Jotham is on a flying visit this weekend to SCPC!

He will be joining us on Sunday at SCG 9am, and SCPC at our 9:45am and 6pm gatherings. He’ll also be in the kids program at 9:45am teaching the kids some German from John chapter 14 and verse 6!

For those of you who haven’t meet Jotham he is one of our Global Mission Partners. His connection to SCPC began back in 2019 when he was part of a week-long mission team from Sydney Missionary Bible College that joined us at SCPC Lismore. You can hear from him in this short video.

It’s wonderful to be able to support him in ministry in the German church. As you may know, the German church has been pivotal in the history of Christianity as the protestant movement was born there over 500 years ago. But, like so many Protestant churches across the West, it has struggled to retain the catch cry of the first reformers which was:
Scripture alone,
Christ alone,
faith alone,
grace alone,
and
glory to God alone.

We very much look forward to Jotham joining us this Sunday where he will be interviewed. Also being October, and the season of the famous Oktoberfest, you might like to have a beer with Jotham. He will be heading to Mary G’s (on the corner of Keen and Woodlark St) from 7:30pm this Sunday following the 6pm gathering.

Let me finish with a grab from Romans 3 which was so vital to Luther’s conversion and so vital to fuelling our ministry to Lismore and through Jotham to Germany – justifica-tion….*
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:21-25

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PS Please pray for our youth team as they do a series for the youthies this term looking at Big Words that end in “shun”:
Oct 20 – Salva-tion
Oct 27 – Substitu-tion
Nov 3 – Adop-tion
Nov 10 – Redemp-tion
Nov 17 – Propitia-tion
Nov 24 – Sanctifica-tion

This weekend my plan is to watch the Red Bull Rampage…

“What’s that?” you ask… The event is sponsored by the energy drink Red Bull. So, already you should know to be scared, be VERY scared! The event is held in the desert canyons of Utah in the USA and is essentially crazy mountain bikers hurling themselves down insane cliffs and drops-offs. Each year the event gets more and more daring. It pushes its competitors to extreme acts. Watching some of the footage on a screen is completely nuts, seeing it in person would be just about too much to bear. But where will these extreme adrenalin attempts stop?

It seems there are no limits – the desire to excel and go beyond is insatiable. The pursuit of greatness
is too alluring, too captivating, too attractive. But, it’s deadly.

It’s deadly because the event pushes competitors to take unbelievable risks. It’s also deadly because once
you taste the victory you want more and more (and more!). Its appeal is like a desert mirage – it looks so captivating, so appealing, so idealistic, but it leaves you thirsty. Barren. Dry. Parched.

This is why the way of Jesus is so incredibly extreme. As we return to John’s gospel this weekend we meet Jesus full of power – the master, the supreme one, the powerful one – the insanely gifted Lord of all. The GOAT (Greatest Of All Time).

But his ability doesn’t press him into popularity contests, or to try to dominate his opposition, or gloat about his unbelievable abilities. In John 13 on Sunday we find he musters all his power to serve.

What a world we would live in if our insanely gifted friends and family used their power to serve. Yet, it is an upside-down pursuit isn’t it? HOWEVER, if we can cultivate this life within the life of SCPC’s leaders today and tomorrow we have a real opportunity to show our city a pathway for life. A life that isn’t a mirage. Rather, it would be an oasis. Others using their power, gifts and abilities not to gloat about who is the GOAT, but rather seeking to serve and not be served.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:3-5

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Celebration Sunday is sooooo close!!!

Don’t let this opportunity pass to invite people who are close to you, for Celebration Sunday is such a helpful moment – it is a tearing back of the veil, making us stop and reflect on how the kingdom of God is establishing itself in our ordinary lives. Do you get what I mean? Celebration Sunday is a time we stop and reflect on the stories that fill our lives that reveal God is at work. In the ‘cut and thrust’ of life often we are so busy and distracted we can’t even picture or sense our extraordinary God at work. This Sunday we get the rare opportunity to do this reflective moment on the last 25 years. Imagine the encouragement we are set to receive!

A big thanks to Ritchie who spearheaded this anniversary. He was the one who saw the date arriving and championed the great opportunity to make something of it. I wasn’t sure we would have time to pull it off, yet here is it.

Our staff team has worked hard drawing on you all to make this weekend a success. So, let’s not miss this opportunity. As I said at SCG on Sunday – invite your neighbour, invite your physio, invite your mechanic!

This is our story of 25 years. This is His story.

8  The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia – your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9  for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10  and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

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CLICK HERE to head to the Celebration Sunday event page.