As you know, situation in Afghanistan is terrible. I recently received this prayer update from Open Doors that I’d commend you to pray through:

“Right now, I am coming to you to ask for urgent prayer for our family in Afghanistan. It's hard to comprehend the magnitude of the tragedy taking place in Afghanistan, and even harder to know how to pray. What's happening? The withdrawal of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan has led to a successful advance of the Taliban. As of August 15, the Taliban has seized the capital of Afghanistan, leading to a mass exodus of Afghani's attempting to flee to neighbouring countries in search of safety from violent Islamic extremism. The Afghani president, Ashraf Ghani, had fled the country and is seeking asylum in Iran for fear of the Taliban. All Christians in Afghanistan live in secret, and the only church exists underground. Afghanistan is #2 on the World Watch List. Our persecuted family pray for us, and now is our time to pray for them. Please pray:

* For underground church members who have been living in anonymity. Underground church leaders report that they have already received threatening letters from the Taliban indicating that the radical militia know who they are and what they are doing. Pray for protection over these leaders and their families -- that God would 'make seeing eyes blind' and keep believers hidden in plain sight. Pray that they would have the boldness and resolve to proclaim the gospel, even unto death.

* For women in the country - many women will lose their rights to an education and freedom under Taliban rule. Many are forced to marry Taliban members and face extreme violence and oppression. Pray that God would comfort and rescue vulnerable women.

* For the Taliban members - pray that they would have Saul/Paul Damascus Road-like encounters with the man Jesus Christ, and that they would become passionate and zealous members of the underground church, spreading the gospel in Afghanistan. This is not uncommon - you can read a testimony of this here.

* For families who have fled to seek safety elsewhere. Pray that refugee camps would be safe places of healing and community where people encounter Jesus. Pray they find a safe place to live.

* For protection against the spread of Covid-19, specifically the rapidly spreading Delta variant.

* For world leaders and the leader of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani - that God would work through them to institute miraculous peace and stability in the nation. Feel free to share these prayer points with your church community. As the church in NSW, let's galvanise to pray for our family in Afghanistan. 'When one part suffers, all parts suffer with it.'“

On Sunday, we saw in Matthew 15:1-20 Jesus give us two warnings about worship:

1. Beware of worthless worship (worship that is determined by the rules of man, not the law of God, worship that is externally impressive but internally our hearts are far from God v.1-9)

2. Beware of having clean hands but dirty hearts (sin comes from the inside out, not the outside in, v.10-20)

And we saw that what we need is true cleansing, a changed heart leads to a changed life and true worship.

As Bishop JC Ryle says:

 “What is the first thing we need in order to be Christians? A new heart - What is the sacrifice God asks us to bring to him? A broken and a contrite heart - What is the true circumcision? The circumcision of the heart - What is genuine obedience? To obey from the heart - What is saving faith? To believe with the heart - Where ought Christ to dwell? To dwell in our hearts by faith - What is the chief request that Wisdom makes to every one? “My son, give me thine heart.”

One question I wanted all of us to ask is: are you doing all the right things externally but is your heart far from God? If so, repent, and turn to God and ask Him to draw you back!

Listen to the message here.

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!