Well, it looks like everyone will be zooming to church for another two Sundays (6th Sept and 12th Sept), and we will wait to see what the public health orders are after midnight on the 17th September. It is good then to remember the final words of Ephesians, that we are ‘to be strong in the Lord…in the strength of God’s power (3:20)’ and – most importantly – that we do this as a community of faith. We strengthen each Read more
Dear Friends, I love being Australian. I never really thought about my nationality much until I was 15 and I moved to the United States for a year. Being Australian became my entire identity; my funny accent, my strange lexicon, the way I said Narrr instead of No, all these things were unique to me. All of a sudden I found myself being the sole representative of what it meant to be Australian. There is probably still a portion of Read more
“It takes a village to raise a child,” the expression goes. The equivalent expression, in our situations, could be, “It takes a church to get through a lockdown.” One of the life-savers in the last lockdown was being able to meet – online – with small groups from church, but not everyone had that opportunity, so starting tonight, from 5:30 to 6:30pm, (and happening each Wednesday night during lockdown) everyone is invited to a community-wide ‘Community Hour’. Canberra Baptist Church Read more
Well, I was about to press ‘send’ on Sunday to Sunday when the texts started coming in about the ACT going into lockdown. From 5pm today we will be in lockdown for seven days which means that next Sunday’s service, Sunday 15th August, will be entirely on Zoom (apart from a small team in the church). You will be able to access that from the usual link in the bulletin. Sadly, this means no Family Church this Sunday or walk Read more
Dear Friends, As we continue to reflect on the words of Ephesians 2, from last Sunday, on our God, “who is rich in mercy,” and who, “out of the great love with which he loved us… [has] made us alive together with Christ,” and brought us together to be, “a dwelling place for God”; we will be saddened to hear the news that a very loved member of our church, May Clark passed away on Sunday night, 1st August, with Read more
Last Sunday we sang a very simple – but very lovely – hymn which perfectly summed up the words of Ephesians 1:2-14. The great love of God is revealed in the Son, who came to this earth to redeem everyone. That love, like a stream flowing clear to the sea, makes clean every heart that from sin would be free. It binds the whole world, every barrier it breaks, the hills it lays low, and the mountains it shakes. It’s Read more
Dear Friends, Last Sunday we talked about smart sheep – the sheep who follow the shepherd because they know his voice, who spend time in silence (i.e. with the shepherd), who go on adventures with the shepherd – and over in the hall Family Church was also learning about smart sheep – and here is a picture of one! It’s a sheep wearing a mask! We are very mindful of what is happening around us, in Sydney, in Melbourne, in Read more
When I was little I had a children’s Bible full of graphic images and one of the most graphic – and horrific – was of last Sunday’s story from Mark, the beheading of John the Baptist. My brother and I used to dare each other to open to that page and look at it (as well as the picture of all the people drowning in the rising flood waters with Noah’s ark in the background.) It was grisly stuff! It Read more
Last Sunday we celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first group of Jesus’ followers and friends; as a comforter, as a uniter and to inspire their (and our) continuing mission. We concluded the service by ‘mapping’ the distinctive ways each of us enable others to find their own distinctive ways of following Jesus, and so it was wonderful, at prayers on Monday morning, to hear this from 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, from the Amplified Version: Now there are Read more
“When the day of Pentecost had come…” This Sunday, 23rd May, is the day of Pentecost and like that early group of Jesus’ friends, we too, are invited to be, “all together in one place”. From 8am to 9:50am (when we’ll make our way into church) you are invited to gather in the Lounge for prayer, Bible reading and some meditative music. You’re welcome to arrive when you can and duck out when you need to (i.e. if you’re singing Read more