St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church Sydney in Arncliffe, New South Wales | Community

St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church Sydney

Locality: Arncliffe, New South Wales

Phone: +61 2 9597 1413

Address: 72 Wollongong Road 2205 Arncliffe, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.stmark.com.au

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24.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 27-Sep-2020 Feast: The Feast of the Cross (Three days) Read: Psalm 146:5-9 (He gives Happiness)... https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/ Commentary: I am afraid, says the apostle, that just as the serpent led Eve astray by his cunning, in the same way your minds too may be corrupted from the chastity that is in Christ. Now the minds of these people are corrupted by that sort of conversation, Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die. Those who love these things, who pursue these things, who assume this is the only life there is, who hope for nothing further, who either do not pray to God or pray to Him for this life alone, who find any talk of diligence very tedious, will be very downcast when they hear me saying all this. They want to eat and drink, for tomorrow they die. If only they would give genuine thought to the fact that they are going to die tomorrow! Can there be any, after all, so mindless, so perverse, so hostile to their own souls, that they do not reflect, when they are about to die the next day, on how everything they have worked for has come to an end? That, you see, is what is written: On that day shall all his schemes come to nothing. ~ St Augustine Reflection questions: Q1) In what way does hoping in God provide us with true happiness? What if we are dealing with tribulations? Can hoping in God provide us with happiness enough to overcome these trials?

24.01.2022 A blessed day out with our youth at Watsons Bay

24.01.2022 Congratulations Mina and Merna on your blessed Matrimony. God guide your journey together as one

23.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 15-Dec-2020 Feast: The Holy Nativity Fast Read: James 4:13-17 (Life is Fleeting)... https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/ Commentary: James says this in order to indicate just how fleeting and empty our present life is. He wants to make us ashamed of the fact that we spend all our time engaged in its vanity, and in the evils of this age and in things which, as soon as they are accomplished, disappear, and all our labour vanishes with them. ~ Oecumenius Reflection questions: Q1) How often do I reflect on the fleeting nature of my life? Does this understanding change how I will live my life today?

23.01.2022 MONDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY It’s not over yet! MNBS Esther continues tonight with the Deuterocanonical Chapters 11 and 12 We have none other than Andrew Bosse guiding us through tonight Bring your MNBS study guides along or pull out your Coptic Reader app because these chapters won’t be in the NKJV ... Never read Deuterocanonical chapters? Haven’t heard of them? Come along tonight for a short and sweet study Hymns to start snacks to follow and prayer meeting as usual See you then!

22.01.2022 St Mark's Fathers monastery retreat

21.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 10-Jan-2021 Read: Exodus 15:1-5 (The Song of Moses) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/... Commentary: And the worldly pride and arrogance and the troops of innumerable sins which were fighting for the devil in us, He obliterated in Baptism. ~ St Augustine Prayer: Remind me I pray what can a person or even the devil do to harm me? If I make Your love in my life my goal then nothing should separate me from this goal and I will live happily. But, if I make for myself other goals and desires, these are the ones that will harm me. My heart, from the inside, which loves these desires, is the one harming me, not the people. Someone may take money from me, if I do not love money and do not care if it is abundant or little, no harm will happen to me.

20.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 27-Oct-2020 Read: Luke 23: 33-43 (Confess with Faith) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/... Commentary: Do not be ashamed to consider this thief a teacher for us. It is him who the Lord was not ashamed of, but rather He made him enter into paradise before anyone else! The thief confessed, and so he found the doors of paradise open! He confessed, and so he was told enough to ask for the kingdom, even though he was a thief! Tell me, you thief, how did you remember the kingdom of heaven? What happened now and before your eyes are the nails, the cross, the accusation, the humiliation, and the swearing. He would say, yes, I can see all of these, but the cross itself is the symbol of the kingdom. ~ St Jerome Reflection questions: Q1) Do we believe that a single moment of repentance can change us from being the worst of the worst to a person who the Lord would welcome to be with Him in paradise for all of eternity?

20.01.2022 U15s and U13s champions

20.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 30-Sep-2020 Read: Psalm 95:1-3 (Sing to the Lord) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/... Commentary: You receive the Cup which seemingly comes from the hands of man. What is it to you whether the bearer of the Cup acts righteously or unrighteously? As a follower of Jesus, your concern is to act righteously; to receive the Cup with thanksgiving to God and with a living faith; and courageously to drink it to the residues. ~ St Ignatius Brianchaninov Reflection questions: Q1) What does God gain from us when we thank Him? What difference will it make to Him?

20.01.2022 U13 FINAL ROCR https://youtu.be/yY7XXf9t53o

18.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 01-Nov-2020 Read: Mark 2:13-17 (Don't let Guilt Win) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/... Commentary: What competent doctor, when asked to cure a sick person, would simply follow the desires of the patient, and not act in accordance with the requirements of good medicine? The Lord Himself testified that He came as the physician of the sick, saying, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. How, then, are the sick to be made strong? How are sinners to repent? Is it by merely holding fast to what they are presently doing? Or, on the contrary, by undergoing a great change and reversal of their previous behaviour, by which they had brought upon themselves serious illness and many sins ~ St Irenaeus Reflection questions: Q1) Do you ever let guilt of your sins push you away from getting closer to God?

17.01.2022 MONDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY We’re back to continue the Book of Romans tomorrow night We are blessed to have Mark Ghali take us through Romans Chapter 3. St Paul writes of God’s righteous judgement , answering questions relevant in today’s world We are comforted, knowing that all have sinned , but we are saved through Christ What about arrogance and boasting ? It’s all in chapter 3! ... Come along for this jam packed chapter and bring a friend As always, hymns to start , snacks to follow and prayer meeting afterwards Don’t miss out on the #MNBS Romans Study guide too! See you there

17.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 13-Dec-2020 Feast: The Holy Nativity Fast Read: Romans 8:35-39 (He is Victorious)... https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/ Commentary: Pain and tribulations no longer destroy the soul. Indeed, they have become the reason for joining the procession of conquest and victory under the leadership of the suffering and crucified Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Fr Tadros Malaty Reflection questions: Q1) How can we live with this persuasion that St. Paul speaks of?

17.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 06-Dec-2020 Feast: The Holy Nativity Fast Read: 2 Samuel 11: 2-15 (Escape Laziness)... https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/ Commentary: The first step in any fall, is slothfulness and negligence. David never fell in such a horrible sin (adultery), in his boyhood and youth, when he was shepherding the sheep; when he worked in the royal court; when he was a fugitive, and pursued by Saul; when he became a king over just one tribe; and even as he strove for the salvation of all the tribes of Israel. But now, as his kingdom got well established, increased in glory and got his own house of cedar, he forsook the war to Joab, the commander of his army, and slothfully relaxed in his house in Jerusalem. In the time of the evening, instead of praying for the sake of his men fighting the war of Israel, he arose and walked on the roof of the king’s house, and he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold (2 Samuel 11: 2) Life of slothfulness creates a void in the heart and senses, for man to seek fulfilment of his senses through an outer beauty. ~ Fr Tadros Malaty Reflection questions: Q1) In this scenario, King David’s laziness created a window of opportunity for the devil as he fought this spiritual warfare. Why do you think this is? What sins has laziness caused you to fall into in the past?

16.01.2022 MONDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY #MNBS returns with a surprise speaker Mr Meena Awad for Chapter 6 Our saga continues with more twists and turns tonight! Mordecai and Haman feature again, and a horseback parade fit for a king A plot twist that rivals Money Heist ... Join us at 7:30pm for a short prayer and hymns then enjoy the talk while reading along to your own study guide Snacks and prayer meeting to follow

16.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 04-Oct-2020 Read: Psalm 118:1 (Appreciate His Beauty) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/... Commentary: After longing, we begin to behold God, we begin to stare at God, we begin to appreciate His beauty. When we fall in love with Christ, we are then wounded by His love. ~ Fr Daniel Fanous Reflection questions: Q1) Are we deserving of the goodness of God? Q2) What are the good things that God has accomplished in your life worthy of being thankful for?

15.01.2022 Our U15s and U13s champions.

14.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 27-Nov-2020 Feast: The Holy Nativity Fast Read: Romans 5:1-10 (Producing Traits)... https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/ Commentary: Endurance produces character, which contributes in some measure to the things which are to come because it gives power to the hope which is within us. Nothing encourages a man to hope for blessing more than the strength of a good character. No one who has led a good life worries about the future.Does our good really lie in hope? Yes, but not in human hopes, which often vanish and leave only embarrassment behind. Our hope is in God and is therefore sure and immovable. ~ St John Chrysostom Reflection questions: Q1) What traits of your character have been produced by tribulation? What hope have you gained from your tribulations?

14.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 03-Oct-2020 Read: John 11:38-44 (Thanks Before Action) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/... Commentary: Whoever prayed like Jesus did? Even before uttering any petition, He says, I thank you that you have heard Me, demonstrating that He did not need prayer. He goes on to say, And I knew that you always hear Me, not as though He Himself were powerless but to show that His will and the Father’s are one. But then why did He pray? He says He did so for the sake of the people standing by so that they may believe that You have sent Me. All but saying, If I had been an enemy of God, what is done would not have succeeded. ~ St John Chrysostom Reflection questions: Q1) What is the significance of Christ thanking the Father before He had even performed the miracle? What does this teach us about thanksgiving?

14.01.2022 Aghapy Australia meeting with Professor Naguib Kanawati is an Egyptian Australian Egyptologist and Professor of Egyptology at Macquarie University in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Dr Kanawaty https://youtu.be/Ys68q83GyZk

14.01.2022 When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love... Ezekiel 16:8 Praise and prayer meeting every Wednesday at St. Mark's church from 7:00pm to 8:30

13.01.2022 Fr.Luke Sedarus Documentary | OFFICIAL PROMO

12.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 09-Jan-2021 Read: Exodus 5:20-23 (Moses in Complaint to God for not Delivering Israel) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/... Commentary: In Moses and Aaron, the law and the prophets are prefigured. A sick soul often murmurs to itself against the sacred words. After it has begun to hear and follow the heavenly words, the opposition of the Egyptian kingthat is, the temptation of an evil spiritrises up. So, the physician should carefully make known to the soul that is making progress which temptations will attack it, so that it can carefully prepare itself for the snares of an evil spirit. ~ St Paterius Prayer: I confess dear Lord that I love Your heavenly kingdom, but think twice about bearing the cross. I desire consolation, but care little for trial to prove my loyalty. I often share in Your table, but few times take part in Your fasting. I desire to be happy with You; yet rarely wish to suffer anything for You. Guide me to love You for Your own sake and not for any comfort of my own. Show me the power there is in pure love for You love that is free from all self-interest and self-love.

12.01.2022 Whatever 2020 may or may not have been, 2021 promises to be incredible! Enrolments are now open, including two fascinating offerings from renowned scholars Prof.... Edith Humphrey and Very Rev. Prof. John McGuckin. Students from around the world welcome! Enrolments close January 31. Apply today: https://stcyrils.edu.au/index.php/academic-calendar/

10.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 29-Sep-2020 Feast: The Feast of the Cross (Three days) Read: Philippians 4:6-7 (Remember to Give Thanks)... https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/ Commentary: Let us give thanks to God continually. For, it is outrageous that when we enjoy His benefaction to us in deed every single day, we do not acknowledge the favour with so much as a word; and this, when the acknowledgment confers great benefit on us. He does not need anything of ours, but we stand in need of all things from Him. In point of fact, thanksgiving adds nothing to Him, but it brings us closer to Him. For if, when we recall the benefactions of men, we are the more warmed by affection for them; much more, when we continually bring to mind the benefits of the Master towards us, shall we be more earnest with regard to His commandments. For this cause Paul also said, Be ye thankful. For the best preservative of any benefaction is the remembrance of the benefaction, and a continual thanksgiving for it. ~ St John Chrysostom Reflection questions: Q1) How do we give thanks to God when we are feeling anxious or going through heavy trials? Q2) What do we gain from thanking God during these times?

10.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 06-Oct-2020 Read: Colossians 3:1-10 (Leave Materialism) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/... Commentary: Wherefore putting away lying, speak the truth. But where is lying put away, except inwardly, in order that he may dwell in the holy mountain of God who speaks the truth in his heart. And the words of the apostle are in keeping with this mystery [i.e., of inner resurrection]: But if you have risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God; mind the things that are above. ~ St Augustine Reflection questions: Q1) Do we prioritize the things above or worldly matters? What are the materialistic things that we are invested in, that we can eliminate from our lives in order to maintain our purity?

10.01.2022 Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you. Mark 10 : 49 Praise and prayer meeting every Wednesday at St. Mark's church from 7:00pm to 8:30

09.01.2022 MONDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY It’s a public holiday but that doesn’t stop us! The Righteous Man himself David Ghebranious will be leading us tonight . Join at 7:30pm as we continue with Esther Chapter 7!... A plot twist today Another banquet and an old school gallows Bring a mate along and enjoy a spiritual snack Hymns and prayer meeting as always!

09.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 08-Dec-2020 Feast: The Holy Nativity Fast Read: Exodus 15:1-5 (Let Him Help You)... https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/ Commentary: All our past sins, you see, which have been pressing on us, as it were, from behind, He has drowned and obliterated in baptism Let us not turn back to Egypt in our hearts, but with Him as our protector and guide let us wend our way through the other trials and temptations of the desert toward the kingdom. ~ St Augustine Reflection questions: Q1) What can I do daily/weekly/ monthly to prevent myself from becoming weighed down with sin?

07.01.2022 Congratulations beautiful Marie. The Lord bless you always

07.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 10-Dec-2020 Feast: The Holy Nativity Fast Read: Judges 7:19-22 (Entrust it all to Him)... https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/ Commentary: Let us imagine this very strange scene: three hundred men carrying empty pitchers, trumpets and torches inside the empty pitchers. Anyone who sees them would never think they are going to war but probably to a show; they have no swords for war, how can they gain victory? ~ Fr Daoud Lamie Reflection questions: Q1) Do I ever cap God’s ability to carry me through the seemingly impossible? What are some practical things I can do to learn to entrust it all to God?

07.01.2022 Congratulations to our 2 new little Church members. God bless you!

07.01.2022 MONDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY The Romans show goes on! We welcome back Mark Ghali to take us through Chapter 4. What does faith mean to you? Paul writes of Abraham and David , justified by their faith. Do blessings only come to Christians? Come discover what your faith really is! ... Bring a friend , bring a pen and come enjoy a Monday night spiritual kick Hymns to start , snacks to follow and prayer meeting afterwards See you then

07.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 07-Dec-2020 Feast: The Holy Nativity Fast Read: Matthew 28:1-6 (Resurrection of Inner Life)... https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/ Commentary: An earthquake shook the ground, and the angel of the Lord descended to roll away the stone from the door for us, and he sat on it. Similarly, the resurrection happened in our inward life. Our old self was demolished, and it offered us by means of the baptismal waters, the resurrected life, or the new man in God’s image. ~ Bishop Paul El Boshy Reflection questions: Q1) Two thousand years on, what does the Resurrection mean to me personally? What kind of victory does it represent?

06.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 31-Oct-2020 Read: Proverbs 28:11-21 (Evade Excuses) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/... Commentary: It is folly to indulge in sin, and excuse it. He who covers his sins, shall not have any true peace. He who humbly confesses his sins, with true repentance and faith, shall find mercy from God. The Son of God is our great atonement. Under a deep sense of our guilt and danger, we may claim salvation from that mercy which reigns through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord. Here is a general direction relative to conversion. If the sinner does not acknowledge his sins; if he covers and excuses it, and refuses to come to the light of God’s word and Spirit, lest his deeds should be reproved, he shall find no salvation. ~ Reflection questions: Q1) Are we truly repentant when we confess our sins? Do we feel guilty or do we give ourselves excuses?

06.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 24-Nov-2020 Read: Psalm 91 (No One Can Frighten You) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/... Commentary: He said these things about the just and wise person and these are said in the blessings, You will sleep and there will not be anyone who frightens you. For if I am made just, no one can frighten me; I am afraid of nothing else, if I fear God. For it says, the just is confident as a lion, and for this reason, he does not fear the lion, the devil, or the dragon, Satan, or his angels; but according to David, he says, I shall not be afraid of the nocturnal fear, nor the dart which flies during the day, nor the terror which walks in the darkness nor the ruin and the midday demon. And he adds that the Lord is my light and my Saviour, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life, at what shall I tremble? And again, If an army stands against me, my heart will not fear. You see the steadfastness and vigour of the soul that keeps the commandments of God and has confidence in the freedom that God gives. ~ Origen Reflection questions: Q1) What are your greatest fears in life? Make a list of them and consider for each one if this is too much for God to handle?

06.01.2022 Congratulations David and Monica! The Lord bless your marriage and life journey together towards the kingdom

05.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 25-Oct-2020 Read: Luke 19: 1-10 (Give Him All) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/... Commentary: St. Ambrose says Let the wealthy people know that wealth in its essence is not a sin, but rather the misusing of it is sinful. The money, that represents the stumbling block regarding the evil ones, is a means of practicing righteousness regarding the rich. Zacchaeus was rich, and therefore let us learn that not all the rich are covetous. ~ Fr Tadros Malaty Reflection questions: Q1) If the Lord was to ask that you give Him all that you have, what would you struggle to give back the most?

05.01.2022 Our youth cooking up a storm with Fr Aug today

03.01.2022 Congratulations Fady and Monica! The Lord bless from heaven your marriage

02.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 26-Oct-2020 Read: Sorrow in Repentance (2 Corinthians 7:1-12) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/... Commentary: Hence Paul teaches us that that kind of sorrow is of value which has not this world but God as its end. It is right, he says, that you become sorrowful, so as to feel repentance in the face of God. Take note of those who in the Old Testament were sorrowful in the midst of their bodily labours and who attained grace, while those who found delight in such pleasures continued to be punished. Hence the Hebrews, who groaned in the works of Egypt, attained the grace of the just and those who ate bread with mourning and fear were supplied with spiritual good. ~ St Ambrose Reflection questions: Q1) Do we feel worldly sorrow or godly sorrow? and what do we do when we feel this sorrow? Do we become repentant or do we search for joy in the world which gives us momentary satisfaction?

01.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 28-Sep-2020 Feast: The Feast of the Cross (Three days) Read: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (Thanksgiving)... https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/ Commentary: Then, because he [David] had been delivered from great danger, he sent up this prayer of thanksgiving to God who had rescued him. I will bless the Lord at all times. Having escaped death, as if he were setting up norms for his life, he molded his soul to an exact manner of living, so that he ceased at no time from praise but referred the beginning of affairs, great and small, to God. I will not think, he says, that anything was done through my diligence nor happened through spontaneous chance, but, ‘I will bless the Lord at all times,’ not only in prosperity of life, but also in precarious times. The apostle, learning from this, says, Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks. ~ St Basil the Great Reflection questions: Q1) Before beginning this week of quiet time, think of all the things in your life that you are thankful for. It might help to write them all down and see if you can add to them by the end of this week.

01.01.2022 To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; Isaiah 61 : 3 Praise and prayer meeting every Wednesday at St. Mark's church from 7:00pm to 8:30

01.01.2022 Today's Quiet time: 28-Oct-2020 Read: 1 John 1 (His Forgiving Heart) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/... Commentary: Since we cannot live in this world without sin, the first hope we have of salvation is through confession, nor should anyone be proud enough to claim that he is righteous in God’s sight. The next step is love, which John often commends to us in this letter, because love covers a multitude of sins. Each of these things encourages us to pray for our sins and to ask God’s forgiveness when we do so. This is why John says that God is faithful and will forgive our sins, pointing to the reliability of his promise, for he who has taught us to pray for our sins and trespasses has also promised the Father’s mercy and the forgiveness which flows from that. ~ Bede Reflection questions: Q1) Do we know the true value of repentance and confession? Do we understand the concept of it completely removing the sin through the Lord’s forgiving heart?