If people are taking the time to reflect on life at the moment, they’re likely pondering: Is there more to life than this?

On Sunday Richard announced that we are planning on running an online version of the Alpha course. This course is designed to help people to investigate life and faith in Jesus Christ via interesting, informative, and beautifully made videos coupled with discussion questions. You can view the first one here.

The first four sessions are what we’ll go through and then give people the chance to commit to following Jesus and learning more about Him by completing the remaining 7 sessions.

1. Is There More To Life Than This?

2. Who Is Jesus?

3. Why Did Jesus Die?

4. How Can I Have Faith?

We want to do this really well so that if you step out in faith and invite a friend, they’ll have the best possible experience of coming to learn about Jesus, albeit in an online version of Alpha.

There will be more detail to come but for now, let me encourage with one thing: begin praying for God to put on your heart who you are going to invite.

I commend to you a fantastic article by SGC Sydney Pastor, Brendan Willis, entitled: “If Christ Has Been Raised: How To Live Like Christ Is Alive’. Read it here

“Knowing with confidence that Jesus Christ is alive and reigning ought to profoundly impact the way we live our lives . Our lives should seem foolish to those around us who have hope only in this life . Our daily priorities and passions only make sense if Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.”

How can we live like Jesus is really alive? Well, you’ll have to read the article to find out!

https://www.sovereigngrace.com/journal

Recently we introduced a new song from Sovereign Grace Music, ‘Christ Will Be My Hideaway’. It is a beautiful song based on Psalm 91, which reminds us that Jesus will always be our refuge, even in the midst of a pandemic!

Here are two versions to listen to: Studio + Acoustic:

VERSE 1
I will dwell within the shelter of the God who reigns above
I will rest beneath the shadow of the mighty King of love
Though a sickness hides in darkness, though a plague destroys by day
I will stand upon His promises, Christ will be my hideaway

CHORUS
In You, my God, I trust, You are strong and here with us
In You, my hope remains, Christ will be my hideaway

VERSE 2
Angels gather to protect me when they hear my Savior call
Sovereign hands are ever ready to uphold me should I fall
Safe beneath His wings of refuge all my fears are kept at bay
I am shielded by His faithfulness, Christ will be my hideaway

VERSE 3
Though a thousand fall around me, though death looks me in the eye
Evil shall not have the vict’ry while the Lord is at my side
God in power raised my Savior, I no longer fear the grave
Through this fragile life and evermore, Christ will be my hideaway

https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/christ-will-be-my-hideaway/

We are back with Life Groups this week! Your LG leaders will send you all the information you need for your Zoom meeting!

At our recent Church Family Meeting I took time to reiterate our mission statement as a church,

“We are building a community of believers who are passionate about knowing, applying, and proclaiming the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ”

That is, we want to: do life as a family, know the gospel deeply, apply the gospel broadly, and proclaim the gospel boldly.

In short, we want to be a gospel-centered church!

But we must always be on guard against this being mere words that we say. I commend to you a recent article from the Sovereign Grace Journal that explores this idea some more:

Click here to read an article from the latest Sovereign Grace Journal by Jared Melinger, Senior Pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church (where Abigail is going for her internship!), entitled: ‘True Gospel-Centeredness is Never Bland.

Here is a short excerpt to whet your appetite:

In Sovereign Grace Churches, we can appropriately describe ourselves as a gospel-centered people who attend gospel-centered churches where we receive gospel-centered preaching and enjoy gospel-centered fellowship . We aim for gospel-centered marriages and gospel-centered parenting; we do gospel-centered work and enjoy gospel-centered leisure; I hope to live a gospel-centered life followed by a gospel-centered funeral .

All of this is good . The idea of centering the whole of our lives on Christ and his cross is essential and profoundly biblical .

Yet, we need to remember that it’s possible to say the word gospel a lot with- out ever mining the glories of the person and work of Christ in all of Scripture and without applying that message to our daily lives . Gospel-centered has been a popular Christian buzzword over the past decade, but repeating the buzzword is not what makes a Christian or a church truly centered upon Christ . Some of the most gospel-centered preachers and churches through- out history never used that term at all .

Our goal is not the lingo but the reality . We aim for a deep and vibrant focus on the living Christ and his finished work . It is a focus that ought to expand our minds, thrill our souls, and transform our lives.”

Additionally, if the gospel has lost its dazzle, i’ve got a load of copies of CJ Mahaney’s “Living the Cross Centered Life” which is an amazing book to refresh your soul in the glories of Calvary.

Your GG leaders will let you know all the details!

We are back with Life Groups this week! Your LG leaders will send you all the information you need for your Zoom meeting!

We had a great meeting on Sunday night!

If you missed the meeting and would like to watch the recording, please email me at rs@sgparra.org.au, there was some very important announcements!

This Sunday I will have the privilege of serving our Wahroonga church and preaching for them, albeit on Zoom! And so I have asked Joel Seric to preach for us this week. He will be addressing us from the book of Ecclesiastes and looking at the fleeting nature of life in light of who God is! Thank you Joel and the Seric’s!

A recent article from the latest Sovereign Grace Journal caught my attention, and I wanted to share it with you all as a church. Currently, we have a number of single men and women in our church community, and this article will help those who are single to treasure Christ more and those who aren’t to have a better understanding of this circumstance. Notably, Jason makes this profound point: “The truth is, we all started our lives single, and many of us will end our lives single . We will certainly all spend eternity without earthly marriage, fully to enjoy the one eternal marriage between Christ and the church.” Therefore, this topic is vitally important for us all.

As the Statement of Faith for Sovereign Grace Churches affirms, “Single men and women are no less able to enjoy and honor God and no less important to his purposes . They also are to give ex- pression to God’s image in distinct and complementary ways, flourishing as his image-bearers and bringing him glory in their singleness .”

Read the article here, and if you would like to chat about it, I encourage you to read it through with someone!

MY SOUL IS SATISFIED: SINGLENESS AND THE SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST by Jason Stowell

Some Christians view singleness as a bad thing, an unwanted gift, understanding singleness primarily through the lens of the trials it may bring or the blessings it deprives us of . The New Testament, however, presents both marriage and singleness as unique blessings and gifts from God . Yes, each brings challenges as well . Many are unhappily married or unhappily single . But God has graced each of us for the situation we are in presently .

As a single man, I’ve learned that my situation provides unique opportunities to serve Christ and display his sufficiency in my life . And I am eager for the lives of all Christians who are single to testify to the satisfaction that Christ alone can give .

Access the whole journal here: https://www.sovereigngrace.com/journal