Around this time of year, many of you will be ‘heading home’ over the summer break, or just changing your routine over the summer uni break. I’ve asked our own Matty Varcoe to give you some tips to make sure you don’t waste your summer:

I could write page after page trying to convince you to be praying and reading your Bible more. But I don’t think I need to because I know that you already believe these are good things. I am assuming that you want to read God’s word, pray and grow in your relationship with him. I am also assuming that over the holidays you want to get stuck into doing this with more free time. So as someone who has had this attitude every holiday and has experienced failing many times, can a humbly suggest some practical ways to start. Like with most things, ’starting’ is the hardest part.

1. Set yourself a time each day. A time that you can keep and a time in which you can focus without distractions. For me this is the morning. (It is also a great way to start the day.) But I do know that for some the evening is much better for them. You know how you function and what works best for you.
   Get a friend to keep you accountable everyday with a text message or a phone call and do the same for them.
2. Start by praying for God to help you focus and that His Spirit will be revealing his word to you.
3. Choose a book in the bible to read through a bit each day. (Maybe even just a few verses.) If you are not sure of what to read, one of the Gospels is a good place to start. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” Colossians 3:16.
   You could ask yourself;
   1. What does the passage say about God/Jesus?
   2. What does it say about others/me?
   3. How do I need to change to be more like Jesus in my actions and the way I think about his world?
4. Pray about what you have read. Thank God for his mercy and grace to you. Pray for yourself that your heart and mind would grow in a deeper affection for Christ Jesus. Pray about the things you need to change. Pray for family and friends that God’s Spirit will be working in their lives to regenerate them through the Spirit. “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful”. Colossians 4:2

At first it will take discipline to do this every day and may even be a chore. But over time this will become something you long to do and even something that you get rid of other distractions so that you have more time to spend with your Heavenly Father. I love the way that King David talks about his relationship with God in Psalm 42:1-2.

“As the deer pants for the water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”

David longs for the times when he can be in close communion with God. He needs them like a deer who is panting for water. My prayer is that we to will have this same longing and deep affection for our God and be asking, “when can I go and meet with God?”

A few weeks back, I wrote a letter to all the members of Hunter Bible Church. If for some reason you didn’t get it, you can read it here… (downloadable PDF version here)

A Lifeboat for Drowning Souls…

Dear Friend and member of Hunter Bible Church,

Its great to be back! Emma, James, Sophia and I have spent the last six months in Melbourne. From April to June we were on Long Service Leave. We explored Victoria, from the fairy penguins of Philip Island to the snow on Mount Buller and the laneways of the inner city. What a holiday!

I then spent July to September reading, praying, thinking, meeting with church leaders, visiting churches and doing evangelism. And all the while I’ve been thinking about how to summarise what I’ve learned and been most convicted by.

And I reckon a story by William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army pretty much sums it up…

“On one of my recent journeys, as I gazed from the coach window, I was led to think about the multitudes around me. They were living carelessly in open and shameless rebellion against God, without a thought for their eternal welfare. While my mind was thus engaged, I had a vision…

(more…)

Recently during Kids Club we ran a training evening for parents. It was such a helpful time as we thought about the internet: it’s benefits and dangers. There was only a small turn out on the day but I thought the information was so beneficial that it was important to pass on what we heard…

Can I recommend that you listen to the talk, no matter what age your child is(!!!!). I think it is really easy to listen to and enormously helpful.

The points below are from the handout we were given.

THREE UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES

1. Your kids know more about the Internet and technology than you do.
2. The Internet is morally neutral: it can be used for great good, but also great harm.
3. You have a responsibility to be the parent.

TOP TIPS

1. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
2. Work hard at understanding the online world
3. Protect your computer
4. Computer in public (e.g. lounge room not bedroom)
5. Agree on a rules for Internet use
6. Shoulder Surf - discourage secret keeping
7. Remind to be cautious
8. Learn the features of new devices
9. Talk to teachers and Christian leaders about the latest useful websites for children
10. Model how the internet can be used for good.

My prayer is that you will find this helpful for your family and that it will enable you to responsibly lead and guide them in their use of the internet.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/markedyer/

Come and be part of the team of people who read the Bible in our meetings and/or lead our congregations in Prayer.

Wed Nov 4th : Training in Public Prayer
Wed Nov 11th: Training in Bible Reading
7:30pm Dave and Julie Moore’s place,
48 seventh St, North Lambton, 2299

One of the most important things we do at our Sunday meetings is simply hearing God’s word–the Bible, and responding to him in faith by praying. Because these things are so important, we want to put appropriate effort into doing helpfully and well.

I’m running two training nights on the first two Wednesdays in November. If you’d like to serve your congregation by praying or reading the bible at the meetings, please come along and be part of the team.

Please let me know if you’re coming via the contact us page.

Hunter Men’s Convention was a great day of hearing from God’s Word about God’s world. Ben Pharlet spoke very fankly about sexuality in our culture, sexuality in our churches, and sex in our marriages. Here are two of the talks for you to listen to…

I need to warn you that there are parts of this that get pretty explicit, so this is really MA15+ material.

Talk 1:

(Talk 2 not recorded)

Talk 3:

Hey guys, imagine this… A Christian brother confesses to you that he struggles to keep his eyes away from internet porn. Then he asks you to help keep him accountable… what does that mean? What does that look like? Here are some tips.

Would you like to think how you might begin to serve at HBC?  This Bible study and questionnaire will get you started. Download it here:

beginning-in-ministry-with-hbc.pdf

Our society regularly argues abortion is an issue of freedom. Human beings are free creatures. So women should have the right to control their own life and destiny. Having a baby involves major life changes. A pregnant woman should have the freedom to choose if she wants to experience these. No one else should be able to force her to have an unwanted baby. Women should be free to choose for themselves.

So the Victorian government has recently passed legislation to enforce this freedom. This law compels doctors to give an abortion or send patients to get an abortion, regardless of the doctor’s beliefs or the age of the foetus. The government has softened this law recently. But the right to abortion is seen as more important than a person’s freedom to disagree.

But why is abortion important? Of course, babies impose upon their mothers (and fathers) and affect their lives in big ways. Babies by nature need their parents. But why is a baby’s death (an extreme restriction of his or her freedom) better than the various non-fatal inconveniences to a parent?

Abortion, as an issue, involves limiting someone’s freedom. The argument then revolves around whose freedom is more important. But this a wrong way to view life, let alone abortion.

Life is about the obligation to love others. These aren’t our bodies to do with as we please. God has given us our bodies to use them in service of others. We freely and willingly make sacrifices for the sake of others.

God designed life so we are bound to each other; dependent upon each other for affection, appreciation, support and help in earning our daily bread. We aren’t autonomous islands. We need others for life. We are mutually obliged to love and care for each other, and especially the helpless.

As Christians, we follow Jesus who willingly sacrificed himself for us. He commands us to be like him; to love. We are united in love and therefore in obligation; a continuing obligation to love others as he loves.

We are obliged to love the woman who has had an abortion; to grieve with her and comfort her and point her to God’s forgiveness. We are obliged to love the woman who feels like she has no option but to have an abortion; to support her, provide for her through the pregnancy, find a couple to adopt the child…

We are obliged to love children and babies, including (perhaps especially) unborn babies. This would be good this week to show this love. Pray for our governments as they consider legislation. Or send money to support pregnant women under stress.

YouTube page:  

And it would be good to download this letter and send it off to the Attorney-General asking him to over-rule this Victorian legislation.sample-letter-abortion

From Sunday 26th April 2009 to Sunday 17th May 2009, members of Hunter Bible Church have the opportunity to affirm the appointment of elders and advisors by filling in the form available at the Sunday meetings. The following document will help to explain what is happening, as well as give you a bit more information on each of the nominees.

Elder and Advisor Nomination Package 2009 (4.1MB)

The Minisitry Team (who recruits and places church members into areas of service at church) has produced the very first version of the Ministry Directory. In this directory you’ll see all the various ways of serving that are being done at HBC and hopfully even some that you’d like to jump into.

Check it out here… ministry-directory-v10