On Saturday 14th October Australian citizens will have the opportunity to vote on whether they want to make a change to our Constitution by adding a ninth section. The question that will be asked is:

“A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

Do you approve this proposed alteration?”

To which you will answer either: YES or NO.

If approved at the referendum, the Bill would add the following words to the Constitution:

Chapter IX Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

129 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice

In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:

1. there shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice; 

2. the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;

3. the Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.

There are many faithful Christian who will have opposed views on this. My job as a Pastor is not to tell you how to vote. But I do commend you all to be good, well-informed citizens, who know what they are voting for/against.

Isn’t it such a privilege that we live in a representative democracy where we get the right to vote!? Thank you Lord!

You would have likely received a grey YES/NO booklet from the Australian Electoral Commission in your letterbox. I encourage you to read that through before Saturday so that you can make an informed decision.

Here is a digital version: https://www.aec.gov.au/referendums/files/pamphlet/your-official-yes-no-referendum-pamphlet.pdf

Finally, let me commend you to pray:
1. For all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to come to know Christ

2. For improved health, safety, education, and life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who sadly, are often very far behind for a multitude of reasons.

3. For unity and peace as a nation, no matter the outcome.

PS. You can vote at 27 Iron St.

As you may already know, there will be some changes happening within Life Groups as we introduce two new groups! This might mean that you will need to unsubscribe from your current church calendar subscription, then subscribe to the Calendar which reflects your new Life Group day.

Please follow the instructions below if this applies to you:

To Unsubscribe to a Calendar:

1. When you are in Google Calendar, look on the left-hand side for "Other Calendars", click the arrow, and select 'Settings'

2. Locate the calendar you wish to delete and on the far right-hand side select 'Unsubscribe'

3. Select 'Unsubscribe' again at the prompt.

To Subscribe to a Calendar:

For iPhone users:
If clicking on the link below doesn't do the trick, then try this on your phone:
Settings > Calendar > Accounts > Add Account > Other > Add Subscribed Calendar > Paste link. Repeat for each calendar.

For Android users:
Follow this quick tutorial to subscribe to each calendar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBcPO-jO2eI

Links:

Wed LG: 
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/35299c88167329e93ce8a9b5876a1d3cebfe8856b4045af71e9f0cb98a17af00%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

Thurs LG: 
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/cd6c1dfd72114035ea1d9f30c118924c79a286331585cd94a463be225ea84853%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

Sunday LG:
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/9d7d2a314ba45c9662e72acaf820e74425cddee389ca140171c0d7c6a695731b%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

If you have any questions or run into any problems, please contact Rebs at admin@sgparra.org.au.

From Henry Burnett, Sovereign Grace Parramatta Music Team:

I love how our gatherings each Sunday seek to magnify Jesus.

What role does the physicality of our worship play as we seek to make much of Jesus? I wanted to commend to you this article on the 'Physicality of Faithful Worship'. Bob Kauflin in this article gives three reasons why it matters. Can I encourage you to consider these and how you could be faithful in this way as another Sunday of making much of Jesus approaches.

(Click on the image below to read the full article.)

As you may already be aware, we will soon be moving to Parramatta East Primary School for our Sunday services! This is to accommodate for growth in our church, which is something to praise God for!

We will be moving equipment into storage at Parra East on Sunday, October 15th after our service finishes at Iron St that morning. If you are keen to help with this in any way, please contact Rebs at admin@sgparra.org.au.

Our first Sunday service at Parramatta East will be on Sunday, October 22nd. As with any change, there’s bound to be some bumps along the way. However, we hope that even those would be a means of thanksgiving and worship as we get front row seats to see the Lord building His church.

This Sunday, Joel will be preaching from Psalm 121 and as part of our Sunday gathering, we will be singing a song written by Sovereign Grace Music based on this Psalm.

You can find links and a video of the song below along with the lyrics to help you get familiarised with it before Sunday.

He Will Keep You (Psalm 121) - Sovereign Grace Music

"He Will Keep You (Psalm 121)" on SPOTIFY
"He Will Keep You (Psalm 121)” on APPLE

Lyrics:

VERSE 1
I lift my eyes and see, I need not be afraid
All my help comes from the Lord
Who the earth and sky has made

CHORUS
He will keep you from all evils, behind you and before
He will sustain you, through this journey
From now and evermore

VERSE 2
The Lord will never sleep
My steps He has ordained
For the One who holds the night
Is the Sovereign of my days

As we announced on Sunday, we will soon be moving to Parramatta East Primary School for our Sunday services! This is to accommodate for growth in our church, which is something to praise God for!

We will be moving equipment into storage at Parra East on Sunday, October 15th after our service finishes at Iron St that morning. If you are keen to help with this in any way, please contact Rebs at admin@sgparra.org.au.

Our first Sunday service at Parramatta East will be on Sunday, October 22nd. As with any change, there’s bound to be some bumps along the way. However, we hope that even those would be a means of thanksgiving and worship as we get front row seats to see the Lord building His church.

Daylight Saving Time will be starting this Sunday! Here’s your friendly reminder to set your clocks forward one hour on Saturday night and to budget in for the hour lost this Sunday.

Looking forward to worshiping with you!

"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Deuteronomy 6:6-7

The Bible is clear that the teaching of the word of God to our children cannot be limited to a two-hour timeslot on a Sunday morning. Nor should it be reserved merely for the leaders who are rostered on each week. It is a shared duty of our church to be teaching and encouraging our children in the Word. First and foremost, it is parents who bear this responsibility. The front line of raising children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord happens around dinner tables, at bed-sides, or during daily car trips to school.

"What did you learn at kids church today?" 

I know many of us have struggled to piece together the few facts our children recall from their morning in SG Kids. We try to cryptically deduce the main idea of the story based on the remains of the craft they have brought home. It can be difficult to know how to best reinforce the biblical lesson at home.

Introducing - SG Kids Spot

Starting from last week, we began including a small graphic in the blog which outlines:

1. The story being taught at SG Kids this Sunday.

2. The 'Christ Connection' blurb (the main idea of the story).

3. The current memory verse the children are working on.

It is our hope that this will help parents in their efforts to engage their children in conversations about their learning at SG Kids, to expound upon and apply that learning in their own homes, and perhaps even to prepare their child before Sunday for the story that will be taught.

If you're not a parent, I encourage you to check out the SG Kids Spot each week. It may be a handy piece of background knowledge to spark up a conversation after church with one of our children. They love chatting to the adults of our church and it would be of great benefit for them to see you take an interest in what they're learning about in kids church.

May this weekly, small, colourful square be a blessing to you as you carry out God's calling to teach His Word to the next generation.

John Carr
SG Kids Director

There will be no life group during the school holidays! They will begin again on the 11th of October, once the new school term begins.

As you know, we will be adding some new Life Groups to the mix from next term. To help this transition, we’ve changed up the schedule slightly to accommodate for changing groups.

To help you plan out this next term, please find attached the Term 4 Life Group & Growth Group Schedule below. We hope that this will help you in your planning and organising your calendar/sitting around groups where possible.

This past Sunday was filled with celebration and joy as we marked our 4th birthday as a church, and baptised two of our members: Amane and Stefania!

It was such a special time, recalling God’s faithfulness over these past four years, which bolstered our own faith for the years ahead!

It was also a joy and encouragement to witness Amane and Stefania’s baptisms as they made a public declaration of their faith before their church, family and friends and went under the waters in baptism to signify their new life in Christ. Their testimonies were honest and rich with the Gospel - we have attached each of their testimonies for your encouragement here:

Stefania’s Testimony
Amane’s Testimony

It was a joyous Sunday, filled with much celebration, leaving us expectant for all that the Lord will continue to do in and through our church going forward!