Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, 212 Armstrong Street South, Ballarat (2026)

04/06/2026

In present suffering and hardships, future hope makes a real difference.

On July 4, 1952, Chadwick attempted to swim her way across the English channel. Freezing cold waters and harsh conditions meant that no woman have ever successfully swam it before. She endured through 16 hours of grueling conditions. Yet as hour after hour beat her down, she reach the point where she felt like she couldn’t go another meter. With thick fog obscuring her view, she had no idea how much longer she had to go and she lost hope. Just half a mile from the end she dropped out. Talking to a reporter afterwards she said these words:
“If I could have seen land I might just have made it.”

There are times when our weeks or circumstances can be hard and exhausting. Maybe you or someone close to you feels like they can’t carry on. Are you feeling worn down? What is causing you to groan?

In Romans 8:18-27 Paul reminds us that even though being a follower of Jesus still involves suffering and hardship, we can have confidence of future hope and be strengthened to press on with eager endurance:
“I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us… we ourselves also… groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies…. if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance.” Rom 8:18, 23, 25 NET

Father you see the groaning I feel and the groaning of those around me. Thankyou that you understand and care. Help me to call to mind the future day when sin, suffering and sickness will be not more. Give me hope in that reality. Strengthen me to lift my eyes and keep living for Jesus with patience, endurance and hope. Help others in my life to also find and experience this hope. In Jesus name, amen.

This Sunday, we will look at Romans 8:18-27. Please join us.

28/05/2026

Adoption is a legal term for the parental rights and responsibilities of a child being permanently transferred from a child’s biological parents to adoptive parents. Adoption is complicated and a very sensitive and emotional process. There are countless situations where adoption has been welcomed by all.

For example Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs, John Lennon, Simone Biles and Jamie Foxx were all adopted. There are also horrific circumstances of forced adoption, such as the Stolen Generations (May 26 was our National Sorry Day).

For Christians, adoption is a wonderful benefit. As JR Packer writes:
Adoption is the highest privilege of the gospel. The traitor is forgiven, brought in for supper, and given the family name. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater.

We often overlook the incredible privilege we have as Christians to call the LORD Father. We not only get to be forgiven and enter the Kingdom of God, but we are also adopted into the spiritual family!!
We, who were enemies of God, become his children:

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:15-16)

What an incredible blessing, to know that we are loved and cherished. That we can speak to the LORD of all and call him father!

This Sunday, we will look at Romans 8:1-17. Please join us.

There will be a livestream of the 10am service
https://www.youtube.com/c/EbenezerPresbyterianChurch

21/05/2026

Many of the Psalms are songs of Praise, but only Psalm 145 is titled "Psalm of Praise.” The Psalm declares the Lord’s greatness and compassionate nature.

A phrase that is repeated 5 times in the Psalms and 10 times in the Old Testament:
The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love. (Psalm 145:8)
The LORD’s eternal power and greatness are beyond understanding (v3). The LORD’s awesome works and deeds are worth telling and meditating on (v4-5). The LORD’s kingdom is eternal (v13), and his faithfulness and trustworthiness are perfect (v13-17). The LORD watches over all who love him and hears their cries and saves them (v20). Yet the LORD’s grace, compassion and love are unending.!!! Let us join with David and use our mouths to speak in praise of the LORD. Let us speak praises for ever and ever! (v21).

This Sunday, we will look at Romans 7:14-25.

YISHI’s baptism and Robert’s membership at our 10am service this Sunday! Yishi, who has been in Ballarat studying for some years and has been in Melbourne this year, is heading overseas. She is getting baptised before she goes. Robert, who has been in our church community for over 10 years, is becoming a member of Ebenezer this Sunday.

Please join us and celebrate how the LORD
has worked in both Yishi and Robert!

There will be a live stream of the 10am service. https://www.youtube.com/c/EbenezerPresbyterianChurch

14/05/2026

Rules and laws…some of us love them, some of us generally agree to them, and some of us hate them. Rules are instructions for a group or organisation eg home, school, sports team while laws are regulations by governments that are mandatory. Most rules and laws are for the good and safety of everyone. For example, a common rule in most settings is to keep your feet off chairs, while it is a universal law that you stop at a red light.

In Romans 7, the topic is the law. Paul is writing to the church in Rome about the Jewish law and its role and purpose. Remember, many of Paul's recipients would have converted from Judaism to Christianity. The Old Testament laws were critical to Judaism, but what is the role of the law for Christians?

Paul famously explained that the power of God is the gospel of Jesus, which brings salvation to everyone who believes, both Jews and Gentiles (Rom 1:14). Many people, especially the Jewish Christians, believed the law was still vital for their salvation.

Paul corrects this view and explains the role of the law in Romans 7:
…I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. (Romans 7:7b-8a)

Paul is explaining that the purpose of the law was not to save, but to expose our sin. The law convicts us of our sin and helps us to understand our need of saving. We can’t save ourselves through obedience of the law. We can only be saved through trusting in Jesus!

This Sunday, we will look at Romans 7:1-13. We will unpack the role of the law and our continual need for Jesus. Please join us this Sunday.

There will be a live stream of the 10am service. https://www.youtube.com/c/EbenezerPresbyterianChurch

07/05/2026

Yesterday, in a press conference, Anthony Albanese said:
“I think it is obvious to say that we live in very volatile times…”

So much volatility at the moment:

· conflict in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa

· inflation continuing to rise, which means higher prices and interest rates

· more arson attacks in Melbourne

· snow falling in Victoria today

So much volatility in our world at the moment. Yet we can be confident in the future because of God and His promises. The Bible speaks a lot about the volatility of the world and the “success” of wicked people. Psalm 37 is one great example. The Psalm acknowledges that much pain and suffering in the world at the hands of the wicked. Yet the Psalm continues to encourage God’s people to trust in the LORD and be patient.

Jesus himself explains that there will be much volatility in the world:

You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
(Matt 24:6-8 NIV)

There is much volatility in our world, yet we are so thankful that our security and hope are based on Jesus, the King of Kings and not others. As Psalm 118 states, it is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in humans. Friends, let me encourage you to trust in the LORD in such times as these. Pray to Him, cast all your concerns on Him and seek comfort in reading His word.

This Sunday, we will look at Romans 6:15-23. We will see the difference between being a slave to sin or a slave to God. Please join us this Sunday.

There will be a livestream of the 10am service
https://www.youtube.com/

30/04/2026

The cross is the symbol of the Christian faith. The Roman Empire used crucifixion as the ultimate warning to its conquered people to obey and not rebel. God transformed the cross into the symbol of His church. The Cross represents God’s love and the forgiveness of sins for those who accept that they are in rebellion and need to be saved.

The Roman cross was a sign of punishment that was transformed into the Christian cross which is a sign of victory over sin and death. No other image provides us with such certain hope and assurance.

The Cross also symbolises a Christian’s self-denial in life. In preparing his disciples, Jesus informed them of his upcoming arrest, and ex*****on and resurrection. Jesus then rebuked Peter who claimed it would never happen to Jesus.

Jesus went on to make this very clear and challenging statement:
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25)

Jesus denied himself and willingly died on the cross for his followers' salvation. Jesus then asks his followers to deny themselves. Many people are more than happy to receive forgiveness through Jesus denial, but taking up their own cross and denying themselves is not easily done.

As we look at Romans 6:1-14 we will see how our unity with Jesus changes our status and relationship with sin and death.

Please come along on Sunday to discover more!
We will also celebrate Lord’s Supper and a shared meal after our services

There will be a livestream of the 10am service
https://www.youtube.com/

23/04/2026

Who represents us?

We have our federal and state politicians who represent us in government. We can have a legal representative in court or legal proceedings. We also have people representing us in sports and various groups or associations.

As we recommence our series in Romans, we are going to look at how Adam represents humanity and Christ, the new humanity. Sin and death entered the world through Adam’s sin. Thankfully, Christ, by God’s grace, came to save us!

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! (Romans 5:15)

Through Adam, one trespass, all of humanity is judged and condemned (Rom 5:16;18). Through Christ, one righteous act (cross), the new humanity (the church) is justified, declared righteous (Rom 5:18).

Many of us are happy to receive forgiveness through Christ as our representative, but we struggle with Adam also being the representative for humanity. That is, we accept that it was our sin that placed Christ on the cross. But it’s a little more challenging to accept that we sinned in Adam.

Have a read of Romans 5:12-21, consider the role of representation and come along on Sunday to read from God’s word.

There will be a livestream of the 10am service
https://www.youtube.com/

16/04/2026

Every spoke of a wheel is essential. Each spoke of a wheel ensures the weight and structure of the wheel is maintained. If a spoke breaks, then the wheel often not be able to turn freely. The wheel may become off balance or add more pressure on the other spokes which can cause them to break too.

This year at Ebenezer, our Motto for 2026 is EQUIP with each letter representing a spoke of a wheel. The EQUIP is an acronym for the following:

Evangelism - Sharing the gospel of Jesus

Quiet Time - reading and meditating on God’s word

United in Christ - All of us being united in Christ

Intentional Fellowship - All of us having intentional fellowship with one another

Prayer - praying to God for each other, those we evangelise

If one of these 5 spokes is missing, then we as a church family will not be able to grow. The above Acronym comes from Ephesians 4: 4-11.

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…
…we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Eph 4: 11:12; 15b-16)

As members of Christ’s body (the church) we all have a role and part to play.
Toby will be preaching from this passage on Sunday.

There will be a livestream of the 10am service
https://www.youtube.com/

09/04/2026

Many of us like to hide in the dark. As a kid, I remember the fun of hiding for spotlight tiggy when we went camping. As an adult, I recall times when having the lights turned on in the middle of the night has not been my preference. Many of us like to hide in the dark but hiding in the dark can end badly.

This easter there was a head on collision by someone trying to hide in the dark. They were driving at night, without headlights. Maybe trying to hide from police. Maybe trying to hide from people. But it ended badly. This driver overtook 3 cars without their headlights on and it wasn’t worth it. In the end, 4 people were killed, including them.

Sometimes we hide in the dark, but hiding in the dark can end badly.
We need light to expose and guide us!

In the Christian life we can have seasons when we can hide in the dark. We avoid Christians, avoid church, avoid our bibles, or avoid small groups because we’d like to keep things about us hidden. Yet ultimately, we are only hurting ourselves.

In John we read, that people “do not come to the light, lest [their] work be exposed” but “the true light [Jesus] that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.”

Jesus comes to give a light that both exposes and guides us, but it’s for good reason! He prevents us from harm and helps us experience true and lasting life.

How might you allow the light of Jesus to expose and direct you this weekend?

This Sunday Jon will be preaching on true
light for a dark world from John 1:1-18.

There will be a livestream of the 10am service
https://www.youtube.com/

18/12/2025

Australia was shocked on Sunday. How could this happen? Why did this happen? It was no longer “over there” we were no longer safe.

A Jewish celebration of light in the darkness was horribly attacked by darkness.

Around 2025 years ago the Son of God came into the world he helped create. John records the moment God became a human.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son,
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

Son of God became human, but he was also the light of the world.

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
(John 1:4-5)

Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus came into the world to free us from darkness. Jesus IS the light of the world. Jesus provides victory for us.

Yes, the world is fallen, yes, there will continue to be horrible events, yes, people will suffer. However, Jesus provides the victory of ALL darkness.

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name,
he gave the right to become children of God
(John 1:12)

This Sunday, there will be creche during the service
and Toby will be preaching from John 1.

There will be a live stream of the 10am service. https://www.youtube.com/c/EbenezerPresbyterianChurch

Ebenezer Presbyterian Church

04/06/2026

28/05/2026

21/05/2026

14/05/2026

07/05/2026

30/04/2026

23/04/2026

16/04/2026

09/04/2026

18/12/2025

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	10am - 1:30pm
	5pm - 6:30pm