Bendigo Presbyterian will be meeting in person this week, 21 February. Our radio service podcast will also continue on 105.1 Life FM from 9.30am. Please continue to pray for those who are sick, vulnerable and our medical workers and leaders, and the roll out of vaccines, asking that the virus will continue to be contained.
We are constantly bombarded with news, but what our world really needs to hear is truly good news! Mark wrote his gospel to give us the truly good news of Jesus the God-Man king, who came to conquer Satan, Sin and death (Mark 1:1-15). This is amazing news that when understood rightly will turn your life around. Will you believe it?
“You cannot serve God and money.” Jesus illustrates his teaching in Luke 16:10-31 with a story about a rich man and a poor man who live very different lives and come to very different lives after death. The warning is not only for those who are rich, yet poor toward God but also a warning to heed the Scriptures.
In Luke 16, Jesus tells another parable where an unjust steward—or dishonest manager—wasted his master’s possessions. This reminds us of the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) where in the far county he wasted his inheritance in reckless living. Yet here the steward is commended as wise since “the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light”. Our Lord would have us be exceptions to the rule by using our wealth wisely and making friends for ourselves by mean of unrighteous wealth, so that they may receive us into the eternal dwellings. Heaven cannot be bought – but we can invest for eternity.
Is that all there is? For the Christian there is more and a great hope. While we wait, how is our focus? Fixed on the distance or stuck on foreground? In 2 Peter 3:1-13, Peter warns that there will be scoffers, just as always. Are we waiting like Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 13) or like the other ten?
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
— William Shakespeare, Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5)
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.
Out, out, brief candle!
Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.
Relationships. According to the way the world thinks, they’re everything. The best that life can offer. In some ways that is true…but what happens when relationships go sour? In 1 Corinthians 7:6-11, Paul gives some answers towards those questions. Not everyone will end up in a relationship. Not every relationship will stay together. Singleness is a gift of God. Divorce needs to be thought about in the light of the Word of God. If we do not allow God the control of our relationships, then the idol we make them into can surely crumble.
Full service
00:00 Welcome
Song: Behold Our God
00:18 Introduction
00:50 Prayer
06:08 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise)
Song: Be Careful Little Eyes
10:46 Ministry Focus – Reforming Church
14:19 Bible reading: Malachi 2:10-16
Song: My Hope Rests Firm
15:41 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 7:6-11
16:40 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 7:6-11
Song: O Jesus I have Promised
40:21 Closing
In 1 Kings 18:20-40, the rubber really ‘hits the road’. All that Elijah has been through in chapter 17 and all his interactions with King Ahab have been leading up to the showdown that these verses describe – fittingly, upon the top of a mountain (Carmel). Lots of important events happen on mountain tops in the Scriptures and this event is no less important in pointing us to the ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29).
Full service
00:00 Introduction
00:45 Prayer
Song: Behold Our God
05:17 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise; see also Big Picture Bible Crafts #40)
Song: My God is So Big
09:42 Indigenous Ministries
14:49 Bible reading: Matthew 11:1-15
Song: How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds
16:33 Bible reading: 1 Kings 18:20-40
20:28 Sermon: 1 Kings 18:20-40
Song: The Power of the Cross
44:50 Closing
Being incarcerated for preaching the gospel of Jesus would be no fun. Especially not if you were being held there until your imminent execution. While that was the case for the Apostle Peter in Acts 12:1-25, God had other plans and these plans not only brought about peter’s release, they also served to spread the gospel message of Jesus even further than before. The whole incident brought two things together as well – the mystery of the will of God and the prayers of His people – somehow they fit together!
Full service
00:00 Introduction
Song: At the Name of Jesus
00:41 Prayer
Song: Revelation 3:20
06:25 Children’s talk
Song: The Chooky And Her Chickies
09:03 The Persecuted Church
Song: There is a Higher Throne
11:47 Bible reading: Acts 5:12-26
Song: Meekness and Majesty
13:56 Bible reading: Acts 12:1-25
17:40 Sermon: Acts 12:1-25
40:45 Closing
Given that followers of Jesus have become citizens of heaven, Philippians 4:2-3 reminds the church to live God’s way. Unresolved relationship problems in the church ought not to occur but Christians should seek to reconcile and help others do the same in order to shine a light to a world full of conflict.
God spreads a banquet for all peoples yet the self-righteous are unwilling to enter the kingdom. They give weak excuses to justify their unbelief and despised the sinners who came readily. Sinners who know they need a saviour enter the kingdom instead of those who rejected the invitation. Jesus tells a parable in Luke 14:15-24 that shows our need – are we willing to accept the invitation and welcome others into God’s kingdom?