Encounter Christian Fellowship

10/12/2024

Encounter Christian Fellowship has now returned to it’s Saturday evening time slot

We meet each Saturday at 5-30pm in the Encounter Hall, 13 Leworthy Street in Victor Harbor.

You are most welcome to come along and share your journey of faith with us.

For further information contact Mark on 0437 894 456

26/06/2024

This Saturday night we continue out series on the Parables of Jesus. Hopefully we'll see you at the ECF Hall this Saturday 5:30pm....Blessings.....Phil

12/06/2024

Good Morning,
On Saturday night we started part 2 of our "Kingdom Living" series looking at the Parables of Jesus. One of the first major parables that Jesus taught was the Sower and the seed. Most scholars believe that it was delivered in a group of four (The Sower, The Weeds, the mustard seed and the yeast) and possible delivered at a place called the bay of Parables, which you can visit when you go to the Sea of Galilee. This week we visit the remainder of these parables, which are all found in Matt 13.

There are a number of important notices for this week that have been organised by the Christian churches of the South Coast. The first one is the movie, "Unsung Hero" to be held at Victa Cinema on Thursday night 7pm. It is not only a great movie but it will also be a fundraiser for our South Coast Chaplains. Tickets will be sold at the door so get in early. The second event is the Colin Buchanan concert to be held at Investigator College at 2:30pm. Tickets are also available at the door, but can also be purchased online. Colin is a great children's entertainer and always presents the gospel message during his concert.

Hoping to see as many as possible on Thursday night, otherwise we will see you Saturday night at 5:30pm. God Bless,

Phil

05/06/2024

Good Morning,
On Saturday night we concluded part 1 of our Kingdom Living series and looked at the two choices that Jesus gives us - The Wide and Narrow road - See Matt 7:13.
This week we start on the Parables - Why - Because Jesus started most of his Parables by saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is Like..."....so it is going to help us understand more about Kingdom Living.

A big thanks to Ian who has been recording and cataloging all these messages, which are available on our ECF Youtube channel. I've attached last weeks message at the bottom of this email but you will find all the others there as well. Thanks Ian.

Please continue to pray for Monica and Andy. At the moment Andy said that they are being well looked after with meals etc. but they would really value your continued prayers.

In my daily readings this week one verse keeps jumping out at me which I'd like to share with you. It's the story of Joshua readying the people of Israel to go into the promised land but first they had to cross the Jordan river which was in flood. So how do you cross a flooded river? How do you overcome impossible obstacles? With the God of Joshua. The story is found in the first four chapters of Joshua. And the veres is Joshua 1:9
"Have I not commanded you? be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
God Bless and have a good week. See you 5:30pm on Saturday night as we share a parable and cup of soup together.

Phil

This week is the final sermon in our Kingdom Living series drawing from the Sermon on the Mount and it called "Do Not Judge". Next week Pastor Phil starts d...

14/05/2024

This Saturday night we continue our Kingdom Living series, as we look at Jesus teaching on anxiety and worry. The readings are Matt 6:19-34. Looking forward to seeing you all Sat night 5:30pm.......Blessings....Phil

01/05/2024

Good Morning,
On Saturday night we finished the first part of Jesus sermon on the Mount (The Beatitudes) and so now we begin the journey through the remaining chapters of Matthew (5,6 and 7). In the last few weeks we have looked at attitudes and characteristics of a Kingdom Lifestyle, now we are looking at Jesus re-interpretation of the OT Laws. One of my favourite passages in this series is found in Matt 5:17 when Jesus says "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets: I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfil them". Too many people think that when you become a christian they have to live a stuffy, narrow, legalistic lifestyle like the Pharisees, but that is so wrong. God's plan for this world was fulfilled through Jesus and when we trust him we take on that "Kingdom" lifestyle where we become salt and light to a broken world. So this week at ECF we are looking at Salt and Light.

02/04/2024

Good Morning,
I trust you all had a lovely Easter Break. We certainly had some lovely weather to go with it and owing to an early Easter, was still in Daylight saving time. Our combined Easter sunrise service saw a great gathering of people from across our region, to celebrate the Resurrection. Once again the Salvos put on a great breakfast for all of us. This was followed by our combined Easter service with Fleurieu Family Church. It was great to see so many people there and a big thankyou to all who helped bring this Service together.

This Saturday night there will be no Service at ECF, as we will be supporting the SC Chaplaincy Commissioning Service at Goolwa Uniting Church. The service starts at 6:30pm and there will be a supper after the Service. If you need a ride to Goolwa on Saturday night please let me know and I will arrange for someone to pick you up. Blessings......Phil

26/03/2024

Good morning,
Thankyou to all of you who came Saturday night to hear the Pearce Family from Hindmarsh Island. Andrew, Sally and Josh lead us in worship and then Andrew shared some songs with us written during and after Covid. Andrew shared a little bit of the journey he went through during Covid, battling Mental Health and it was during this time that God opened a creative door in his life that enabled him to express his thoughts through songs. I hope you also enjoyed the night and I'm looking forward to when the Pearce family can come back later in the year and share with us again.

This weekend is Easter so there are a number of important announcements. Firstly there is a combined Easter Sunrise Service at Kent Reserve, this Sunday at 6:30am followed by a BBQ breakfast put on by the Salvos. So if you're coming bring Money for a coffee (breakfast is by donation) and either a blanket or chair to sit on. Then at 10am at ECF there is our combined Easter Sunday service where we would love to see you. This will be followed with coffee and Hot Cross Buns. There will be no Service at ECF on Saturday night.

As we come into the Easter period it is a special time for the church as we come together to remember what Jesus did on the Cross and then on Sunday celebrate the resurrection. We have so much to be thankful for. During this time please remember those who are not well, as well as those who are travelling on our busy roads and to pray for family and loved ones who don't know Jesus, that God will touch their hearts this Easter. God Bless.

Phil
"Then the Angel said to the women - Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, HE HAS RISEN, just as he said..."
Matt 28:5

19/03/2024

Good Morning,
On Saturday night we looked at the 5th Beattitude "Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown Mercy" (The Helpers). To understand Mercy we looked at a number of stories from the Old Testament and the New Testament, in particular the story of David and Mephobosheth. If you were unable to be there Saturday night or just want to watch it again (with all of Ian's special features - thanks Ian) the link is at the bottom of this email.

This Saturday night I have invited the Pearce family to lead us in worship. Andrew will also be singing some of the songs he has written as well as sharing about his recent book about his recovery/journey through PTSD. Looking forward to seeing you all then. Also please mark in your diary's, our monthly prayer meeting at 7pm next Tuesday and a reminder that our Easter Service this year is 10am Sunday 31st March, where we will be sharing the Service with Fleurieu Family Church. Blessings

Phil

This sermon continues our Kingdom Living series, and our study of the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the Merciful, for they will be shown mercy", referred to as "t...

27/02/2024

Good Morning,
On Saturday night, we looked at the first three Character traits/Attitudes of the Beattitudes. I chose to use David Jeremiah's summary as all the attitudes started with a "H" (which helps us to remember them) and a special thankyou to Ian who recently took over from Neil, video taping the message. He is now adding my quotes and putting the bible verses up on screen as well as summarising the message. I've really enjoyed those enhancements and hopefully more people will be encouraged to watch this very important series. So thanks Ian. The sermon link is attached at the bottom of this email, so check it out and see what you think.

As I said last week Sharon and I will be away next week (SCAC Conference in Perth) so I've arranged for you to watch a David Guzik video which is his introduction to the Sermon on the Mount. and we will continue my Kingdom Living series on the 9th March.

Thankyou to all who came to our Prayer meeting last night. When I arrived home last night i had a text message from a special friend who lives on the outskirts of Ballarat, seeking prayer on whether they should leave or stay due to the extreme conditions today - Sharon and I prayed for God's protection over them and their neighbours and I ask you to continue to pray that the bushfires will not get out of control today in Victoria - Thankyou Jesus.

God Bless..........Phil

In the third instalment of Kingdom Living Pastor Phil Mann delves into the Beatitudes, a set of character traits which, in the words of Pastor Chuck Swindoll...

13/02/2024

Good Morning,
Last Saturday night Sharon and I shared in a wonderful 70th birthday celebration for my Brother in Law, so a big thankyou to Sue for kicking off our new series on Kingdom Living. Sue gave an excellent overview of the Parables, then using some great illustrations, explained the meaning of two of Jesus' Parables; the parable of the Mustard seed and the parable of the Yeast. She also included a "modern" parable, a great story about "a hole in the fence". Thanks Sue. I've attached the video link for those who were unable to be there.

This Saturday night we continue our Kingdom living series, so looking forward to seeing you all this Saturday night. Also please be in prayer for all the Ministers this week, as we have our first catchup for the year, this Thursday at ECF. Blessings

Phil

13/02/2024

https://youtu.be/TcURd_WFEQM

This is the first part of Encounter of Christian Fellowship's new series - Kingdom Living. It all starts with a look at two parables found in Matthew 13: 31-...