Enjoy

In Australia, there’s a lot to enjoy about trusting and obeying the crucified and resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. Peace, purpose, friendships, encouragement, answers to life’s challenges, inspiring music, food. These are blessings- not only for new Christians, but for all of us, however mature in the faith we may be. Enjoy being a Christian.

Consistent Fellowship 

One of the blessings of being a Christian is not being alone. Genesis 2:18 – “It is not good for the man to be alone.” Romans 12: – “…we are many parts of one body.”

Fellowship means getting together with one of more other people. Life’s a team sport. We don’t have to face life alone. Life is better with good quality friends. Getting together with Christian friends- frequently- is good. Part of having good friendships is consistency- getting in touch often, regularly. That promotes consistent friendship.

With Other Christians

Another of the blessings about being a Christian who is mission minded- who wants to see other people in heaven- is that we have friends that aren’t Christian. It’s good- essential- for an evangelistically-minded Christian to have non-Christian friends. Yet there’s at least one danger. Sometimes these unbelievers can be misunderstood  as a replacement for Christians. The false reasoning goes like this: “I get more encouragement from my non-Christian friends than from the Christians in that church…” Maybe that church needs to lift it’s game in being a welcoming, loving group of Christians…But getting encouragement from friends who don’t love Jesus is not the encouragement that Christians need. Rather, fellowship with other followers of Christ. The Bible says: “… encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25).

As you consider enjoying consistent fellowship with other Christians, some additional Bible passages to meditate on include Romans 10:17; Hebrews 10:24-25; Colossians 3:5-17; 1 Peter 3:8-9; 1 Peter 4:9-10; John 13:33-35.

Steve Bligh.

Wisdom & Doing Good

Pr 3:27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.Wise Christians will be generous to their neighbours and live peaceably with them (vv. 27–30), doing their best to avoid unnecessary disagreements (Rom. 12:18). After all, if we truly love God, we will love our neighbour as we would want him to love us.

On the other hand, if our neighbour is a perverse person who scoffs at our faith (Prov. 3:31–35), the Lord will guide us in letting our light shine and His love show, so that we will be an influence on them . Sometimes it takes a great deal of patience, prayer, and wisdom to rightly relate to people who don’t want Christians in the neighbourhood, but perhaps that’s why God put us there.

It’s possible to have a godly home in the midst of an ungodly neighbourhood, for God “blesses the home of the righteous” (v. 33). We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and one dedicated Christian in a neighbourhood can make a great deal of difference and be a powerful witness for the Lord.

Be good!                                                                                                                                                             Tony G

Pray Often

Our church is committed to seeing men, women and children trust and obey the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. We want them to share eternity in heaven with us. As we pray for the people God has connected us with, here are some further Biblical resources that will help. I’ve gathered these Scriptures without providing the actual Bible passages. That’s for you to do, with your Bibles open, praying what the passages say.

Thankfully: Psalm 100:4; Matthew 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

Humbly: Matthew 6:5-13.

Confessing: 1 John 1:9.

For Others: Colossians 1:9-12.

With Others: Matthew 18:19-20.

Expectantly: Psalm 5:3; John 16:23-24.

Persevering: James 5:16.

Peacefully: Philippians 4:6-7.

Last Sunday, when we gave you the “Come and See” prayer pamphlet (bookmark), I noticed that the “Prayers for God’s Promises” may not have been listed. Here they are again.

Prepare. Pray for God to prepare and soften their hearts.

Send. Pray for God to send believers around them.

Desire. Pray for God to give them a desire to seek Jesus.

Save. Pray that the Holy Spirit will transform and save them.

Protect. Pray that God will protect what He has sown in their hearts.

May our prayers be fruitful. Steve Bligh.

Who is wise? How do you become wise?

In Proverbs, the words wise and wisdom are used at least 125 times, because the aim of the book is to help us acquire and apply God’s wisdom to the decisions and activities of daily life. The book of Proverbs belongs to what scholars call the “wisdom literature” of the Old Testament, which also includes Psalms, Job and Ecclesiastes. The writers of these books wrestled with some of the most difficult questions of life as they sought to understand life’s problems from God’s point of view.

            Biblical wisdom begins with a right relationship with the Lord Jesus. People with wisdom have the skill to face life honestly and courageously, and to manage it successfully so that God’s purposes are fulfilled in their lives. I hope as we study Proverbs together as the family of God, we may be better prepared to face life’s challenges.

Tony.

Mad Fad or Bad?

In Mark 3 the Gospel highlights both the success of Jesus’ ministry and the growing tension that would eventually lead to His crucifixion. The chapter also begins to clarify who Jesus is: not just a healer or teacher, but the Son of God with authority over spiritual and physical realms.

So there is the question whether Jesus is Mad, Fad or Bad?

Who is Jesus really?

Jesus demonstrates His authority over the Sabbath, healing, demons, and even the religious leaders. As Jesus gains followers, He also faces increasing opposition from the Pharisees and religious elites, leading to conspiracy against Him.

Jesus calls His disciples to be His closest companions and representatives in His mission and He redefines the concept of family, emphasizing that spiritual obedience to God transcends biological relationships.

Today I just want to explore who Jesus is?

That is the question most unbelievers are dealing with.

The answer to that question will help us in our mission to our family and friends.

Tony Galea

Introducing The Servant King!

Matthew’s gospel is written for the Jews, so he opened his book with the genealogies to prove that Jesus is the rightful heir of Davids throne. He mainly writes about Jesus’ teachings.

Luke mainly writes for the Greeks; he is a doctor & historian & he wants to write an accurate record of events to show Jesus’ humanity.

John is also written mainly for the Greeks & he writes to prove that Jesus is the Son of God who brings eternal life.

Mark’s gospel is an announcement to everyone! It’s simple & to the point. It has in mind the Romans & those with little religious background. Mark is an action book where he is more interested in what Jesus does.

Jesus is the Servant, but He is a most unusual Servant, because at the same time Jesus is the King of heaven.

Tony G

In John’s gospel, chapter 1, Jesus called Phillip to follow him. Phillip did, then went to find his brother Nathaniel, urging him to come and see the Messiah. John reports it this way, in verses 43 to 46:

” The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.”

This gospel dynamic applies to us, in that Jesus has called us to follow him, and once we are trusting Jesus, we invite another person that we are connected with to “Come and See” Jesus the Lord and Saviour. Why? That your friend may also trust Jesus, knowing that they, like you, have “certainty for eternity”.
With the new year having started, so our church mission gains momentum- that every man, woman and child in our village, valley and region may know Jesus and why it matters.
A great resource we have right now is the “Come and See” foundation of the regional mission- Hope for the Illawarra.
That resource is in the form of the prayer pamphlet. I have plenty, and our church needs more than a handful of members to follow through with this. Rather, the whole church is called to action.
I’m a coffee, surf or phone call away from personally supporting you in this, as is Tony Galea and Josh Wales, both of whom “share my stoke” in this mission.

May your hearts be on fire !!!

STEVE BLIGH