Please join us as we pray that the intent of the Victorian Labour Government to legalize euthanasia in this state will be thwarted. By all accounts, the matter will be brought before State Parliament in August.

Apart from prayer, one thing you can do is sign a petition from Australian Christian Lobby calling for a plebsicite on this issue. You can find the petition here.

The Presbyterian Church of Victoria has expressed its opposition for the following reasons:

• Accepting euthanasia – by definition – suggests that some lives are worth less than others (at the moment it is the sick and aged in view, but it wouldn’t be too difficult to imagine it could be expanded to include the handicapped, even the depressed at a later stage).

• The State cannot guarantee that these laws will not lead to some cases of involuntary euthanasia (i.e there remains the inherent danger of the possibility of involuntary euthanasia).

• There is no way of properly regulating euthanasia (Holland is a great example of where this leads) and will undoubtedly lead to vulnerable people being placed under great pressure to acquiesce, and we have no doubt it would eventually become a means of aged health-care cost controlling decisions.

The matter is of course an emotive and complex one, but rather going down this dangerous path, we consider that a better solution can be found in the improved use of and the greater funding for palliative care.

Life FM is organising two screenings of the movie, ‘The Case for Christ’ at the Bendigo Cinemas in Queen Street on Sunday 18 June at 2pm and Wednesday 21 June at 7pm.

The movie is based on Lee Strobel’s best-selling book of the same name, telling the story of how an award-winning journalist and investigative reporter set out to debunk the claims of Christianity with unexpected results!

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online here or the Life Essentials Op Shop (near the Bendigo Town Hall). All proceeds raised will support Life FM.

In addition to our regular morning service at 10:30am on a Sunday, we are pleased to announce another opportunity for Christian fellowship and learning about God’s Word, as well as sharing together in one other form of the ‘means of grace’, the Lord’s Supper.

This will take place in the form of an informal brief service beginning at 6pm on June 4th (after a shared meal at 5pm) in the Upper Room. We will sing, pray, read God’s Word  and hear it preached, concluding with the Lord’s Supper together. Mark it down in your diary! Other dates for ‘Sunday Evening Fellowship’ will follow during the year!

Sunday April 30th will be a special ‘CU’ (Christian Union) Sunday at St John’s, where we hear of the ministry of the Bendigo Christian Union at La Trobe University, Flora Hill through one of our local AFES  Staff Workers, Steve Blyth.

Steve will be preaching on Matthew 11:1-15 and sharing about the shape and importance of the gospel ministry that takes place on campus.  All welcome. Morning tea follows!

Join us as we gather to remember our Lord Jesus Christ in his death and burial. Good Friday, April 14th @9:30am. Hot cross buns to follow for morning tea!

It’s a challenging fact but sadly so true. All over the world believers in Jesus are being persecuted for their faith. While we make prayer for these believers a regular part of our worship, there is also more than we can do. One of these ways is to join the Bible League’s ‘Bibles for the Persecuted’ program which encourages prayer and collecting needed funds to enable these brothers and sisters of ours to have and hold the life-giving Word of God. You can check out the program here.

Internationally renowned Paraguayan folk harpist, Eduard Klassen will be making his second visit to St John’s on March 19th at 7pm. The concert is free although there will be an offering for the work of Reach Beyond. Supper follows in the hall.

For more information about Eduard click here.

… is on Saturday March 4th from 10am in the Upper Room.

All are welcome! Come when you can, leave when you must.

Join us as we meet to bring all of our needs to the One whose hand moves the world!

Yes, we’ll be at the ‘Scots Day Out’ again this year. This celebration will be held in Rosalind Park, Bendigo on February 11th. So look out for our tent and and come and say hello!

And if you are wondering how it is that we are a part of ‘Scots Day Out’,  well… our denomination has some very strong links back to Scotland … but that doesn’t mean you have to be Scottish to come to our church! (PS The tartan pictured above is Bendigo’s own)