There will be no groups during the school break (this week and next), but this may be a great opportunity to spend that time catching up with your group members, or even those outside of your group!

We hope and pray that you are enjoying a restful break!

As we seek to grow in our mission I thought i’d put together a bunch of my thoughts into one place. Here’s good stuff I have stolen or gleaned or developed in the past month as I have thought lots about mission.

I present to you my mission cheat sheet.

Let’s be thinking: how can I bring Jesus to my friends OR bring my friends to Jesus!

Here’s a taster:

1)     Don’t overlook the need to prepare the way. If Jesus needed John the Baptist to come first and clear the ground and prepare the way for Jesus, then we too need to do that in our day and age. If we just run up to someone in our workplace and blurt out “I have found the Messiah”, we shouldn’t be surprised if they book us an appointment with the workplace counsellor…most often the way needs to prepared, the ground cleared, relationships formed, and this all takes time.  

2)     Be mindful of plausibility structures. These are “accepted beliefs, convictions, and understandings that either green-light truth claims as plausible or red-light them as implausible.” (Sam Chan). E.g. For most people the believability of the gospel is similar to us saying we were abducted by an alien last night whilst watching Television. Almost everything in our culture red lights Christianity at the moment. So we need to be aware of the communal, experiential, and intellectual factors that can either aid or dissuade against belief.

3)     Conversations have three layers. Most conversations work in three concentric circles from: interest > values > worldview. The outer layer = interests: footy, food, cafes, movies, books, music, holiday places. The middle layer = values:  what’s good or bad, better or worse, wise or unwise; your views on raising children, political issues, how to manage the environment, same-sex relationships. The innermost layer = worldviews: the core beliefs of our life, our views on God, what happens after death, spirituality, identity and personhood. Etc. These three layers also move from safe > vulnerable, public > private, open > closed. Given our toxic cancel culture, its no wonder people only want to stay in the safe ‘interests’ zone! But for most Christians, we are very used to talking about our worldview beliefs openly and publicly. Most people, who aren’t high schoolers or uni students, are formed in their beliefs, and very rarely talk about it or want to…we need to be mindful of this and work safely and sensitively from the outside to the inside, earning trust, and loving them along the way not trying to push or pry, otherwise, we will be seen as unsafe and untrustworthy. Look for hints they want to go deeper, ask permission to take the conversation there, ask questions or ask them to keep going “tell me more”. Don’t do what I do too often, try and have a deep worldview conversation with someone whilst waiting in line for a sausage sandwich at the soccer club. It often takes a long time in our day and age to get their and see someone change their worldview, of course, we know the Spirit can act instantaneously and may he do so more and more!

G2G will be on this Friday 27 September, 6-8PM! It will be held at 27 Iron Street, North Parramatta.

No parent participation is required this month.

We will be continuing our Alpha Youth series - going into week 2! Please be praying for the youth of SG Parra and any friends who come along - that God would work powerfully as the Gospel is presented to them.

Our next Women’s Breakfast is coming up THIS SATURDAY! It will be on the topic of Untangling Emotions.

Our dear friend and sister Rachel Pettett will be giving a talk on what God’s word has to say about our emotions and how to find Jesus in the mess of our emotions.

We hope you can join us for this time of fellowship, food and teaching!

When: 8:30-10:30am, THIS Saturday 5th October
Location: 27 Iron St, North Parramatta
Cost: $5pp (+$3 if you’d like a barista coffee from the local cafe - let Rebs know your order by this Friday)
RSVP: Rebs at admin@sgparra.org.au (by Sunday 29 Sept)

Mark your calendars, clear your schedule, and register now for the Men’s Conference, 18-19th Oct!

The theme for the conference is ‘Christ Our Captain’ and we have the privilege of having Pastor Eric Turbedsky from Sovereign Grace Church of Orange make the trip out to teach and help us to orient our lives around Christ and his mission. The aim is for the men of our churches to gather for an extended time of fellowship, worship and also some stupid fun!

Register here, more details here or just click the pictures.

Registrations will close this Friday 27 September!

To round out the term, both men’s and women’s growth groups will be meeting simultaneously this week! Your group leader will send out details shortly.

Following this week, we will be on a two week break from Life Groups over the school holidays.

This past Sunday, we had the great joy of celebrating our 5th Anniversary since planting in Parramatta in September 2019!

It was a HUGE celebration as we also included in the service: baby dedications, the induction of new members as well as a baptism! It was such a joy looking back on the past five years and reflecting on God’s faithfulness and sustaining grace displayed in all the steps we have taken so far.

We are so grateful for all the Lord has done to continue building His church and look forward to all that He will do going forward!

As part of our 5th Anniversary celebrations on Sunday, we showed a video with photos from the last five years as well as some messages from some dear friends from Sovereign Grace Churches across the globe.

It was a sweet way to commemorate our 5th birthday - see the video below if you weren’t able to catch it on Sunday.

On Sunday, amongst a host of other celebrations, we had the privilege of witnessing our dear sister Leng get baptised!

She gave a powerful testimony of how the Lord saved her. We’ve attached it here for those who may have missed it. We hope it blesses and encourages you!

I was raised in the Catholic faith in the Philippines, where I learned about the Trinity: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. While I had a general knowledge of God as a supreme being to be worshipped and praised, my understanding of how real faith works was limited. I believed that as long as I knew some Bible stories and lived a life that was kind to others, I was secure in my place in heaven. For me, it was a simple equation: God plus good works equaled salvation.

Despite this belief, I often felt a profound emptiness within me. Even as I pursued my own education, built a career, and started my own family, something felt missing—an emptiness that no temporary fulfilment could satisfy. I felt a calling to draw closer to God, but my understanding remained superficial. I attended church and read the Bible, but my grasp of its deeper spiritual implications was limited. I knew I needed to seek God more earnestly.

Two years ago, my journey took a significant turn when I moved to this country and my cousin Daven invited me to this church. It was through this invitation and participating in the Alpha course that my faith began to take on new dimensions. I vividly remember a Bible study on John 1:1 with CJ, where I encountered a transformative truth: Jesus is the living God who takes away the sins of the world, including mine. For the first time, I understood that salvation is not about my efforts or good works but about the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

Before placing my faith in Jesus, I relied on my own wisdom and strength and failed to recognize the extent of my sin. But as I accepted Jesus as my Savior, it was as if a sleeping giant within me awakened. I became acutely aware of my sinfulness and my need for a Savior. This new awareness deepened my faith, as I realized that through Jesus alone, I could be saved.

Now that I have placed my faith in Him, my perspective on life has shifted profoundly. As a mother of three, I recognize my responsibility not only to provide for my children financially but also to nurture them spiritually by sharing the good news of salvation. I am committed to guiding them in the faith that has so dramatically transformed my own life.

Today, I am here to be baptized as a public declaration of my faith in Jesus Christ. This act symbolizes my commitment to follow Him and to live out the salvation I have received through His grace alone.

Thank you for being a part of this significant moment in my faith journey. I look forward to growing in my relationship with Jesus and continuing to embrace the fullness of life He offers.

As part of his studies with Alphacrucis College, Ben Duckitt is putting on a performance at Iron Street this Sunday night. We will be having a night of worship thinking about the cross where him and a band will be leading us in singing the songs from the latest Sovereign Grace Music album: Knowing God.

When: 6-7pm, this Sunday 22nd September
Where: 27 Iron Street, North Parramatta