here - Bendigo Baptist Church

Today’s Messages
9:30am (Eaglehawk) &
10:30 am (Junortoun)
Ps Andrew Johnston
“The Christmas Secret –
Simeon’s Perspective”,
10.30am
(Htoo Moo Plaw - Jun)
Ps. Hae Bo
NO EVENING SERVICE
Christmas Eve 6 pm
(Junortoun)
Christmas Day 9 am
(Junortoun )
Next Week
9:30am (Eaglehawk) &
10:30 am (Junortoun)
Q & A Panel
10.30am
(Htoo Moo Plaw - Jun)
Ps. Hae Bo
NO EVENING SERVICE
Welcome Visitors
We’d love to meet you,
so please stay for a
cuppa after the service.
If you have children, we
have various programs
running during the
services. Please speak
to a ministry leader for
details.
Welcome to church today, it’s great to see you here. I trust your time with us is a blessing
as you seek to worship God in new and meaningful ways.
I can remember as a child thinking that the lead up to Christmas went on for eternity. My
mother would have the plum pudding hanging in calico in the laundry (I’m not sure if this
would pass OH&S standards these days), the bottles of drink for the punch were in the
cupboard, White Christmas and mixed lollies were sitting there ready to be eaten, not to
mention the presents under the Christmas tree. What is in that beautifully wrapped box
under the tree anyway? Frankly, it was all too much for the eyes of a very excited young
boy, the anticipatory waiting just seemed to drag on.
I can imagine this is how Simeon must of felt as he waited for the coming of a Saviour.
We read in scripture that the God “…revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not
die before he seen the Lord’s Christ”. The anticipation of a Messiah coming to save a lost
world, must have dominated Simeon’s thinking. “I wonder if today is the day? I wonder if
that young pregnant women over there is the one carrying the Messiah? I’m getting old,
surely the time is near?” must have been questions that frequently crossed his mind.
According to Luke, Simeon did experience the fulfilment of a promise and found himself
overwhelmed with joy as he held baby Jesus in his arms. What a moment that would
have been, the Son of God, 40 days old, there in his arms. Little wonder he found himself
saying, “With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation…A God-revealing light to the nonJewish nations, and of glory for your people Israel”.
The Christmas season is a wonderful time of the year. A time to catch-up with family and
friends, a time for the giving and receiving of gifts, a time to enjoy a well-earned break, a
time to indulge in some culinary delights and most importantly a time, to remember the
greatest gift that has been bestowed upon us in the history humanity. Today as we
continue our series “The Christmas Secret”, my prayer is that our hearts and minds will
be transformed by an incredible God and the witness of a man named Simeon.
Blessings
Ps Andrew
Weekly Prayer/Praise
Please be praying for:
• Jimmy Rieffel who continues to struggle with health issues.
• The Hernan Family as they grieve the loss of Mark and Janette’s sister-in-law last week .
• Please continue to pray for Merilyn Hosking’s brother as he recovers from heart surgery. Last week
was not a good week. Doctors are struggling to keep fluid retention under control.
• The distribution of Hampers: Pray that they will be a blessing and encouragement to the families who
receive them.
• Sarah Barker who has been suffering headaches. Please pray for healing.
• The Christmas Services: As people receive flyers they will make those services a part of their
Christmas. Pray for their impact on people’s lives and for the teams and leaders who are preparing
them.
• The new Karen Pastor Hae Bo as he transitions into his new role.
• Pat (who attends Serving Christ Together) as she faces surgery on Wednesday
17th December 2014.
• Preparations for January church activities at both Junortoun and Eaglehawk.
Praise:
• For the 50 years of Pastoral service by Pastor Morris.
• Alison Apostolou’s cousin Susan Smout who has been responding well to treatment for pancreatic
cancer.
• The preparation of 62 Hampers last week to be distributed to needy families.
A big thank you to all those who have been
involved in children & youth ministries throughout
the year; your input really is appreciated. It’s a
time of life that is so vital for faith development,
and as a church we want to do all we can to enable
young people to encounter and experience Jesus
Christ personally. We want to give more people
the opportunity to be involved in 2015, and if you
think this is an area of ministry you are passionate
about please contact Dave Gillett.
Christmas Lunch
12noon @ BBC
Junortoun Campus
December 25th
…don’t have
anywhere for
Christmas Lunch?
Then come
and join us for
lunch.
Call church office
for further
information 5449 3033
Church Council Notes December, 2014
Correspondence
Keith Bailey advised that a request had been
made by BUPA aged care facility for our Church’s
assistance in conducting services at BUPA.
Council approves and endorses this involvement.
BUV have advised that we have been granted
only one day funding for the Eaglehawk Campus
Pastor for the coming year. Council is committed
to maintaining the current level of pastoral
assistance and is investigating ways to fund the
second day.
Sewage line
A request to run this the length of the Junortoun
property on the left and across the back, has
been made by a neighbour. Council has asked
Dave Gascoigne to investigate this further, and
come back with more information.
School
Council is exploring the possibility of commencing
a primary school at the Junortoun campus, and
plan to bring more information to the church in
February.
Quarterly Mission Love Offering
Gift vouchers now available for
purchase at Life Essentials, 214
Hargreaves Street, Bendigo.
5441-4747
Great for Christmas, birthdays etc.
See Community board for more
details.
The Quarterly Love Offering for our mission partners
will be taken up in the services in both campuses
TODAY Sunday December 21. This is an opportunity
for those who prefer to give quarterly to support our
Mission Partners. We currently require $7,780 by the
end of December to reach full allocation for our
mission partners for this quarter. You can also give
next week by placing your offering in an envelope
marked ‘Mission’ and placing it in the ordinary offering
or by direct credit (see back of bulletin for details) with
the reference ‘Mission’.
Tuesday night prayer meeting has
ended for the year.
The team will start meeting again on
Tuesday 13th January 2015 in the
pastor’s lounge.
All welcome.
RENT
Unit available for rent in Quarry Hill for 6
months.
Available immediately.
Contact Barb Anderson
54394039.
Save your Christmas stamps.
Leave at the Connect
Desks at Junortoun & Eaglehawk.
Volunteers will be needed for approximately one and a half
hours on Boxing Day (26 December) to help CARE hand out
information. People willing to assist will receive FREE entry into
the cricket for that day, a CARE T-shirt and on-the-job training.
If you’re interested: please send a quick email
to event.volunteers@care.org.au with your contact details
(mobile and email).
Needing a Christmas gift idea?
Operation Christmas Child FOR RENT
Lovely 3 bedroom home in Golden
Square available to rent for 12 months,
available end of December.
Contact Josh on 0407 530 123 for more
A Story of Simple Gifts
(by Franklin Graham)
available for purchase for $25.
Contact Judith Bish at judithbish@hotmail.com
or 0413 685 176.
details.
Direct Payments are available for those who prefer to use this method for regular offerings, Global Impact Card
support, or special gifts. Direct Credit: Bendigo Baptist Church BSB 633 000 Acc No. 127248490
CHURCH STAFF
Senior Pastor: David Lovell 0408 413 026
Administrator: Carolyn Marriott 0429 672 231
Director of Community Care: Matt Parkinson 0418 698 693
Associate Pastor: Dave Gillett 0407 418 226
Associate Pastor: Leighton Gates 0432 057 090
Associate Pastor: Andrew Johnston 0447 818 630
Associate Pastor – Eaglehawk: Brock Gravener 0439 349 821
Youth Ministry Worker: Mike Peautagitama 0402805674
Playgroup Ministry Worker: Louise Nott 0438 025 031
Children’s Ministry Trainee: Emily Hinson 0419 335 852
CONTACT DETAILS
Office: 03 5449-3033
Website:
www.bendigobaptist.org.au
Email:
admin@bendigobaptist.org.au
Life Essentials:
Manager - Rod Meadows.
Ph: 5441 4747
214 Hargreaves Street, Bendigo 3550
Gilead Counselling Centre:
Mark Boyd. Ph: 5441 1494
214 Hargreaves Street, Bendigo 3550