This Good Friday we are having a big combined event for all of our congregations at 10am at Lambton High School.  There will be loads of people, a great kids program, hot cross buns for morning tea and a social picnic event afterwards with some sporting contest (TBC) and an easter egg hunt for the kids.

Why do such a thing on Good Friday?

Well it’s not just about tradition!!!  We see Easter as an opportunity to reach our community with the gospel. Easter is already on everyone’s agenda.  What an opportunity to invite friends along to church so that they might hear the brutal truth that the bunny won’t tell them.

it’s hard to keep track of all the MTS workers that leave us here at Newcastle and head to Newcastle.  Here is some news on what Tim Cocks is now doing….

p.s. nice gown TIm

vimeo page:  

A.Graham, UArtic Photo Pool, 2006

My wife was raised a Roman Catholic before she became a Christian. We’d go to the local Roman Catholic church with her mother sometimes. It struck me that it was a lot like a drive-through.

People lined up waiting to get their spiritual food handed over by the priest. They each spiritually paid for what they wanted in the coin of devotion (and money). In exchange, they each experienced God. Then they left as soon as church finished without really engaging with anyone else. It was quick and smooth and individualistic and impersonal and selfish.

God paints church as being more like a family feast of fellowship. Paul says I thank my God every time I remember you… 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:3-5)

Partnership or fellowship is God’s gift to us. He is working to gather us to himself by His gospel of Jesus, transforming us to be like His Son and strengthening us to persevere to the end. He binds us together, uniting us with each other and Him as His family. He gives us the privilege of being partners with Him in His work.

Church then, is not a passive spectator sport. Its not about me selfishly getting what I need when I want from God. Its not me casually turning up whenever I feel like it to do whatever I feel like.

Church is a committed fellowship between people who have tasted God’s goodness in the gospel. Its us being committed to sacrificially loving and serving and engaging with one another. Its us being committed to advancing God’s purposes together, working together as one for His glory and praise.

Practically, this means we will pray regularly for each other as individuals and and as a church. We will turn up to church. We’ll come looking to serve God. We will look around for opportunities; what needs doing, who could I talk to, who is new or by themselves. We will take the initiative to make this happen. Most of all, we will seek to encourage and be encouraged by others as we talk of Jesus to persevere and be the people God takes pleasure in.

We are going to spend a weekend exploring this amazing gift of fellowship; what it means to enjoy fellowship with the Triune God and fellowship with each other. So what do you think fellowship is? Is it about completing a mission, a task, a work together? Or is it about being friends and sharing each other lives?

It’s happening again!

HBC is ‘going bush’ again! Rob and Jen Alley, of Australian Indigenous Ministries (AIM), are running another HBC Mission Awareness Tour.

After bumper tours in 2006 and 2007, this years’ cruise around outback Oz is sure to be very popular. About 20 people will have the opportunity to head ‘out bush’ in a bus to visit different missionaries teaching the good news of Jesus in Aboriginal Communities in Australia. Rob and Jen are busy putting together an itinerary of destinations that could include anywhere between South Australia, the NT or outback Queensland.

Save the date/(plan for annual leave!): Friday 23rd September to Saturday October 8th 2011

Feeling keen? More details coming soon. Watch for info at church and right here!

Questions: If you have questions feel free to email Kelly at kelly@hunterbiblechurch.org

Meet Pray Love - It’s a prayer night.

Meet: We’ll be relaxing together while sharing some sweet and savoury delights. We will also be learning more about why we pray to God for cross-cultural mission to our world of 6.91 billion people!

Pray: In His mercy, God has been using HBC to spread the good news of Jesus to many people of different nationalities and tongues. We’ll be praying that God continues to bring people to Jesus through us.

Love: We will take the opportunity to love-on our missionaries who are serving overseas and cross-culturally in Australia! Perhaps we could write some messages/letters/postcards? Any ideas? Let me know what we could do!

Where: HBC Church Office, 50 Hudson St HAMILTON

When: 27th April 2011, 7:30pm-9:00pm (put it in your diary!)

Who: Come one, come all - you are very welcome!

Photographs used with permission from C Jill Reed and shimelle. See: http://search.creativecommons.org/?q=cupcake# and http://search.creativecommons.org/?q=pray#

Spur 2011 is a conference that seeks to raise up the next generation of gospel workers.

It’s for anyone thinking through how they might use their lives to glorify God, and particular those for whom full/part time gospel ministry is an option.

You’ll come away challenged and more clear headed about what you should do with your life.

Details are:  May 20-21 at the Kings School in Parramatta.  I’ll arrange hopefully some free/almost free accommodation nearby.  38 people including staff went away last year, I’d love for a big group of 50 HBC guys and girls to disrupt the city folk.

Check out link, download the brochure, register yourself and let me know you’re coming (richard@hunterbiblechurch.org).

http://www.mts.com.au/

To become a mentor for a local teenager come the the RUSH Training Day.

Date: Saturday 2nd April

Time: 3pm - 9pm (Dinner included)

Place: 28 Fraser Pde Charlestown (C3 Vicotry Church)

Cost: Free

RSVP: pipbudden@hunterbiblechurch.org

For more information on mentoring with the RUSH program please refer to previous blog

In light of recent events in Japan I wrote to Dene and Rachel Hughes (currently at St Andrews Hall with CMS in preparation for missionary work in Japan) to ask them how they were feeling about their future work in Japan and the prospect of living in Japan in a years time. Here is how he responded…

Hi Sam,

Finally found a good coffee here! Well, one I enjoy. So much is said about Melbourne coffee you’d think you’d be tripping over good places, but not true!

Thanks for your questions about japan. I’m certainly feeling more “sobered up” about going there. Rachel says she’s even more keen to get there and share real hope with people. My thinking has been that since 30000 suicide every year in japan, this last week’s visible tragedy highlights a hidden and ongoing one. While as a language/culture learner and student worker I have little to offer in terms of aiding the present crisis, it’s clear to me that only the gospel can answer the suicide issue in the long term.

We haven’t heard of anyone we’re directly connected with being hurt or missing, but plenty are feeling the knock-on effects and worry for their country. Our Japanese church here has lots of very sad people- pray that we’ll know how to be sensitive and supportive. The pastor in particular has not heard from 3 churches that belong to his mission group. He says “please go to Japan and be missionary”, and explained that in times of crisis many nations have reached a point where they are ready for the gospel. He prays this might be true of Japan in the near future. We’ve felt really encouraged by him to go.

Pray for our families as they process what it means for us to go to what they now see as a dangerous place.

Pls pray that the church in Japan will be active and known for love and generosity instead of being hidden/insular.

Pray for placement and visa conversations with CMS.

So, we’re still keen, Japan is still needy, and God is still terrifying and lovely. All good!

-dene

1 John 1:3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.

We share an amazing gift and privilege because of Jesus. God gives us fellowship with Himself. He proclaims a simple promise of life to us in the apostolic gospel of Jesus. We simply have to believe this promise and God embraces us to his heart.

This life is more than simply enjoying life forever. Its a life marked by fellowship; fellowship with other Christians and fellowship with the Father and the Son. We enjoy intimacy with the triune God. We taste the fellowship the Father and the Son have experienced with each other for all eternity..

We are not held at a distance by God. We don’t have to work our way up the ladder doing good works, so we can meet God as our boss. We don’t have to follow a series of steps or formulas or rituals.

We are given intimacy up close and personal with God as our Father and Jesus as our brother for the rest of eternity. This is something to truly thank and praise God for. This might be a good opportunity to do so.

YouTube page:  Enjoying fellowship with God

We are going to spend a weekend exploring this amazing gift of fellowship; what it means to enjoy fellowship with the Triune God and fellowship with each other. To get you started, how do you experience fellowship with God? What does it look like? How does it affect your life?

Have you checked out our “who we support” page lately? It’s been updated… Why don’t you take a look here and check out who we support as a church…