Genesis 1-3 contains some of the most powerful and amazing stories of the Old Testament, and possibly even the whole Bible as we see the power of God as he creates the universe!

Right from the very beginning, we see the mind-blowing character of God.

The Genesis creation story is a story that is so familiar to us. We hear over and over again “And God said’ ‘And God said’ ‘And God said’.

However, how often do we stop to reflect on this? To consider the magnitude and awesomeness of God.

God is so powerful that when he spoke, creation happened! When he speaks, light comes where there was only darkness before. When he speaks, creatures start crawling.
This is the power of God’s word.

How amazing to think that God spoke everything into existence out of nothing.

Everything except for humanity.

When God made man there was something very personal and intimate that took place.

From the earth, God created man with His own hands, in His own image.

Nothing else in all of creation carries the privilege of being created in the image of the Creator God.
Creation is a clear and compelling depiction of the undeniable and unconditional love of God. We were intimately made to be the image-bearers of the One True God.

In these first few chapters of the Bible we learn that God is good.
He is thoughtful and caring and kind and generous. He loves his creation – He gives us good gifts. He gives us community. He provides for our needs. He gives us life and blessings. He delights in us. He shows amazing grace and mercy to us.
He has a plan and provides a Saviour in Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God, the only one who perfectly reflects all of God’s attributes and fulfills His will.

As we enter the busy Christmas season let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith.

Sandee Batelic

These verses are a cornerstone of biblical wisdom literature, offering profound guidance on how to navigate life with faith and reliance on God – teaching us to trust in the Lord wholeheartedly and refrain from relying solely on our own human understanding.
To trust in the Lord with all our heart means to place our confidence in His character and promises.
It requires us to believe that God is good, loving, and faithful, even when we don’t fully understand His ways. This kind of trust is rooted in a personal relationship with God, nurtured through prayer, reading Scripture, and experiencing His faithfulness in our lives.
Next, we are instructed to “lean not on your own understanding.”
Human understanding is limited and often flawed. Our perspectives are shaped by our experiences, emotions, and biases, which can lead us astray. This is why the Bible warns us against relying solely on our own reasoning.
Leaning not on our own understanding means acknowledging our limitations and seeking God’s wisdom instead.
The third part of the verse requires us to “in all your ways submit to him.”
Submission to God involves recognising His authority and allowing His will to influence every aspect of our lives. Submitting to God in all our ways means seeking His guidance in both major life decisions and daily choices, knowing that our actions reflect our faith. 
The final part of the verse promises that “he will make your paths straight.”
This is a reassurance that when we trust in God, lean on His understanding, and submit to His will, He will guide us and direct our steps.
This doesn’t mean that life will be free from challenges or that we will never face difficulties. However, it does mean that God will provide us with the direction and strength we need.

As we grow in our trust and reliance on God, allowing Proverbs 3:5-6 to guide our daily lives, we will experience the peace and direction that comes from living in alignment with God’s will.

Sandee Batelic

Prayer is vitally important in the life of a Christian.

When we pray, we are opening our hearts to God and He is able to work in us and through us which helps us to grow in our relationship with God.

And God calls us to pray …‘in every situation’ (Phil 4:6), ‘without ceasing’ (1 Thess 5:17) and without giving up (Luke 18:1). Your heavenly Father wants you to talk to Him – regularly, continually and persistently.

If you have joined us for church over the past couple of weeks you would have heard about prayer buddies!

Prayer buddies is an idea we are trialling this term where, if you would like to participate, you select a random person or family and pray for them over the whole term. You can contact your prayer buddy to let them know you are praying for them and to ask what they might like you to pray for.

How good is this! Each of us praying for 10 weeks for one another as a church family – all generations across all services joyfully praying for each other.
This opportunity presents us with a powerful way of loving one another that is not a lot of work but can yield big rewards. And if this trial is successful and continues, over the course of time we will have prayed for many different people who are part of our church family. So good!

There are so many benefits we can gain from participating in prayer buddies.

Having a prayer buddy encourages you to pray!

It gives you the opportunity to serve and support another member of your church family and also to be supported in prayer yourself.

It is a powerful way to bear one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2-5), to build one another up (1 Thess 5:11) and encourage each other (Heb 10:24-25).

It will help to build relationships.

And it will help us gain confidence in our own prayer life.

If you haven’t already, can I encourage you to join in the prayer buddy ministry this term.

Sandee Batelic

Do you ever feel overlooked, invisible?
I am just one person in a world of eight billion people. There’s nothing special about me to make me stand out. In a large group (or maybe even a small one) you probably wouldn’t even see me.

What role can one single person play in God’s great plan?
Does God truly have a purpose for each one of us?
Can one, small, insignificant person make much of a difference in the kingdom of God?

The Bible says yes, one person can make a difference!

We all know the stories of Moses, Noah, David and Jonah. We know the impact their lives had.
We need to read the story of creation, Noah’s Ark, and Paul’s conversion experience. They contain powerful lessons for strengthening our faith.

But what about the lesser-known people? People like Ehud, Jethro, Rhoda or Dorcas? Or the woman who saved the entire kingdom of Judah when she stole a child and hid him for six years?
There are many people in the Bible who are mentioned only once, some are not even named!
Often overlooked they have valuable lessons to teach us about faith, courage, and God’s power in the lives of ordinary people.
These lesser-known characters are all vitally important. In fact, some of them played a pivotal role in God’s plan.
All of God’s Word is important. If He took the time to write about the seemingly minor characters, there is a reason – they are all a part of the big story of God.
They teach us invaluable lessons like the importance of forgiveness, never giving up, and how one brave person can make a difference in a whole kingdom.
But more than that, these obscure Bible characters show us God sees every little thing we do, and He cares.
In the eyes of the Lord, every one of us has an important job to do.
When you feel overlooked, invisible or unimportant, remember God has a plan for your life and you never know how He might use you!

Sandee Batelic

One great way to ensure that the next generation hears about the GLORIOUS deeds of the LORD, is through SRE (Special Religious Education or “teaching Scripture”).

Every Thursday afternoon during term time, a team of loving and dedicated servants from our church invest in the kids next door at Jamberoo Public School by teaching them about God through SRE. It’s a fantastic opportunity to walk alongside these young ones, pointing them to WHO God is, WHAT he’s done, and WHY that matters for us.

Given that the school is quite small, we teach the students in stage groups

• Kindy is taught by Elise & Paula
• Year 1-2 has been taught by Jodie, and is being taken over by Lesley
• Year 3-4 is taught by Rach
• Year 5-6 is taught by Deb

My role is to coordinate the team, liaise with the school, oversee the admin and to fill in when one of the other teachers can’t make it (which turns out to be pretty often!)

We’d really love for you to pray for us each week as we teach these energetic young ones about God from the Bible. The team has asked if you can please pray:

• That we would have love and compassion for the students
• We would have creativity to convey the love of Christ in language and actions that will touch their hearts and minds. 
• God would help us pitch the lesson at a level the children can understand.
• That the Holy Spirit would go ahead of us each week.
• For the recruitment and training of more SRE teachers from our church to take over some of the classes in 2025

If you’d like to know more about SRE or would like to talk about how you can support us, please get in contact!

Matt Bartlett