What kind of Church has God called us to be? The final words of Jesus (Acts 1:6-11) give us a great record of His vision for us. Is that what we are strivng to be as we enter 2021 and beyond?
Hot summer days spent with family and friends is a fond memory for most of us living in Regional Victoria. January 2021 stands to be a “Summer Like No Other” here at BBC so make sure you check into our weekend services to catch up with friends, experience some refreshing moments of worship and enjoy some quality teaching from a range of gifted men and women.
The Christmas story is much more than a sentimental myth or a quiet manger scene that we use to decorate our living rooms. It’s the good news of God entering into our darkness as the Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace and the great I AM.
Join with us online or in person this December as we celebrate the Christmas Story in a special way.
Throughout the Bible, God inspires us to follow Him through the stories of some unlikely individuals; ordinary men and women used in extraordinary ways to accomplish His divine purposes in this world. These inspirational stories leap out of the scriptures reminding us that the “mission of God” is not just given to one or two gifted individuals but rather, it’s the responsibility and calling of us all – even those of us that might seem to be the most unlikely.
Living in our digital age there are all sorts of voices and messages that fill our minds, sometimes complicating and confusing simple belief in who Jesus is and the hope we have in Him. In what was most likely his final letter, Peter gives us CLARITY about the truth of the gospel, helps us recognise what’s not true and renews our hope in the imminent return of Christ.
As we read the New Testament, the normal Christian life is characterised by God’s Holy Spirit at work in us, enabling us to be un-naturally like Jesus. In the final part of the book of Galatians, we see very clearly what the Spirit’s work in God’s people looks like - and what it doesn’t look like. As we look at what it means for us to walk by the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, live by the Spirit, show the fruit of God’s Spirit, we have the opportunity to co-operate with God and cultivate the Spirit’s work in our lives.
The spiritual battle is real, and we are involved in it whether we like it or not. It’s time to STAND up against our adversary and defend ourselves from his schemes and attacks.
Even in the most pagan corner of the world, God is ruling all things to the benefit of his people and to the glory of his name. Even when his own people, like Esther and Mordecai, make decisions that come from ambiguous motives at best, God is still providentially working through those very things to fulfil his will.
God loves to take ordinary people and give them extraordinary boldness to accomplish His divine purposes in this world. If there was ever a time for bold obedience, convictions and bold prayers, it is right now. May the ancient stories of the heroes of our faith inspire us to keep living boldly for Jesus today.
Our world may look different to what it looked like at the start of 2020, with our lives feeling like they are changing everyday, but the message of the cross is unchanging, timeless and ageless - the message of Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus and marks the beginning of a new covenant between God and man.