What is baptism?

Firstly, baptism expresses the response of a convert (1 Peter 3:21).  When a person get baptised they are making a pledge to God, to trust him and identify with Christ and his people.  It is the external expression of someone’s faith in Christ.

Secondly, baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality that God has already achieved in someone’s life - inward cleansing and remission of sins (Acts 22:16; 1 Cor 6:11; Eph 5:25-27), Spirit-wrought regeneration and new life (Titus 3:5), and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit as God’s seal testifying and guaranteeing that one will be kept safe in Christ forever (1 Cor 12:13; Eph 1:13-14).

Why get baptised?

Well firstly it needs to be said that baptism is not necessary for salvation.

Secondly, we must recognise that baptism is commanded by Jesus and is closely tied with conversion in the book of Acts.  It is an appropriate expression of our faith in Christ.

Thirdly, baptism is often a water-shed moment in the life of a Christian because it gives you the opportunity to outwardly express your faith in Christ and testify to what God has already done in you.

Do we baptise babies or adults?

As a church we do not have a theological preference for either.  However the following paper written by Andrew Heard on Baptism is helpful to weigh the arguments - Baptism paper by Andrew Heard

Want to get baptised?

We are hoping to baptise people at Hunter Bible Church on 10th October at the Newcastle Baths.  If you are a new Christian and would like to find out about getting baptised contact Sam Hilton.

We’d like to think that we serve God only and that he is the one and only God, and that we’d never even dream of praying to another God… but its worth thinking about that again… Do you say things like these?

“Blow out your candles… make a wish!”

“Star light, star bright, first star i see tonight. Wish I may, wish I might, grant the wish I wish tonight”

“If you tell someone your wish, it won’t come true.”

“Write and tell Santa what you want”

See, in all these, we communicate the idea that someone or something OTHER than God can grant our wishes. It suggests that there’s some power in the birthday candle, that there’s some power in the star and in the imaginary red-suited man. Sometimes, even as adults, we close our eyes and say, “I wish, I just wish…”

Why don’t we take these to our true and living God? Maybe we don’t trust him? Maybe we don’t think he’s that interested in our wishes? Maybe we know that the thing we’re wishing for is selfish or sinful?

Maybe the next time you’re tempted to “wish”, you should take a second and tell Jesus what you wish for. He is powerful, and what’s more, he wants what’s good for you… even more than you do!

photo credit: Nationaal Archief

On Sunday, we’ll be having a panel discussion to help us all think Christianly (is that a word?) about our political system and voting.

Here are some sites that we hope are helpful as you prayerfully go to the voting booth. We’re not suggesting that everything below is trustworthy or even correct. But they might help you think through some issues:

• Electorate details from the Australian Electoral Commission - maps, polling places, candidates …
  • Charlton
  • Newcastle
  • Paterson
  • Shortland
• Senate Group Voting Tickets for NSW
  • If you vote ‘above the line’ in the Senate, this document will show you how the party you vote for will distribute preferences on your behalf.
• AEC’s guide to How your votes are counted
  • All the gory details of how the preferential voting system works and the intricate details of how Senate votes are counted.
• ABC’s election analyst Antony Green’s guide to the Federal election
  • Lots of background information for each electorate, including a bit more info on the candidates
• Australian Christian Lobby: “Know what the parties think before you vote” paper
  http://australianchristianlobby.org.au/wp-content/uploads/AVBrochureDownloadable.pdf
• John Dickson (Australian Christian author) article in the SMH
  http://tinyurl.com/JohnDickson-ChristianVote
• “Australian Christian Values” produced a political views checklist
  http://www.christianvalues.org.au/check_list.html
• Tim Keller sermon on Politics and arguments
  http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sites/sermons2.redeemer.com/files/sermons/RPC-Arguing_about_Politics.mp3
• Medicine with Morality - a group that helpfully raises ethical issues about medical policies
  http://www.medicinewithmorality.org.au/

The Gospel of the risen Jesus gives Christians a reason to do something that I think is radically different to our surrounding culture… its “lovely complaining”.

See, I’ve been forgiven by Jesus’ death in my place. He doesn’t hold my sin against me, he doesn’t hold it over my head. And yet, he does want me to repent and change. My sin grieves his Spirit (Eph 4:30), but it doesn’t destroy our relationship. That’s the amazing thing about the gospel!

This amazing way God has treated us should shape the way we treat each other, especially when we’ve been grieved and feel like complaining. So how does the gospel tell us how to approach complaining?

1. Forgive the person or people who’ve angered you. Until you’ve done this, it will be pretty dangerous to think you can deal rationally with someone. In fact, until you’ve done this, you really have an issue with God that needs to be worked out. Col 3:13 says “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
2. Desire the best for the person or people who’ve grieved you. That’s what God’s done for us in the gospel isn’t it? Rom 5:10 says “when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son“. God has decided to to the best for us, his enemies, and he wants us to do the same… Matt 5:44 “But I tell you: Love your enemies“. We need to stop and think, “What would be the best thing for this person who’s hurt me? How could I genuinely help them?”
3. If you’ve put your own grievances aside, and you still think it would be for their good;
   1. Pray for humility and the ability to forgive and think the best of the other’s motives.
   2. Go and inform them what’s happened, and that you’ve forgiven them
   3. Ask them to correct any assumptions or facts you might have wrong
   4. Suggest to them how it might have been corrected

^{Eph 4:15}Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

photo credit: B Rosen

When the God of Israel reveals that he’s about to abandon his faithless people, what does it mean for us? From 22nd August Greg will be speaking from the book of Ezekiel and showing us how confronting it is to be without God, and how amazing it is that God steps into our emptiness today.

I was just reading how Ezra is about to start the return journey to Jerusalem. I got astonished by how zealous is for his God’s reputation…

8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Ezra really, really wants everyone, even the King, to have no doubt that God is faithful. He knows that trusting in things of this world might even show that God isn’t faithful. He takes personal risks for the sake of God’s reputation.

It just makes me consider how zealous I am for my God’s reputation.

photo credit: Darwin Bell

Forgiveness is one of those beautiful and yet complicated aspects of the Christian life… we revel in God’s forgiveness of us, and yet we sometimes struggle to see how we could forgive others if they haven’t repented or even said sorry to us.

I’ve recently read a wonderfully challenging and helpful article on this that I recommend to anyone thinking about forgiveness. A key sentence was,

“[the concept that one must not forgive the sin of another until they repent, is...] an impossibly twisted exercise in Zen godliness that would defeat Yoda himself. It deserves a round of applause given by a single hand.”

Its a long article, but well worth the read.

Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.)