I just say a big thankyou to the congregation for supporting Lauren and Graces cake stall last Sunday? The girls were very excited about the money raised($133.35), and proudly presented it to Kathy Heath for her to pass on to Westcare to help homeless people.

Pre-service prayer
We meet each Sunday morning before the coffee time and before the service, in Neil Ryan's office for a short time of prayer at 9.45 a.m. All welcome. "Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of God"? John 11:40

Leisure Club
CHRISTMAS MEETING WITH SOUL FACTOR. The Leisure Club has purchased 24 tickets (two tables together in front of the stage) for the Soul Factor Christmas Production For unto Y-all; A Cowboy Christmas for Sunday afternoon, 1st December at 2:30pm. You are asked to purchase tickets ASAP from Frank and Val Park at $20 each (group booking price). Personal accounts have purchased the tickets.

TEAR Shop
The TEAR shop is up and running again in the breezeway until Sunday 22nd December. TEAR only provides a small number of each of the cards so I usually have to send for more so you can have the cards of your choice so please choose your gifts as early as you can. Please help us to give many underprivileged people the opportunity to experience the love and care of Jesus.

Operation Christmas Child Dinner

When: Saturday November 23 Where: Unley Park Baptist Church Dress Code: Red and Green Cost: Adults - $25, Children - $10, Family - $65 Tickets must be purchased by October 31. Money raised goes to Operation Christmas Child Project

EFTPOS facility and Offering Envelopes

We will be phasing out offering envelopes over the next few months. Please feel free to continue using them if you still have a supply or alternatively use a blank envelope if you would like to continue giving in this way. We will however not be ordering any more envelopes in the future. If you have access to set up an electronic bank transfer using our Offerings Confidential account that would be helpful. It is something that we are encouraging everyone to use. Please see below for details. These details are always included on page two of the Link. As of Friday November 8 we will no longer have EFTPOS facilities. Financial offerings previously given via EFTPOS will now need to be done using the Confidential Offering direct transfer account. Account Name: Unley Park Baptist Church Inc. Offerings Confidential BSB: 704 922 Account Number: 100013066 Thank you.

The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken

When : Friday November 15th @ 7pm Where: Koorong Book shop in the city

Our Missionary Families

The Ames Family Owen, Sarah, Rachel, Jessica & Joshua OM/TEAM Church Planting, Tokyo, Japan Thank you for your prayers. Please pray for the parenting class that Sarah leads 2-3 times a month. Last week we had a great time together, encouraging one another and discussing ways to support each other as we care for our children. Fellow TEAM missionary, Noriko, has joined the group and it is wonderful to have her support. Please pray for the three other mums who attend Masayo, Morie and Yoshiko. Pray for their marriages, husbands and kids and most of all that they would come to a saving knowledge of God. This coming week, Owen will be an invited guest at a special party the university students are holding for our TMMI team as a thank you for all the help they have given to them. Praise God for this opportunity to celebrate friendships with these students and pray for continued good relationships throughout the year.

Pray for these families

Names for this week beginning November 3: David, Ros, Alice & William Healey Kathy Heath Pauline Henningson Geoff & Ros Higgins Robert & Lyn Hill Catherine Hillan

This week at UPBC

Playgroup Tuesday November 5 9.30am-11.30am Tuesday November 5 9.30am-10.30am Tuesday November 5 11am-12noon Tuesday November 5 5.30pm - 8.00pm Wednesday November 6 9.30am - 11.30am Wednesday November 6 7.45pm - 9.00pm Thursday November 7 9.30am Thursday November 7 5.30pm 8.00pm Friday November 8 7.30pm - 9.30pm Sunday November10 10.00am Sunday November 10 5.00pm

Prayer Team

Hilighters

Munchiez Food Van Rob Adcocks Team 9 Playgroup

Bible study at the church Geoff & Amanda Dyer (YWAM) Know Your Bible

Munchiez Food Van Allison Flahertys Team 14 Elevate Youth Group (year 8-12)

Morning Worship Neil Ryan LifeChurch

Northgate Street Unley Park PH: 82720258 www.upbc.org.au admin@upbc.org.au