In order to help our church grow to know all of God’s word and how it applies to the breadth of life, we will be going through Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. The benefit of Grudem’s systematics is that it’s very clear, set at an introductory level, is devotionally written so that it leads to worship and not just head knowledge, and he is a dear friend of Sovereign Grace!

We will be meeting on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month, alternating between face-to-face and Zoom meetings, and the hope is to review and discuss 2-3 chapters each time.

Our first (in-person) meeting is coming up next week!

When: 7:30pm | Tuesday, 6th February
Where: The Spring’s home
Chapters to read prior to meeting: 1, 2 and 51

It is not too late to join! If you are interested in going through Systematic Theology with us, please contact Riley at rs@sgparra.org.au.

On Sunday, the 11th of February, we will be having our biannual Church Family Meeting, which we call “Envision”. This is a chance for Riley and different key leaders to give the church updates on how things have been going (ministries and finances) and to give you a vision for this year.

When: 4-6pm | Sunday, 11th February
Where: Iron Street Hall (27 Iron Street, North Parramatta)
Dinner will be provided and there will be a kids’ movie on downstairs for the duration of the meeting.

We would love for you to prioritise this in your calendar as there will be important announcements and information relayed during our time together. Thankyou!

We will be holding International Sunday this Sunday, 28th of Jan to celebrate all the different cultures represented in our church community!

We’d love to invite you to bring a traditional dish or snack from your cultural background. You’re also welcome to come dressed in traditional clothing - there will be a prize for best dressed!

Please notify Richard Song at richard@sgparra.org.au if you are able to bring a dish.

Feel free to invite friends and family along! We look forward to celebrating with you!

SG Kids is an integral part of our church’s life and it wouldn’t be possible without the countless volunteers who give up their time, energy and resources to serve the next generation!

Part of what makes this all possible are our biannual training nights - the next of which is coming up on Wednesday, 31st January.

If you serve in SG Kids, please lock in this date for our first kids workers training night of the year. Attendance at these nights is a crucial part of serving in kids, so please make it a priority to be there.

When: 7.30pm | Wednesday, 31st January
Where: Iron St. Hall (27 Iron St, North Parramatta)

Please contact John Carr if you have any questions about the evening.

On Sunday, the 11th of February, we will be having our biannual Church Family Meeting, which we call “Envision”. This is a chance for Riley and different key leaders to give the church updates on how things have been going (ministries and finances) and to give you a vision for the rest of the year.

There will be more details to come, but for now, please save this date!

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

SYD TO LA

On New Years Day 12 of us flew out from Sydney at 11am and arrived in LA at 6am for the longest New Years day of our lives! We instantly met up with Eric Turbedsky, and a crew of young adults from the Sovereign Grace Orange Country church, including three of Turbo’s kids. We had two days of sight seeing and bonding visiting the coastline and seeing where the Jesus Revolution took place in Costa Mesa, Old Towne Orange, Downtown Disney, Beverly Hills and Hollywood. We had such a wonderful time making new friends and exploring this beautiful part of the world

LA TO PHILLY

We then travelled from LA to Philadelphia, landing in the evening, resting up and getting ready for Relay. We got to visit downtown historic Philadelphia with Andy Farmer giving us tour, seeing where the U.S. Constitution was written, where many scenes of Hamilton took place, and places where the great George Whitefield preached to 20,000 people with no microphone. We did this tour with a crew from the church in Roseburg Oregon, it was so lovely to meet them

RELAY CONFERENCE

Finally by Thursday night the RELAY Conference began with 700 young adults from 50 different Sovereign Grace Churches around the US, Canada and the UK. It would be hard to catalogue all that took place in this time and all that God did in our team but it truly was amazing. As we had a debrief it was moving to hear of all the different ways God used the preaching, fellowship, singing and ministry time to affect and change us all. There were sermons from CJ Mahaney, Jeff Purswell, Jared Mellinger, Jon Payne and, the final fantastic message was from our Dave Taylor. We looked at living with extravagant devotion for Jesus, the supremacy of the Word of God, the vital importance of the local church, the desperate need for the Holy Spirit, and the urgency of mission. We also had breakout sessions on a variety of topics. I was able to teach on “When the Mission Calls: Faith for Evangelism, Church Planting and Joyful Sacrifice”, it was a lovely time.

There was such a spirit of unity, joy and fellowship amongst us all and so many people made new friends across our churches. All of us Pastors were deeply encouraged by the time together.

PHILLY TO NEW YORK

We finished our trip by heading to NYC via train for two nights of debriefing and sightseeing. It was a great way to finish the trip in such an epic city.

We are so grateful to God for this trip and very hopeful for the future of Sovereign Grace Churches!

Here is a reaction from Lydia:

“Relay 2024 was such an incredible time of getting alongside other young adults and delving deep into the word of God as well as forming relationships with many from all around the world. A true highlight from the trip for me was worship, where 700 young adults came together lifting their voices to the Lord and it was such a privilege to serve alongside Bob Kauflin and many others during this time. I can’t wait to come home and put what I learnt in the conference into action within our local church.”

Here is a reflection from Esther:

“I am so grateful to God for the amazing Relay conference 2024! It was a beautiful time of fellowship, meeting new young adult friends and listening to the treasure of God’s Word through incredible preaching. C.J Mahaney was a highlight sermon on the first night, afterwards he shared his testimony and the history of Sovereign Grace Churches which had powerful evidence of God’s work; building his church, the body and bride of Christ. In our worship time, it was so sweet to be surrounded by over 700 young adults singing their hearts out to our Lord Jesus in adoration and reverence to him. It has been the most amazing experience encountering God through his Word, worship, prayer and fellowship with his people. ”

We will be holding International Sunday on the 28th of Jan to celebrate all the different cultures represented in our church community!

We’d love to invite you to bring a traditional dish or snack from your cultural background. You’re also welcome to come dressed in traditional clothing - there will be a prize for best dressed!

Please notify Richard Song at richard@sgparra.org.au if you are able to bring a dish.

We look forward to celebrating with you!

For the Men’s Study over the summer, we’ve been going through Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. It isn’t too late to join in!

When: 7:30pm, Thursday Nights
Where: The Serics’ House (please contact Joel Seric for the address and more details).

We will be continuing on with our SG Ladies’ Book Club this Wednesday. All are still welcome!

Date: Wednesday 17th January
Time: 7:30-9pm
Location: The Songs’ House (contact Rebecca Song or your Lifegroup leader for the address)

We will be going through Rosaria Butterfield’s book, “Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age” over the month of January, meeting each Wednesday night.

Here’s an excerpt from the Foreword (by Kevin DeYoung) which gives a great overview of the book:

“Have you ever noticed the central command for the Christian as he conducts spiritual warfare? Read over the passage in Ephesians 6 on the armor of God. The exhortation is not to cast out demons or bind territorial spirits. The command, repeated several times, is simply “stand” (vv. 11, 13, 14). Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Don’t back down. It’s as if Christ our captain is yelling out instructions to his troops: ‘Hold your lines, men! Don’t break ranks. Stand your ground!’ And how do we stand? It’s quite simple really. We live by truth, not by lies.
…
Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age has everything to do with the armor of God, because this book is a book about truth—truth you may have never heard, truth you may have forgotten, or truth you already know but haven’t dared to embrace. Don’t follow the great dragon; that’s what this book is about. He has already been defeated. Follow the one who is truth (John 14:6). Listen to him. Love him. Learn from him. Do not fall for the lies of our age. Stand your ground.”

We look forward to you joining us!

- Rebecca Song