On August 15 after 5pm we’re going to be having dinner together and hearing about Katie Pearson’s time in Egypt, as well as the ministry of Hope Myanmar Partnership. This is particularly an opportunity for people from 10am and 5pm congregations to come along, who haven’t had a chance to hear from Katie about her time in Egypt last year.

Over the next few weeks there is a slight change in the preaching program.  Over the next 2 weeks we’re going to be taking a brief look at the book of Acts to see God’s surprising strategy to get the gospel to the nations. Stay tuned as we think about how God’s bloodstained efforts to take the gospel to the nations affects us as a church and individuals.

People tend to think there are two ways to relate to God - to follow him and do his will or to reject him and do your own thing - but there are also two ways to reject God as Saviour.  One is….by rejecting God’s law and living as you see fit.  The other, however, is by obeying God’s law, by being really righteous and really moral, so as to earn your salvation.  It is not enough to simply think there are two ways to relate to God.  There are three: religion, irreligion, and the gospel. (Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything, Tim Keller)

Tim Keller’s dissection of how we relate to God is helpful.  Most people don’t see themselves as sinners.  Even when you tell them they have been living out of step with God - rejecting God as their King - people find this hard to believe if they have lived a “good” life.  Tim Keller’s addition to the equation enables us to talk to people about how it is possible to be “moral” and still be out of step with God.  In fact, it is even possible that your moral deeds are the way in which you are rejecting God as saviour.

photo credit: shapeshift

Praise God for his amazing mercy and grace. News will come soon about when and how we’re thinking of raising money needed to buy a building.

However, at the same time that the ATO granted this approval, we also found out that one of the main properties we have been hoping to buy (60 Hudson St, Hamilton) has been leased and is now off the market. In once sense, that’s a bit sad, becasue it really did look good. But in another sense, its great because we know the God who’s in control of all things and he obviously has better plans for a HBC building than there

Please keep praying and asking God to generously give us a building from which to reach the lost in our community and our city!

What could be better at the start of the uni semester than soup… A lot of soup. About 100 Litres in fact!! Come to Unichurch and bring your friends for Souper Sunday!

Souper Sunday is happening before Unichurch on Sunday 1st August at 6pm.

Rob & Jen Alley are currently running an AIM Mission Awareness tour. The team flew to Darwin on Friday night and they’re on their way driving back over two weeks. They’ll visit various aboriginal communities and local gospel workers, to encourage them, and hear about the gospel opportunities in central Australia. Please be praying for Rob & Jen as they lead the team, which consists of a bunch of people from different churches and cities, including Kaleb from our PM congregation. These trips have had a significant impact on many people from our church in the past - for some it was a defining time in making decisions about full time vocational ministry, both in Australia and overseas. For others it was a defining time in serving regularly at church. Please pray that God would continue to use these trips for his glory.

“Just thought I’d let you know that I have (finally) written a letter about the Scripture/ethics classes to send to the various people on your list - I have 4 envelopes stamped and sealed and ready to post! I kept feeling a certain reluctance to sit down and actually write the thing, which I’m not sure can be wholly attributed to laziness (though I’m sure it’s a factor!). But once I did, the letter came very easily. I’m sure the devil uses our laziness and apathy. Thanks for providing the guidelines for the letter so it was really very easy once I got around to it… and be encouraged!”

I was enormously encouraged by this and I thought it might encourage those of you who have really wanted to send a letter yet have not written the letters to act!

I pray that you won’t let laziness or apathy get the better of you… why not write your letter now?

Myth 3: Pastoral Care is about ‘meeting people’s needs’.

This is a very popular myth, especially among people who have needs. The idea of having a pastor, who will provide pastoral care, which will meet my needs is very appealing.

This is particularly the case with perceived emotional needs. If I’m feeling hurt or lonely or angry and so on it’s an attractive idea that someone might come and talk with me and make me feel better.

This myth can also be popular among pastors or leaders who like to feel needed. Meeting people’s needs can be a gratifying emotional experience. You can feel special or needed and so on so this myth gains traction among pastors too.

Myth 4: Pastoral Care is different to Bible teaching.

This myth separates the two things. Bible teaching is something we do in the sermon or Bible study. Pastoral care is the talking and relating that happens elsewhere. During pastoral care the Bible goes back on the shelf and we focus on listening, sharing and talking.

This myth is reinforced when we give titles and job descriptions to pastors that make one out to be the teaching pastor and one out to be the pastoral care guy.

Next week, we’ll see what the Bible says about pastoral care and do a bit of mythbusting.

photo credit: Markusram

But the bible says our faith changes how we speak and relate to our world. Christians are ‘God’s elect, strangers in the world’ (1 Peter 1:1). We have been born again into a different living hope, with a different eternal inheritance, knowing God as our heavenly Father. As His children, we will seek to become more like our Father. We will be different to the world around us. We will always be the odd ones out.

In the face of our world’s pressure to be like them, we need to trust our good and sovereign God. He wants the best for us.

This means 1. Be convinced of the truth of what we believe. He tells us what he thinks is best for us. We will listen to our Father’s words to know his will better.

2. Be confident God will work things out for our good. Know the costs of your choices. But don’t let your fear of the consequences cause you to back down.

3. Its inevitable we will suffer in this life. Standing out from the crowd and following Jesus will cost. So don’t grumble.

4. Instead pray to our almighty God for the strength to obey him when it hurts

5. Live out your convictions. Act to please our Father not men.

6. Be prepared to make sacrifices to advance God’s purposes.

7. Be gracious.

8. Boldly speak up about Jesus. Don’t be intimidated into silence. We want people to know life with Jesus.

9. Point to Jesus as the reason for our actions. We want people to see we’re acting as His people and not just as good people. Then they can’t dismiss our choices as personal preference, but instead need to grapple with Jesus.

10. Show what is good about following Jesus. Jesus isn’t a killjoy. Being kind, honest, trustworthy, and compassionate are desirable characteristics.

What else can you see it means to trust God in an indifferent and often hostile world? Or perhaps you’d like to share with us your experience of how God has strengthened you in the face of suffering…

This year has been a massive year for John, Tagi, Rosa and Vils.  In January of this Rosa was diagnosed with Leukaemia and has been receiving treatment in and out of hospital ever since.  God willing Rosa won’t have to receive any more treatment.  Praise God!

It has been a wonderful thing to see the whole church support their brothers and sisters in Christ through this whole ordeal and a great witness of how God’s love for his people shapes their love for one another.  Here is the latest from the family…

Myth 1: Pastoral care is only for people who are struggling.

This myth assumes that ‘pastoral care’ (whatever that might be) is only for those people at church who are struggling with sin, suffering or something else.  Those who are doing OK can probably get by without it.  They’re like healthy people who don’t need a doctor.

Myth 2: Pastoral care is about counseling.

I found this on Wikipedia:  ‘Pastoral care is the ministry of care and counseling provided by pastors, chaplains and other religious leaders to members of their church…’

This is a common myth, and it’s reinforced in our minds by the language of ‘pastoral counseling’ and ‘pastoral ministry’.  It makes out pastoral care to be about doing lots of sitting, listening, problem solving - possibly with some technique or method over a long period of time.

That’s it for now, two more myths next time.  But I ask you to think about what harm can a myth do if it’s not tested by Scripture?

As we met, we spent time praying and looked at Psalm 1 together, and were reminded of the priority of God’s word in our lives as individuals and as a church.

During the meeting we did various things like; looking at how we’re going budget-wise at this point in the year, and helping Greg think about what might be the next possible staff appoints in the future. We also discussed some of the legal implications for the association now we have office space. And finally we admitted nine new members to the church association! Praise God for his good gifts!

Hi all.

Lincoln’s father Edward had a heart attack yesterday and is in intensive care. Doctors said that one of the arteries has blocked and his heart rate has been up and down. His BP is down to 70/40.

Lincoln said he was seeming a bit better this morning, so we are hopeful of a recovery.

Please pray for him and his family!

Edward is an amazing Man of God. The following is an excerpt from the HMP website:

Edward’s Story
Edward grew up in Falam - a small village of about 20 houses in the north west of Myanmar. He is the eldest son of a chief man. He went to school in a larger village, about three days walk from home. As a teenager, Edward came to learn about Jesus through missionaries and became the first of his village to become a Christian. Edward moved to Yangon to study the bible at BDS (now Myanmar Institute of Theology). On completing his Bachelor of Theology, he returned to his home as the first of the Falam tribe to hold a Christian Seminary degree. Edward then worked as a bible instructor and went on to be general secretary of the Zomi Baptist Convention and later, the general secretary of the Falam Baptist Association. In 1978, Edward moved with his wife and children to Yangon.

Edwards love for literature and his desire to make Christ known throughout his country led him to translate many works from English into his native tongue. Edward has translated over 400 hymns. He created the first translation of the New Testament in the Falam Chin language. He has since translated many other books into Falam.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT EDWARD

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Ray Palmer
Hope Myanmar Partnership

If you are passionate about seeing Scripture in schools then come to my place TONIGHT!! 7.30pm let me know if you need my address. We will be hearing some encouraging Scripture stories, praying and being informed on the Ethics versus Scripture debate and praying some more.

I would love to see you there.

Here is a document which will help you write a letter to voice your opinions on the Scripture vs Ethics debate…

Crafting a letter

I have also included in the above document names and addresses of the relevant people involved so you know who to write your letters to!

I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if you do decide to write a letter - it would be enormously encouraging for me to hear.

See you tonight!

The office we’re leasing is at 50 Hudson St Hamilton. Ideally we’d like to buy a church building, but we’re still probably a fair way off that, so this will serve as an important interim.

Since its a “church” office, and the church is really a “community of believers in Christ”, we’re hoping that members of the community will be able to help get it ready for use. There’s really two ways you can help if you’re able:

1. Come and help paint or clean the site.
   Thanks to those who came and helped out on Saturday, we really need about 7-8 people to come for a few hours and help apply the second coat (much easier than the first coat ).
   That’s happening tomorrow (Tuesday 8th June). I know not many people are free, put if you are, we’d love some help!
2. Offer Office furniture/utilities.
   Having never really had “an office” HBC now needs things like little garbage bins, a shredder, office desks, power-boards, extension cables, indoor plants, some stackable chairs, a bar fridge, a coffee machine , garage-style shelves, and that sort of thing. If you think you have something that we might be able to use, please contact Dave Moore with your suggestion.

Of course, a great way to help would be to join us in asking God to allow this office (and any facilities we use now or in the future) to greatly improve our ability as a church community to work together and see thousands of people saved and built-up in Newcastle, through the work of the Holy Spirit.

You can click here to hear about the changes (again!) which the Taylors have gone through and their personal African safari! Click here to hear more about Kingsley Boxes questions about the existence of God. And click here to hear about Lyndal Webb’s adventures on Epi Island running literacy workshops…

There’s going to be a special opportunity to do that on Saturday June 5th at the Grainery Christian Centre! It will be a great night with special guests “Planet of the Stereos” and our own Hugh Jonas will be speaking. Definitely the type of thing to come along and invite friends to.

Doors Open 6:30pm
Entry $10 for singles and $25 for families
for more info check out www.myspace.com/jonokirkmusic

However, we don’t want to commit ourselves down a certain path if God is not providing the necessary resources at this point. Therefore we’re asking people to prayerfully consider how much they’re thinking of donating towards a HBC Building and let us know, via the red boxes or via post.

Download the letter to members with attached form here.

There are two easy ways to register…

Go to www.womenoftruth.info/ and either register online with a credit card or download the brochure and send with a checque or money order to Women Of Truth PO Box 212 Charlestown NSW 2290.

Why not register today? It would be great to see you there…

Unichurch Ministry Expo

Sunday May 23

Starting after the service

But what is ministry?

Ministry is serving one another, following the pattern and command of Jesus. Jesus came “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). After showing his disciples the full extent of his love (John 13:1) by washing their feet, he asked them “Do you understand what I have done for you?… If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you” (John 13:12-15).

This loving service can be expressed in many different ways according to the gifts and opportunities God has given us (see Romans 12:3-13, Ephesians 4:11-16, 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, Galatians 6:9-10). Teaching, encouraging, administration, contributing to others needs, showing hospitality, speaking the truth in love… all of these things should be done, and should be done in love! (1 Corinthians 13)

The Unichurch Ministry Expo will give you an opportunity to find out how you could serve God through serving others. See you there!