Archive for April, 2010

ANZAC day is the closest thing we have to our own national ‘religion’, I reckon.  Anzac Cove, in Gallipoli, is holy ground for Australians, and many make the pilgrimage for ANZAC Day. I myself would like to make that trip one day.

It is most definitely Australian to participate in one or all of the following:

• Go to a dawn service, and feel a shiver up your spine as the ‘last post’ plays.
• To stop and remember the bravery of those who were involved
• To watch an Anzac march.
• Have a beer for those who lost their lives.
• Play ‘2 up’ down at the local.

We love, as we should, the bravery, sacrifice and the mateship shown by those who fought. And want to honour these things. And for many, these men and women are considered heroes.

Most of us have heard stories, first or second hand, about the horrors of war. I am thankful that I am the first generation, for over a hundred years where civilians have not been asked to go to war.  Take the time to remember those who have gone before us.

Have you ever gone to a dawn service?   If not, can I ask you to consider it for next year.

It is one of the most moving, and powerful things I have ever experienced.

Have a great day…    

Lest we forget.

Jimbo Mobbs,
Assistant  Pastor

Today we begin our teaching series on the Old Testament books of 1 and 2 Samuel.

The opening pages confront us with a woman – Hannah, who is in profound inner turmoil. Moreover, her personal crisis takes place in a time when God’s people are spiritually compromised and without any leadership of integrity – anarchy reigned!

I bet that Hannah wondered if God was powerful enough to change such ingrained problems. Even if she believed God could, I suspect that Hannah doubted whether God cared enough to act.

How about us? When our health suffers, when financial strain overwhelms, when relationships break down, when we make mistakes and live with regret, and suffer personal pain and deep crisis – do we wonder whether God is powerful enough to act? Do we doubt whether God cares enough to do something?

Hannah dared to believe that the God who she knew, from His great saving acts in history, was big enough and cared enough to act now for her!

Hannah’s story dares us to believe too. For God has acted in history – His great care is shown to us in giving us His own Son the Lord Jesus, and His almighty power is displayed in raising this Jesus from the dead! Will we dare to call upon this God in the midst of personal crisis, inner turmoil and the anarchy of life around us?

Scott Goode,
Assistant  Pastor

How do we battle the temptation of our time to see ourselves at the centre of our own universe?

When things go wrong we may get the message that we are not self sufficient.  If we are honest we would admit that much of our attention in life is caught up in the things we have (or don’t have).

The answer lies in having a heart.

He owns it all.  Everything belongs to God.

Every day is an opportunity.  God delays the end of the age, waiting for the full number of children to join His kingdom.

Action is required.  God has given us the responsibility to manage His earth and our personal worlds.

Remember your blessings.  God owes us nothing and we owe Him everything.

Thank Him.  Thanksgiving flows from a heart that understands God’s grace.

Stephen Semenchuk
Senior Pastor

As the world economies seem to recover and the “global crisis” becomes simply a bad memory, we risk losing the valuable lessons. Ultimate security and hope is not found in worldly wealth that is here today and gone tomorrow.  It is found in our God, who is the beginning and the end.

Easter provides hope for all eternity. When Jesus walked out of His tomb He instituted the ultimate recovery. He demonstrated that death is not the end. He showed His power and authority over all things. He opened the way to heaven for all who believe. He has given us something to hope for when we face the darkest days of our lives.

The promise of paradise, where there is no more pain and suffering, is shown as totally reliable. Jesus has shown that He is the one man who can deliver eternally.

• He calls us to trust Him.
• He invites us into His family.
• The inheritance the followers of Jesus have in heaven is now prepared and waiting for us.
• We have recovered our relationship with God through Jesus bearing our punishment and death in His crucifixion.

Now we face an eternity sharing His life.

Stephen Semenchuk
Senior Pastor

Modern society has become very skilled at constructing barriers to shelter from the pain of confronting reality. We develop all kinds of excuses to hide from feeling inadequate;

“I can’t help it.”

“It wasn’t my fault.”

“I didn’t know that would happen.”

We hide the starkness of death with lots of flowers.

Most of us struggle to measure up to the expectations we place on ourselves, let alone those others impose on us. So our defences go up. The tragedy is that the barriers don’t work. We can’t undo the past. We can’t just delete our mistakes. Guilt has the ability to gnaw away at our souls.

The story of Good Friday is the ultimate breaking down of these barriers. The “in our place” death of Jesus, is God’s answer to our human condition. Jesus took the consequences for our rejection of God and His ways. He bore the punishment for our mistakes. The barriers of guilt that stood between us and God are broken.

Our Creator gives us the new start we yearn for. Jesus deals with the reality of our past not by discreetly sweeping it under the carpet, but by a very public death in our place. He died so that we can break through the barrier into eternal life.

Stephen Semenchuk
Senior Pastor