It’s our time for our (pre-summer) clean up!
News
Reformation Sunday!
As a Presbyterian church, and therefore of the Reformed tradition, we’ll be thanking God for the reminder that throughout the history of the church, men of God stood up and spoke up for the Word of God, the truths of the Scriptures, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We invite you to read this excellent article reprinted here from Ligionier Ministries written by Robert Rothwell. (See https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/what-reformation-day-all-about)
What is Reformation Day all about?
“On October 31, much of the culture will be focused on candy and things that go bump in the night. Protestants, however, have something far more significant to celebrate on October 31. It’s Reformation day, which commemorates what was perhaps the greatest move of God’s Spirit since the days of the Apostles. But what is the significance of Reformation Day, and how should we consider the events it commemorates?
At the time, few would have suspected that the sound of a hammer striking the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany, would soon be heard around the world and lead ultimately to the greatest transformation of Western society since the apostles first preached the Gospel throughout the Roman empire. Martin Luther’s nailing of his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door on October 31, 1517, provoked a debate that culminated finally in what we now call the Protestant Reformation.
An heir of Bishop Augustine of Hippo, Martin Luther is one of the most significant figures God has raised up since that time. This law student turned Augustinian monk became the center of a great controversy after his theses were copied and distributed throughout Europe. Initially protesting the pope’s attempt to sell salvation, Luther’s study of Scripture soon led him to oppose the church of Rome on issues including the primacy of the Bible over church tradition and the means by which we are found righteous in the sight of God.
This last issue is probably Luther’s most significant contribution to Christian theology. Though preached clearly in the New Testament and found in the writings of many of the church fathers, the medieval bishops and priests had largely forgotten the truth that our own good works can by no means merit God’s favor. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, and good works result from our faith, they are not added to it as the grounds for our right standing in the Lord’s eyes (Eph. 2:8-10). Justification, God’s declaration that we are not guilty, forgiven of sin, and righteous in His sight comes because through our faith alone the Father imputes, or reckons to our account, the perfect righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).
Martin Luther’s rediscovery of this truth led to a whole host of other church and societal reforms and much of what we take for granted in the West would have likely been impossible had he never graced the scene. Luther’s translation of the Bible into German put the Word of God in the hands of the people, and today Scripture is available in the vernacular language of many countries, enabling lay people to study it with profit. He reformed the Latin mass by putting the liturgy in the common tongue so that non-scholars could hear and understand the preached word of God and worship the Lord with clarity. Luther lifted the unbiblical ban on marriage for the clergy and by his own teaching and example radically transformed the institution itself. He recaptured the biblical view of the priesthood of all believers, showing all people that their work had purpose and dignity because in it they can serve their Creator.
Today, Luther’s legacy lives on in the creeds and confessions of Protestant bodies worldwide. As we consider his importance this Reformation Day, let us equip ourselves to be knowledgeable proclaimers and defenders of biblical truth. May we be eager to preach the gospel of God to the world and thereby spark a new reformation of church and culture.”
Bendigo (East & West) Candidates’ forum
The Victorian State Election to be held in November 2026 is shaping up to be a most interesting contest and one that will define the future of our State for the 4 next years.
There’s a most important event coming up that will be beneficial to all! See details below…
PCV General Assembly
It’s October, and in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, that means it’s time for General Assembly – our statewide gathering of ministers (teaching elders) and elders (ruling elders) from across our 11 presbyteries. Monday October 5th saw the commencement of the 174th General Assembly of the PCV with the installation of Rev John Wilson as the Moderator.
Like to know what was discussed? Easy. Just follow this link.
Report on our 2026 Annual Congregational Meeting…
Our 2026 Annual (General) Congregational Meeting was held after our worship today. There’s nothing unusual to report, just the usual reception and adoption of reports – including the financial statement for the 25/26 financial year and the budget for the 26/27 financial year – with the exception of one thing. Special mention was made of the contribution to the church by our, now retired, honorary Treasurer, Vic Ansell.
The following motion was carried with applause; ‘that the former Treasurer, Vic Ansell (and his very patient wife, Lynn), be thanked for his excellent, reliable, conscientious and faithful service to God and this church over the last 4 years.’ Thank you Vic! ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’
Evening Fellowship and the Luke Drama, this Sunday, July 26th
We’ll be meetuing together this Sunday evening at 5pm in our Hall meeting room (the ‘Upper Room’) for worship and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Philip will be continuing his evening series on the topic of ‘God the Father’, the fifth in this series. All welcome.
After this, we’ll be heading up to La Trobe Uni for the ‘Luke Drama presentation by the Bendigo Christian Union. Come and join us! It’s free!
Presbytery Visitation this Sunday, July 19
One of the joys of being a part of the Presbyterian Church (of Victoria, and Australia) is the levels of oversight we are used to. As a Presbyterian congregation, we are under the oversight of the local elders (Session) as well as the oversight of our Presbytery, a body made up of representative teaching and ruling elders of all the congregations within our region. In our case, the Presbytery of North Western Victoria which stretches from Castlemaine to Mildura. You can read more about Presbyterian Church government here.
This Sunday, July 19, we will welcome members of the Presbytery’s Five-Yearly Visitation Committee, whose task is to (as the name suggests), visit us, ask questions of members, managers, elders and the minister, receive the completed questionairres issued by the Presbytery beforehand, and work all this into a report for the Presbytery regarding the health of the congregation and how the gospel is progressing among us. It’s been some time since the last Presbytery visit, so we are looking forward to this one, after our usual monthly lunch (which has been moved a week earlier to coincide with this!)
Special guests this Sunday…
Come and join us at 10:30am to hear of the progress of the gospel among a needy people.
Footpath construction works ongoing… but all’s okay…
Forest Street has been a busy place in the last few weeks with ongoing foothpath construction works being carried out the the City of Greater Bendigo… and access to our car park has been ‘off limits’ last week. Thankfully, however, all is in order for access again. Come join us as we meet for worship, learning, Sunday School, fellowship and encouragement at 10:30am on Sunday.
A mother’s (costly) decision for her son…
As Mothers’ Day comes around again, it’s good for us to reflect on the story of Hannah, found in 1 Samuel 1:1-28.
Faced with the difficulty of being the second of the two wives of her husband Elkanah (hardly a good situation to be in!) as well as not being able to conceive, this was probably enough for any young woman to either complain bitterly about her circumstances or at least seek the nearest exit from them. But when God granted her prayer and blessed her with a son, Samuel, her life took upon a whole new dimension.
Having desperately prayed for a son, and then being granted that privilege, what would she do with him? And what would she want for him? Maybe lots of options were available to him – including the possibilities of him growing up to be rich or popular, educated or powerful. What would she choose?
The answer is seen in the promise that she made in verse 11, “I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life”, which reaches its fulfillment in verse 28, “Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And that’s what she did. She gave Samuel to the Lord that he might serve Him.
Parents, what do you want for your children? Are you willing to make the hard sacrifices in terms of this world in order to ensure that your children end up serving the Lord? It will cost you. It doesn’t mean that you must send your children away to for rigorous learning and training from infancy like Samuel, but it will mean that your lifestyle will come under scrutiny. Serving the Lord is not just taught, it is also caught.
It will also be costly in terms of time, because if serving the Lord is your aim for your children, then surely prayer must be one of the keys that opens doors in that direction. And because prayer takes time and effort, it will be costly to you. You will have to let go hopes and dreams that junior will turn out to meet your expectations – none of that will matter as much as whether or not your child serves the Lord.
What a blessing to be a mother (or father), but also what a responsibility and a challenge this blessing brings! If you are one of those, may God’s grace equip and enable you to be all that you should be.
