There are challenging and difficult times in life – how should we deal with them? Hear Julie’s incredibly inspiring story of adversity and how the challenges in our lives can in fact be soul enriching. A moving and powerful conversation.
Monthly Archives: March 2019
The Government of the Spirit
‘Self Government’ versus ‘Government of the Spirit’
Together on Mission: An Excellent collaboration between a Baptist Church, a Baptist Agency, and a Social Enterprise.
Earlier this week, we had a wonderful time at Collins St Baptist Church with Sherry Maddock (founder of Planted Places) and a group of asylum seekers living in Baptcare housing through the Houses Hope and Sanctuary projects. Excellent collaboration between a Baptist Church, a Baptist Agency, and a Social Enterprise. When there is so much to trouble us, it was a joy to eat and talk with people from all over the world and with different faiths in a spirit of love and gentleness….in a garden!
You can read more about the work of Planted Places below
Source: BUV News
How far will he go?
Searching for something that is lost, the lengths Jesus will go to to find what is lost and what this means for us today.
You are who you eat with – A Lent teaching from Jon Owen
This Lent, Common Grace and Bible Society Australia invite us to rediscover Jesus's profound teachings veiled in everyday stories. As we come together, we're praying for ears to hear these teachings of Jesus afresh, to let them get past our defences and under our skin, as they transform us to make things right in this world.
You are who you eat with.
“I am who I am because of who we all are”. Who do you invite to be part of your world? Who do you let change you?
In today’s video teaching, Jon Owen reflects on the parable of the Great Feast. This story challenges us to consider who we invite to our table: is it the people we know, or is it those on the outer, those we may not feel entirely comfortable in knowing how to love?
Foodie culture seems to be part of mainstream Australia at the moment, with stylized cooking shows on our TV screens. Far more important than the food we put on our table, however, are the people we invite to join us there. Sharing a meal is a powerful way to share life. In order to genuinely share life with people, we need to cultivate an attitude of respect and welcome. Throughout Jesus’ teachings, he repeatedly challenges us to encounter the person on the “outer” with respect and care, valuing them as equals and as people worthy of our service and sacrifice. As we respect and care for those who don’t usually feature in our lives, we learn more of the heart of God and are changed to reflect his image.
Inviting new people to our tables can feel risky. Various messages of judgement against those on the outer may cause us to question whether genuinely displaying this kind of respect and love for them is warranted. The teachings of Jesus, however, invite us to value those on the outer. Jesus encourages us not to fear: in loving others as we have been loved, we experience the abundance of a banquet in the Kingdom of God.
This series has been produced by Common Grace and Bible Society Australia.
You are who you eat with – A Lent teaching from Jon Owen
This Lent, Common Grace and Bible Society Australia invite us to rediscover Jesus's profound teachings veiled in everyday stories. As we come together, we're praying for ears to hear these teachings of Jesus afresh, to let them get past our defences and under our skin, as they transform us to make things right in this world.
You are who you eat with.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GddckFWsC-s]
“I am who I am because of who we all are”. Who do you invite to be part of your world? Who do you let change you?
In today’s video teaching, Jon Owen reflects on the parable of the Great Feast. This story challenges us to consider who we invite to our table: is it the people we know, or is it those on the outer, those we may not feel entirely comfortable in knowing how to love?
Foodie culture seems to be part of mainstream Australia at the moment, with stylized cooking shows on our TV screens. Far more important than the food we put on our table, however, are the people we invite to join us there. Sharing a meal is a powerful way to share life. In order to genuinely share life with people, we need to cultivate an attitude of respect and welcome. Throughout Jesus’ teachings, he repeatedly challenges us to encounter the person on the “outer” with respect and care, valuing them as equals and as people worthy of our service and sacrifice. As we respect and care for those who don’t usually feature in our lives, we learn more of the heart of God and are changed to reflect his image.
Inviting new people to our tables can feel risky. Various messages of judgement against those on the outer may cause us to question whether genuinely displaying this kind of respect and love for them is warranted. The teachings of Jesus, however, invite us to value those on the outer. Jesus encourages us not to fear: in loving others as we have been loved, we experience the abundance of a banquet in the Kingdom of God.
This series has been produced by Common Grace and Bible Society Australia.
Click here to read full article.
Source: BUV News
The attack on the Muslim community was an attack on all of us.
For two years Paw Sanba and I have been taking a group of mainly Karen Baptist youth to a Shi’a mosque in St Albans.
We lead a youth bible study group that meets on Friday nights. Most Friday nights we meet for a shared meal, prayers, read a chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in Karen and then in English, and have a group discussion. Our youth are aged from senior primary school up to TAFE students.
But we are convinced that in our culturally and religiously diverse society we cannot be faithful followers of Jesus without engaging with people of other faiths. So about once a month we join in activities at the Panjtan Society of Victoria. We have joined the birthday celebrations for the Prophet Muhammad (we won the crossword competition), collected food donations for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre during Ramadan, played indoor soccer and table tennis, and learned about the work Australian Baptist World Aid does promoting ethical fashion.
At first we were welcomed as honoured guests. The mosque leader posted a photo of our group on Facebook and to his surprise it went viral in Pakistani Shi’a cyberspace. But as we continued to turn up we stopped being treated as visitors and began to be accepted as part of the community. We have learned that Christians are a part of the Shi’a story and Shi’a theology. Our Shi’a friends come from countries where Shi’a and Christians alike are persecuted minorities. Our Shi’a friends have joined us for our fundraisers and worshipped with us at multicultural services and at Christmastime. They have told us they see us as fellow believers and don’t want us to convert to Islam.
As our Shi’a friends have come to see us as part of their community, we have begun to see ourselves as part of theirs.
When we heard of the terror attack in New Zealand we were heartbroken. It didn’t feel like ‘their’ community was under attack, it felt like the community we are in some way a part of has been attacked.
On the Monday after the attack, Paw and I were invited to a prayer vigil at the mosque. It was a low key affair with prayers, snacks and a speech by a visiting member of parliament. Paw and I – on different sides of the mosque – quietly joined the prayers. Several people thanked me for being there, but I told them I needed to be there too. The attack on the Muslim community was an attack on all of us.
Martin West
Westgate Baptist Community Church
The attack on the Muslim community was an attack on all of us.
For two years Paw Sanba and I have been taking a group of mainly Karen Baptist youth to a Shi’a mosque in St Albans.
We lead a youth bible study group that meets on Friday nights. Most Friday nights we meet for a shared meal, prayers, read a chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in Karen and then in English, and have a group discussion. Our youth are aged from senior primary school up to TAFE students.
But we are convinced that in our culturally and religiously diverse society we cannot be faithful followers of Jesus without engaging with people of other faiths. So about once a month we join in activities at the Panjtan Society of Victoria. We have joined the birthday celebrations for the Prophet Muhammad (we won the crossword competition), collected food donations for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre during Ramadan, played indoor soccer and table tennis, and learned about the work Australian Baptist World Aid does promoting ethical fashion.
At first we were welcomed as honoured guests. The mosque leader posted a photo of our group on Facebook and to his surprise it went viral in Pakistani Shi’a cyberspace. But as we continued to turn up we stopped being treated as visitors and began to be accepted as part of the community. We have learned that Christians are a part of the Shi’a story and Shi’a theology. Our Shi’a friends come from countries where Shi’a and Christians alike are persecuted minorities. Our Shi’a friends have joined us for our fundraisers and worshipped with us at multicultural services and at Christmastime. They have told us they see us as fellow believers and don’t want us to convert to Islam.
As our Shi’a friends have come to see us as part of their community, we have begun to see ourselves as part of theirs.
When we heard of the terror attack in New Zealand we were heartbroken. It didn’t feel like ‘their’ community was under attack, it felt like the community we are in some way a part of has been attacked.
On the Monday after the attack, Paw and I were invited to a prayer vigil at the mosque. It was a low key affair with prayers, snacks and a speech by a visiting member of parliament. Paw and I – on different sides of the mosque – quietly joined the prayers. Several people thanked me for being there, but I told them I needed to be there too. The attack on the Muslim community was an attack on all of us.
Martin West
Westgate Baptist Community Church
Source: BUV News
Ep 125: Where can I find happiness? | Andrew Cameron
The search for happiness can be elusive. Where can it be found? Dr. Andrew Cameron explores how and why we search for happiness and gives some surprising insights on where it can and can’t be found.
7 seconds and beyond
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