Front Page 11th February 2007

One of the most remarkable things Jesus said is revealed to us in the book of Revelation chapter 3 verse 20 when He said "Here I am I stand at the door and knock' Here was Jesus commenting on, in His view, the worst of all churches, the Church at Laodicea. In one statement, Jesus reveals to us His compassion and His desire to restore to the church the very thing we were created for, relationship with God. Here was a church, so complacent, so comfortable that if they were to take a good look at themselves, it should be them knocking on Jesus' door begging Him for forgiveness. Yet we see the opposite! What a wonderful revelation of His love to us as He seeks to restore that that was lost to this wayward community.
It is interesting that complacency is considered by Jesus to be the one quality in a church that makes it worse than any other. Why? Because it is the comfortable, and a complacent community does not see a need for a saviour.
In the Castlemaine Church of Christ I praise God that I don't see this attitude; on the contrary it is a pleasure to be part of a church community and Leadership that weekly seeks God in prayer (at 6AM every Tuesday morning) seeking His guidance and praising him for His provision.
Jesus gives us all a timely warning though to maintain our hunger for His righteousness and a zeal for a relationship with Him.
The warning serves to remind us that complacency is a 'disease of the affluent' and we need to guard against it at all times.
May our prayer be that we never lose sight of our need for a Saviour or our need for relationship.
God bless
Blair

Front Page4th Feb 2007

Welcome to the first edition of “The Link” for 2007. I suppose in some ways this signifies the end of the holiday season and its now ‘down to business’ for the year.
One thing that does occur today is the commencement of the Children’s Ministry Program and I want to take this opportunity to impress upon you all the importance of this ministry to the church. Children are not just our future, they are our present, an integral part of our church community and the way that we nurture and teach these children will make a difference for the rest of their lives. Right from the ‘Little Lambs’(pre-school) to the primary aged group through to the teenager discussion group, the need to develop within the children a sense of their own faith, developed apart from their parents is vital to their making a decision for Christ and for baptism. God doesn’t have grandchildren; each one needs to develop their own faith and to make their own choices. We can all help them do that by teaching them the truth and revealing to them through our lives the joy it is to follow Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
I want to commend to you all the leaders of these children’s groups, along with our youth leaders, they do a fantastic job, they deserve your support and prayers, its not always easy, but their job is made much easier when responsibility for Christian teaching is accepted by parents and not just left to the teachers and leaders. We all have a roll to play in nurturing and teaching our children, God has given them to us as a precious gift, may I encourage you to nurture and develop that gift for His glory.
God bless
Blair

Front Page Sunday 17th December 2006

When a person plans a trip away from home they have a destination in mind, so they usually sit down and work out the best possible way they are going to get to there. Doing this, in itself will eliminate any stress and fuss (or even argument) on the way. I know when we go to Melbourne, and particularly over to the Eastern suburbs, we need to look at our map and discuss which is the best route. Sometimes it can depend on the time of day; which car we are taking and who is driving. We also look at the map and see which streets aren’t going to be the busiest and plan ahead according to all these things. It is so good when we have made these plans and stick to them, we then experience a good smooth run, getting to our destiny without any dramas.
God has always had a plan for humanity, and we read about it all through the Bible. He has a Salvation Plan and calls all people to believe and accept Him through faith. As we do, we are then called to follow him and His ways. Deviating from this plan can cause us grief at times, but aligning ourselves to his ways, (which are seen in the Bible) allows us to experience contentment and a freedom that can not be found any where else. The security of God’s plan enables us to live productive and fruitful lives in Joy and Harmony with Him and others. As we think about Christmas this year and the reason for the Season (Jesus) allow yourself to realign your ways to His ways and make His plans your plans.

May God Bless -- Julie Davis

Front Page Sunday 10th December 2006

One of my great loves is being a member of the St Kilda Football Club. Year after year I pay my membership and live in hope of maybe this year, maybe this year the ultimate glory, a premiership. For the past 40 years, since 1966 I have been disappointed.
Each year the club comes up with a slogan, a catchy statement to define their year, this year as I received my 2007 membership pack I was so surprised to read this years slogan. “Believe or Burn” it’s a bit like the old fire and brimstone days of preachers scaring their hearers into the kingdom, believe or it’s the fire of hell, ‘believe or burn.
We don’t often talk about heaven and hell today, it’s ‘not nice’ or maybe we will offend someone! When we do that (or don’t do it) we often present a watered down version of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
An eternity outside of the presence of God is a reality for those who have not put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, a fearsome thought.
There is an urgency in telling others about Jesus, the bible tells us we know not the time or place when He will return for His bride, the Church. In the book Philippians we are told that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ as Lord, unfortunately unless we tell them beforehand so many will say that from the other side of the grave.
Then it will be too late.
We all have a role to play in evangelism, what better time to do it than at Christmas time?
God bless
Blair

Front Page Sunday 26th November 2006

One of the great ‘truths’ of the bible is that God loves His creation (us) and its not what we do, but who we are that is important. For those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus as Lord, they are called “Children of God” and “Saints” It when we believe that and realise that this is a truth for us personally that we can then live the victorious Christian life that is set before us.
Jesus said “Know the truth and the truth will set you free’ and we are also told the “If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed” Also the Apostle Paul tells us “We were called to be free”.
We are called to live in the victory and in the freedom that is our inheritance, gained for us on the Cross of Calvary and sealed personally for us by the Holy Spirit.
What a liberating truth to grasp hold of every day of your life? A truth that sets you free to minister and to grow in maturity as His children, fulfilling our purpose to “go and make disciples” telling others of the great liberating freedom and victory that they too can have when they follow Jesus as Saviour and Lord.
Are you living in that freedom today? If you have put your faith in Jesus but are not enjoying the victory, then there can be one of only two reasons. Either you don’t believe the liberating truth, or you believe the lies and the deception of the enemy. You can break free from that bondage today simple by believing the truth of God’s Word and standing against the things, in Jesus name, that can drag you down.
Let me encourage each of you today to “know the truth” and to allow that truth to apply personally to your life. Then you will live a life that is so free, so victorious and so liberating that you will not be able to stop yourself from telling others about it?
God bless
Blair

Front Page Sunday 19th November 2006

It has been wonderful to see Heath Bourdon go overseas to South Africa for a short term mission trip. Speaking to 600 young people would have been extremely exciting for him as he shared about his faith in Jesus Christ. Here in Australia we are privileged to be able to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ from many sources; churches, radio/tv, school programs or through a friend who shares with us.
So what is the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The centrality of the Gospel is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ (God) came into the world to save the world from sin. He was on a mission to bring in the Kingdom of God. The time he lived on earth he taught about the Kingdom of God and the forgiveness of sins. Jesus (God) came to restore our relationship with him which had been lost when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve. Jesus came to die for the sins of the world and rise again, so all who would believe in Him in their hearts and confess with their mouths would be saved!! And ‘saved’ means that a person, through faith, becomes a child of God and has eternal life with God forever. The most amazing thing is that Jesus (God) died on the cross because he loved each of us, no matter what we have done. He reached out in love.
In the world today and in some churches, many people ‘know about God’ but have never really asked Him into their life. To be a Christian and to have eternal life, a person must take these steps of faith in Jesus: – Ask Jesus to come into your life – repent of your sins to Him – believe in your heart (that Jesus is Lord) and confess with your mouth (that God raised him from the dead) ……and you will be saved!! Are you a Christian? Have you taken these steps?


May God bless you fully as you look to Him.
Julie Davis

Front Page Sunday 12th November 2006

It was wonderful to see around 100 attend our ‘Prayer for Rain’ in Victory Park on Sunday.
The different churches which participated, displayed a united front of unity and oneness as they came together believing that God would hear the prayers offered in faith. Different leaders from four churches prayed specifically for a certain area of concern related to the drought crisis - the need for rain; repentance; protection in the spiritual and physical; families that are hurting from the effects of drought, loss of loved ones and homes; wisdom for government and praise to our almighty God. After each speaker’s prayer, the crowd gathered in groups to pray about what was of concern. At the end people were asked to come forward if they had a Scripture they wanted to share or a Word from the Lord or if they would like to pray. A few came forward and shared with the crowd. This was encouraging as well.
We stepped out in obedience to what we believe God was saying to us, so now we trust Him for he is God overall and knows all things. Keep believing for a miracle!


God bless.
Julie Davis