Ever wish you understood more of the bible’s history, storyline, or deeper theological framework? Well, perhaps you can take this next season of lock-down to focus on studying God’s word by enrolling in Moore College’s PTC program.

This program is delivered online as introductory theological units that teach core theology without the jargon, academia, or language work. You can now sign up for $25 per unit rather than $45. Each unit comes with digital notes to read and an exam to complete at the end! Maybe join with someone in the church and do a unit together!

https://moore.edu.au/courses/preliminary-theological-certificate/

From the SG Churches Blog:

The Bible is sufficient for all of life, at all times, even in the midst of a global pandemic. God is good to tell us what to do in tribulation, like the COVID-19 pandemic we are all walking through together. God tells us in Romans 12 to “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12, ESV).

Being constant in prayer sounds like a good thing to do right now. Therefore, I’m asking the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace Churches to devote this Friday, April 3 to a Day of Prayer for Healthcare Professionals who are serving during the COVID-19 pandemic. These men and women are on the front lines, at the risk of their own health, to care for those who are sick. We, as a family of churches, thank God for them and the many sacrifices they are making. Here are a few ways you can join me in praying for the health care workers serving around the globe:

• Ask God to protect them from contracting the COVID-19 virus as they care for the sick.

• Ask God to strengthen them for the long hours they are working in hospitals and clinics.

• Ask God to comfort them when they need to spend time separated from family and friends.

• Ask God to provide the equipment, medicine, and supplies they need to care for those infected with the COVID-19 virus.

• Ask God to encourage them especially during difficult and challenging days.

• Ask God to use Christian health care workers to communicate the love of Christ to patients and co-workers looking for opportunities to share the hope of the gospel.

Thanks for being constant in prayer.

//

Join us at 12pm for our Zoom Prayer!

https://zoom.us/j/199220859

Meeting ID: 199 220 859

Last Friday we had a joyful and powerful time of prayer (and fasting) as a church!

I want to keep it going for whoever is free or available in their lunch hour to join us. You can pop in for 5 minutes if that’s all the time you have. You can send through prayer requests to 0481999476.

Here is the Zoom link:

https://zoom.us/j/199220859

Meeting ID: 199 220 859

CJ Mahaney composed a series of blog posts that were later compiled into short pamphlet entitled, ‘Biblical Productivity’. It is short, pithy, heart searching, and intensely practical. In this new season where many of us have more time than ever due to so many cancellations in our schedule, it heightens the need for us to do as Ephesians 5:16 says: “ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” I spent some time re-reading CJ’s pamphlet and it inspired me to devote some time discussing it with those who are interested.

So for anyone who is interested, let’s read through this pamphlet and starting tonight (31st March) 8pm-9:30pm let’s discus it on Zoom. If you are interested please email me at rs@sgparra.org.au or text “Biblical Productivity” to 0481999476.

Here is a link to the free PDF

Here is the link to the Zoom chat i have scheduled

Please read through chapter 1-3 beforehand and come ready to discuss.

Abi has done an amazing job of putting together two resources for our SG Kids. Firstly there is the PDF lesson guide and secondly the youtube video! Check them out!

Plus don’t forget to submit your Donkey video!

p.s. the challenge isn’t limited to families haha!

On Sunday we had the joy of meeting online again! It was so awesome to have our kids memory verse and our kids song included! I preached on Ephesians 5:15-17 about the need for us to walk wisely.

The main idea: to be wise is to walk in God’s world, God’s way, for God’s glory. We do this by: 1) carefully reviewing our walk (v.15), making the best use of the time (v.16), and understanding the will of the Lord (v.17).

The sermon recording will be up soon, go to sgparra.org.au/sermons to listen to it. Here is the Zoom video

I wanted to give a few extra points that i didn’t make on Sunday.

How to make the best use of the time in the pandemic:

1. Live one day at a time

Let the pandemic teach you to live ONE day at a time. We don’t live in years, months or even weeks…we live one day at a time, full of minutes and seconds…which we can use to glorify Him now!

Matt. 6:34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

2. Homeschooling

For many mums (and Dads) we now have a huge new responsibility: home (pre)schooling our kids! Now this is obviously a massive change of gears for many of us. It will be hard and difficult. Many of our sins and the sins of our kids get diverted to our workplace or the school yard…but now they are going to be happening at home to each other! But as great as this new trial will be, it can be an awesome opportunity to train your children in their obedience, character, knowledge of God. A time for constant gospel rehearsal. It will be a time for your own personal sanctification. A time to seek God for strength, help, repentance, and power! Don’t waste your homeschooling moment! Not everyone is going to like it, some will love it, but wherever you sit, don’t waste it! Perhaps now is the time to read: ‘Shepherding a Child’s Heart’ by Ted Tripp or ‘Parenting’ by Paul Tripp or to watch his Parenting videos

3. Working from home

Similarly, many of us are now forced to work from home. This too is an opportunity to make the best use of the time as we cut down on commutes, etc. We can spend time improving our relationships with our housemates - whether they be parents, friends, siblings, spouses or children! We now have a new opportunity to “love our neighbour” with more time and attention!

4. Extra time

Some, though not all, of us now have the opportunity for more God honouring leisure. We can read good literature, go into nature, watch good television and movies (not trash!), complete household and yard chores and fulfil the creation mandate to cultivate and tend our garden!, wash the car, build that ikea thing, etc etc! Let’s get creative!

5. Isolation

For some of us, we are now isolated and feeling trapped and alone. This is an opportunity to turn toward your ever-present God who isn’t constrained by social distancing. He IS with you! And this is a time to make even more real your dependence on Him!

6. Rest

We now have the chance to rest our bodies, catch up on sleep, and cease from the constant activities we schedule in (play dates, family celebrations, church events, school things, catch ups, etc). We have all been serving so well on Sunday’s, but now most of us are off the roster! Enjoy the break, thank God for it, and make sure you are well rested in body and soul so that when the world comes out of hibernation, you are ready to go! You could even try practicing ‘sabbath’ by doing all the housework on Saturday’s and having your Sunday’s completely free from duties!

7. Think about death in this time

We rarely want to think about our own mortality or the mortality of those we love. But this crisis is placing it before our eyes every day in statistics, warnings, and stories. Rather than suppressing these unwelcome thoughts, this is an opportunity for us to deal with them with our bible in hand. To reaffirm the beauty of the gospel and our hope of heaven. To prepare ourselves, our friends, and our families for the long tomorrow by leading them to Christ. Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom”

CJ Mahaney composed a series of blog posts that were later compiled into short pamphlet entitled, ‘Biblical Productivity’. It is short, pithy, heart searching, and intensely practical. In this new season where many of us have more time than ever due to so many cancellations in our schedule, it heightens the need for us to do as Ephesians 5:16 says: “ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” I spent some time re-reading CJ’s pamphlet and it inspired me to devote some time discussing it with those who are interested.

So for anyone who is interested, let’s read through this pamphlet and starting Next Tuesday night 8pm-9:30pm let’s discus it on Zoom. If you are interested please email me at rs@sgparra.org.au or text “Biblical Productivity” to 0481999476.

Here is a link to the free PDF

Here is the link to the Zoom chat i have scheduled

Please read through chapter 1-3 beforehand and come ready to discuss.

Here is an excerpt to whet your appetite.

Lazy? Not me. I’m busy. Up early, up late. My schedule is filled from beginning to end. I love what I do and I love getting stuff done. I attack a daily to‐do list with the same intensity I play basketball. Me lazy? I don’t think so!

Or at least I didn’t think so. That is, until I read about the difference between busyness and fruitfulness, and realized just how often my busyness was an expression of laziness, not diligence.

I forget now who first brought these points to my attention. But the realization that I could be simultaneously busy and lazy, that I could be a hectic sluggard, that my busyness was no immunity from laziness, became a life‐altering and work‐altering insight. What I learned is that:

Busyness does not mean I am diligent

Busyness does not mean I am faithful

Busyness does not mean I am fruitful

Recognizing the sin of procrastination, and broadening the definition to include busyness, has made a significant alteration in my life. The sluggard can be busy—busy neglecting the most important work, and busy knocking out a to‐do list filled with tasks of secondary importance.

When considering our schedules, we have endless options. But there are a few clear priorities and projects, derived from my God‐assigned roles, that should occupy the majority of my time during a given week. And there are a thousand tasks of secondary importance that tempt us to devote a disproportionate amount of time to completing an endless to‐do list. And if we are lazy, we will neglect the important for the urgent.

We are called to make disciples and seek the lost at all times, even during a crisis. But practically doing that is now a lot harder due to our working from home, social distancing, change in routines, kids out of school etc. Here a few ideas that you could do to be reaching out while staying in:

• Pray for opportunities to share the gospel

• Pray for people - ask people you know if they have any prayer requests. as they may be more open to it in a time of crisis

• Invite people to join us online at www.sgparra.org.au/zoom

• Letter box drop a card to your neighbours: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/love-neighbor/

• You can actually run Christianity Explored online for free: https://www.ceministries.org/Articles/493373/Courses/Christianity_Explored/Online.aspx

• Post things on your social media about the peace and hope Jesus offers

• Check in with work mates and colleagues to see how they are doing; a text of care that may have seemed weird or too forward now may communicate love and care.

• Organize virtual play dates for kids to stay connected with their friends

What else can you think of? Let’s get creative! Our goal for our church: ‘To be a community where every believer is always on mission and doing mercy.’” Let’s do it!

We still want to serve our awesome SG Kids during this time of having no public physical gathering and so we have come up with a fun plan!

Firstly, we are still doing our memory verse, except we are going to do it as a church! 5 minutes before the service at 9:55am, Abigail Chavez, our Kids Ministry Intern, will take the whole church through this month’s memory verse! Prizes will be awarded for adults and kids!

Secondly, we are introducing a kids song into our normal worship time! So make sure you have your kids in during the singing!

Thirdly, Abigail is also putting together a video resource for the kids and families. It will take our kids through 4 sessions leading up into Easter. It will be designed so that you can sit down and watch the bible read, explained, and acted out in a fun, kid-oriented manner. There will also be craft resources sent out for you to print off and do with your kids. You can choose when and how you want to do this. It may work to do it on the Saturday, or on Sunday after the service. Please check your email on Sunday morning to get this SG Kids resource for Sunday

Finally, make sure you have a plan for how what you are going to do for your kids during the service, whether you want them in for the singing and sermon or just the songs. Each family is different: some will set up craft, some will set up a movie, others will keep them in. It’s up to you!

One of the ways that Scripture calls us to respond to trouble, like the COVID-19 pandemic, is to pray, knowing that God will answer our prayers. David writes in Psalm 20, “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion.” (Psalm 20.1-2). God is eager to send help when we ask him for it in prayer.

Just last week, Mark Prater (Executive Director of SG Churches) called all the Churches in the USA to a day of prayer. And now, one week one, I’m eager to do the same for us here in Australia, calling us to a day of prayer and fasting on Friday 27th March, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic that we all face

Please join us in this if at all possible. Here’s a list of items that we can pray for:

• Ask God to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus throughout our world, and bring healing and comfort to those that do have the virus, and to their families.

• Ask God to protect and strengthen frontline healthcare workers, as they tend to the sick.

• As God to protect those who are especially vulnerable to the virus, that this sickness would pass over them and not infect them.

• Ask God to be near to all those who may have lost work in all this and who may be negatively impacted financially, and to provide for them.

• Ask God to give wisdom and strength to the Pastors of Sovereign Grace Churches, starting here in Australia, and then beyond, as we seek to make daily and weekly decisions relating to the many and varied aspects of Church life.

• Ask God to give wisdom and strength to the Leaders of our Countries as they seek to make good decisions for our health and well-being.

• Ask God to give us opportunities and courage to share the hope we have in the Gospel with unbelievers who are without hope and fearful.

• Ask the Prince of Peace to give us peace as we walk through this pandemic together, trusting in His sovereign rule and reign. For as John 14.27 tells us, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives. Don’t let your hearts be troubled or fearful.”

May we all keep looking up at this time. Forever His.

If you’d like more information on fasting, listen to Pastor Dave Taylor’s recent sermon here:

https://soundcloud.com/user-986589168/running-dependant?in=user-986589168/sets/the-race-of-our-lives