©ACCESS ministries

Psalm 145 A psalm of praise. Of David (NIV) 5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty— and I will meditate on your wonderful works. 6 They tell of the power of your awesome works— and I will proclaim your great deeds. 7 They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. 8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. ©ACCESS ministries

Nehemiah 8 (NIV 2011) 10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” 11 The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.” 12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them. ©ACCESS ministries

Luke 15 (NIV 2011) The Parable of the Lost Sheep 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’” The Parable of the Lost Coin 8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” ©ACCESS ministries

Celebrate! ACCESS Sunday 2011 It is important to take time to Celebrate in life. And there are many occasions to celebrate in life: A birthday, a wedding, a new baby, a personal achievement, a new job, a PB in your sporting life, a hole in one; your team winning the Flag! (some of us have waited a LONG time!) Celebrations can be personal or communal. ©ACCESS ministries

CELEBRATING IS PART OF LIFE FOR GOD’S PEOPLE The image that is sometimes painted of Christians as being joyless and not keen on a good time of celebration, is certainly not to be found in the pages of the Scriptures. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, we see the people of God CELEBRATING. ©ACCESS ministries

CELEBRATING HELPS US REMEMBER THE PAST & GIVES HOPE FOR THE FUTURE In Psalm 145, we read of King David CELEBRATING the “splendour and majesty” of God, and God’s “mighty acts” of redemption (Psalm 145:5). David’s call is a reminder to all God’s people to tell, to speak, to proclaim and, to CELEBRATE who God is and what he has done, from creation itself to his redemptive actions in history. ©ACCESS ministries

CRE What a privilege to be involved in sharing the Good News of God's love with children in our schools! Did you know that there are currently 3200 CRE teachers sharing God's love with around 124,000 students in CRE lessons every week? THAT is worth CELEBRATING! ©ACCESS ministries

CHAPLAINCY We have a long and proud history of Chaplains contributing to school communities in so many ways throughout the years. We currently have 218 Chaplains serving in 274 primary and secondary schools. ©ACCESS ministries

These are all great things worth CELEBRATING. We need people who will PRAY. We need people who will GIVE. And we need people who will GO into our schools, give of themselves, and share the love of Christ through CRE and Chaplaincy. We want to keep CELEBRATING! ©ACCESS ministries