Christian Reformed Church of Geelong

25/06/2020

A new normal.... A worthwhile video to watch...
Jack De Vries, CRCA Ministry Development Coach, addresses churches and church leaders how we make the most of every opportunities in times like we are having in 2020.

He shares how these are times for innovation, embracing church online, for prayer, for justice, and a time to ask for help.

Jack De Vries, CRCA Ministry Development Coach, addresses churches and church...

20/03/2020

Covid-19 and its effect ...

As you are probably aware, the Federal Government has recommended that for indoor social gatherings, we should aim to have four meters of space for each person. We understand that this may not apply to members of the same family, however, in a public, social, setting such as a worship service, it becomes too difficult for us to manage. Furthermore, as a Christian Church we wish to be seen to be doing the right thing and staying ahead of their recommendations, rather than behind.

Therefore, considering this further restriction, Church Council has now decided to only live stream the Sunday morning worship service from 10.00 am. Our audio/visual team are working on making that happen. We will send you more details soon regarding how to connect to that live stream once it has been put in place. Hopefully, it will all go well, and if not this week, then the following week.

Our Bulletin Editor will also be producing an online bulletin which I will send when it is received.

We realise that this is necessary decision will hinder our opportunity for face to face fellowship. While this is disappointing, it is also a challenge and opportunity to take care of each other in other ways, whether it is by a phone call, text message, social media, or even a personal visit, keeping in mind the need for proper hygiene and clean hands etc. If you are unwell, please stay clear of others, especially those whose health is already compromised with other underlying illnesses.

CC has also decided that there will be no evening services for the time being.

Please be in prayer for those in our fellowship that are struggling with serious illness and recovering from surgery. We still have several members overseas, please remember them in your prayers too.

We certainly live in strange days, so we need to be patient with each other and care for those in need especially our close neighbours. Please continue to remember those in authority over us, that they may be wise in giving direction, and especially for our medical services as they deal with those who are unwell with this virus.

Since we don't really know how long this is going to last, we shall review it on a weekly basis, so watch this space. We hope to start normal worship services as soon as it is safe to do so and government restrictions are lifted.

Thankfully, we know that the Lord continues to be on His throne, and since we are worth far more than many sparrows, we can be assured He will continue to care for us. May the Lord continue to bless you and yours with all that is necessary for life and well-being.

John

08/01/2020

Christmas Day service at GCRC at Pako

16/04/2019

“Our Lady” has fallen, but CHRIST has risen”

Someone sent me a text message on Tuesday morning, informing me that the “Notre-Dame” has fallen. No doubt most of us are aware of the fire that virtually destroyed the iconic Paris Cathedral, “Notre-Dame de Paris.” Perhaps no other building site represents France and the city of Paris like Notre-Dame. Notre-Dame has stood tall above Paris since the 1200s. It took about one hundred years to build, survived revolutions and two world wars. It was one of the few sites sure to make a Parisian feel good about living there. Not only was the Notre-Dame de Paris a popular tourist site in Europe with an estimated fourteen million tourists visiting every year, but it was also still used as a place of worship with about 2,000 services held there every year with baptisms, marriages, and confirmation ceremonies regular events.

During our European tour in 2016, we were privileged to see many Cathedrals and we also went into the Notre-Dame. It was very impressive and the many artefacts and paintings that decorated the inside of the cathedral were just magnificent. From simply a human, non-religious perspective, I feel sad that such an iconic building has virtually been destroyed.

Interestingly though, did you know that “Notre-dame” is French for “Our Lady” (the Virgin Mary)? Many years ago, and perhaps some Parisians still do so today, people would see this building and its spire and say a prayer, using Mary as the mediator to Christ and then to the Father in heaven. This fact should make us very sad. With respect to the many Parisian Roman Catholics and others the world over who are weeping over a “Fallen Lady,” Scripture clearly reminds us that there is only one mediator between God and man and that is the man Jesus Christ. There is no other name under heaven given by men by which we must be saved (Act 4:12ff).

On this Easter Sunday, may we not turn our places of worship into idols or where idolatry is performed. Rather, let us focus on and rejoice in a resurrected Saviour, Jesus Christ. Please pray that people everywhere may not weep too long over a ‘fallen lady.’ Rather, pray that the Holy Spirit would cause those who weep now to see an empty cross, and be drawn to the resurrected Christ as the only Mediator, for this is what is most glorious to our heavenly Father. JZ

15/04/2019

11/04/2019

Have you registered yet?

03/04/2019

Remember - Daylight saving time ends this Sunday. Turn your clocks back one hour. Morning worship service starts at 10.00 am and the evening service starts at 5.00 pm.

20/03/2019

It's all about God's glory...

It shouldn’t surprise us that sinful mankind, without God’s Holy Spirit always tries to leave God out of the picture. Some of them go out of their way to try and disprove the existence of God. But they are fighting a losing battle for the centre of history and indeed this whole cosmos is the “I AM,” the uncreated, eternal Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Scripture begins with this central truth (Gen 1:1) that God has always been. God’s eternity is taught throughout Scripture and perhaps no more clearly when He commissioned Moses to bring God’s people out of Egyptian slavery. “God said to Moses, ‘I AM who I AM’ (YAHWEH)… Tell them, “I AM” has sent me to you.” God’s enslaved people needed to realize that the eternal, uncreated God, who was also the God of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is going to save them out of slavery (Exo 3:14ff). The great “I AM” didn’t begin to exist in the burning bush, or at creation, but has always been and will be forever and to Him goes the glory.
The “I AM” is the centre of the universe and beyond. The centre of the whole biblical story of creation, the ‘fall’, redemption history, salvation for sinners in Christ, their calling, justification, sanctification and glorification. is about the “I AM” and what He has done, is doing and still promises to do, all to His glory.
The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God will not give His glory to another (Isa 42:8). Hence it is our responsibility to ensure that God gets the glory and not us. Even unregenerate man can know that God exists from what He has made and can give Him glory. The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands (Psalm 19:1). His divine nature and eternal power are for all to see (Romans 1:20).
Sadly, less and less is heard about the centrality of God’s existence and the glory due to Him. We live in an age where we have become so good at using evangelical Christianity, that God almost becomes an ‘add-on’ to the story of creation and our redemption, rather than being the centre of it to His glory. So often our Christian talk slips into becoming all about ‘us’ and our actions, rather than the glory of God. Yes, it is great and very necessary to know what the “I AM” has done for us in Christ, and our response to it, absolutely. But even our response is not about us and our glory, but God’s glory as He works salvation in us. Let us never forget, that the “I AM” came to us in the person of His Son, lived among us, sacrificed himself on the cross for us, so that believing in Him, living thankful obedient lives, we can share in “I AM’s” eternal glory. This is why the whole cosmos is giving praise and honour and glory to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb (Rev 5). JZ

12/03/2019

– Don’t waste too much time with Dr Google...

Have you ever heard of Dr Google? I think most of us have. We go to the local doctor not feeling well and if the doctor tells us we have some illness (other than the common cold) that we have never heard of before, we go home and ask Dr Google for further information. Sometimes, when it is more serious, we might search the internet for hours to read about further explanations and possible cures or even alternative therapies and cures.
Of course, it is not wrong to seek further advice when you have been diagnosed with an illness and Dr Google is fairly reliable, but perhaps not always as reliable as we would like to claim. Nor is ignorance a virtue when it comes to our health. All three gospels record Jesus implying that the unhealthy should go and see a doctor (Mat 9:12; Mk 2:17; Lk 5:31). Indeed, Luke was regarded as a doctor (Col 4:14). So, if you are unwell, go and see a doctor for they are a gift from the Lord.
Having said the above, have you ever thought that your illness may also be a gift from the Lord? When God permits illness, whether it be a cold or something more serious, He does so with a purpose. When we think about illness in this way, it helps us come to grips with it and to seek God’s purpose for it in our lives. When Job was struck down with boils (Job 2:7), he accepts it as coming from the Lord (2:10).
This doesn’t mean we have to rejoice because we have been struck down with an illness, but it does mean that the illness is part of God’s plan for our lives and ultimately His glory and for our sanctification unto eternal life. The more time we spend researching on Dr Google and elsewhere about our illness and possible cures may even indicate a lack of trust in God’s purposes for us through the illness. Furthermore, the hours we spend with Dr Google takes away spending time with the Great Physician who can ultimately bring healing.
Most Christians who are ill usually tell me they spend more time to reflect on God and his goodness to them when they are unwell. That is part of God’s design for nothing happens by chance. Illness is also designed by our Creator to draw us closer to Christ.
The Prophet Hosea calls on God’s people to press on and know the Lord (Hos 6:3). Daniel remarks that the people who know God shall stand firm and take action (Dan 11:32). The Apostle Paul had some sort of illness to deal with throughout his ministry. He called it a ‘thorn’ in his flesh (2 Cor 12:7). Paul knew the purpose of that thorn in his flesh, namely, to keep him humble and to realise that God’s grace was sufficient, and His power was made perfect in weakness (2 Cor 12: 9-10).
By all means, ask Dr Google when you are ill. However, please don’t neglect the more important time of reading God’s word and prayerfully asking him to reveal His grand purposes for your life so that you can be a blessing to others, and He might be glorified, also when you are ill. JZ.

26/02/2019

Meditation – “It’s a sad day…”
It’s a sad day when Christians bring the Lord’s name into disrepute. That is no truer than for those in leadership, or more particularly, those who hold an office in the Lord’s church, for they carry extra responsibility. So, whether it be a deacon, elder, minister of the gospel, or even a bishop or cardinal leading a whole denomination, if your past or present actions make the local, national or even world headlines for all the wrong reasons, the Lord’s name is brought into disrepute. When that happens, it is a very sad day and the only one who is having a laugh is the devil and his followers.
It is without a doubt that Christians are being increasingly targeted in today’s society, sometimes unfairly. Granted. But that is not an excuse or a defence to excuse poor, sinful behaviour. On the contrary, because we know that our Saviour’s name is on the line, we have more reason to remember that as Christians every deed and every word spoken is scrutinised to the nth degree by the world. The devil just loves it when the world agrees that our behaviour as Christian leaders is immoral, inexcusable and highly offensive.
Scripture warns that those who seek to hold office in the Lord’s Church need to be above reproach (1 Tim 3:2). It doesn’t say we need to be perfect, for no one is, not even those who hold offices in the church. But we do need to be above reproach and that means no one should be able to accuse us of behaviour that is immoral and detestable, not just before the Lord and his people, but also before the world in general.
But it is not just those in Christian leadership who need to be careful, we all do. If we wish to have a credible witness in our families, our fellowship and our communities about the love of God to us in Jesus Christ, then we need to ensure as far as it is humanly possible, that we are above reproach in all that we do and say.
For instance, our love for one another must be clearly evident for Jesus said that the world will know we are his followers by the way we love one another (John 13:35). Our words need to be dipped in love before they go out of our mouths so that they build-up and not tear down (Eph 4:29). Our business practices need to be fair and above board for the Lord detests differing weights and dishonest scales (Pro 20:23). I am sure you can add to the list.
In many ways, it has been a sad week for the Lord’s church in light of the headlines. The devil and his hosts have had a victory of sorts, but they will not ultimately win. In fact, they have already lost, and they are doomed to eternal destruction because the King of this universe died for our sin and rose victoriously from the dead.
Prayer: Lord, forgive us for our sin and may we as Your people be a light in this dark world. May justice be served and Your kingdom advance, and may there be less sad days, for Jesus’ sake. Amen. JZ.

20/02/2019

"When saying sorry isn't really enough..."

When I was younger, I was often on dishes duty with my twin brother. (There are a lot of dishes after the evening meal in a household of ten people.) We didn’t have modern electric ‘dishwashers’ but had to do them by hand. I soon learnt that saying ‘sorry’ isn’t enough after allowing a second plate to fall out of my hands and smash on the floor. My parents soon told me that plates were expensive, and I needed to be more careful in the way I dried the dishes so I wouldn’t drop any more plates or else it would cost me. The same is true for Christian sorrow and restoration.
Most Christians are quick to say ‘sorry’ and even admit that they fail and sometimes ‘drop the ball’ as far as living an upright life before the Lord is concerned. But I wonder whether Christians are too quick to say ‘sorry’ before actually considering what that means for them going forward. There is a difference between saying sorry and truly showing godly sorrow. The apostle Paul reminds the Corinthian believers that “‘godly’ sorrow brings about repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but wordily sorrow brings death” (2 Cor 7:10).
It’s one thing to say sorry but it’s quite another thing to show a godly sorrow which brings repentance. We often refer to the word ‘repentance’ meaning that we do a ‘u’ turn. We no longer do things that led us to sin but now go in the opposite direction so that we will no longer commit the sin. But doing a ‘u’ turn doesn’t happen in an instant, it takes time. Just as it took time for me to learn a new way of drying dishes so that I wouldn’t drop more plates, so it takes time to change sinful habits and lifestyles so that we no longer sin.
Equally problematic is when our desire to restore someone who has sinned before truly seeing the evidence of godly sorrow and repentance has occurred. This desire to restore quickly, although noble in some ways, can be detrimental to the sinner’s physical, spiritual and mental welfare. It can also be detrimental to the victim’s physical, spiritual and mental welfare, the church’s welfare, and worse still, bring the Lord’s name into disrepute within the church and the local community.
Some good questions to ask in relation to this is whether there is evidence of godly sorrow and true repentance. What has changed? Is spiritual, fruitful living increasingly evident? This doesn’t mean we haven’t forgiven or been forgiven, but we are simply waiting to see the evidence of godly sorrow and true repentance and how that translates into fruitful living for the Lord going forward.
Thankfully, we know when there is godly sorrow and repentance for sin there is forgiveness, salvation and no regret with God, for He knows the heart that truly trusts in Jesus for forgiveness and renewal. As Christians, we also forgive when there is godly sorrow, however, for restoration to be credible, we also need to see the evidence of repentance with fruitful living going forward and that takes time as the Holy Spirit continues to sanctify us.
By all means, be sorry for your sin but that isn’t enough if it isn’t accompanied by a ‘godly’ sorrow which brings about repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. JZ.

13/02/2019

“The beauty of being in God’s family (2)”
Have you ever heard of the three “P’s”? Sometimes pastors use three memorable ‘P’s’ for a message hoping that their listeners will hear and remember the main three points. There is also an understanding amongst those in the leadership of faithful churches that the three “P’s” stands for “Preaching, Prayer and Pastoral-Care.” I don’t think too many of us would deny the importance of all three when it comes to ministry and ‘running’ a church.
But where does the responsibility lie that all three are done well, especially in larger membership churches? I guess we would like to think that the teaching elder (minister) would be involved in all three areas of ministry. No one would argue that the teaching elder has been trained to bring a message from God’s word. And no one would object to the teaching elder being a person of prayer. And if the teaching elder wishes to be relevant with sermon application, he needs to be involved at some level of Pastoral Care for the congregation too.
Now before you think you have been let off the hook, the three “P’s” is something we can all do. As part of God’s family which meets regularly as a fellowship, we have a responsibility to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. Just as we seek to minister to, pray for, and care for our immediate families without thinking of it as a burden for a moment, so too, we have a responsibility to each other who are brothers and sisters in Christ.
Now we may not all be trained or gifted for pulpit ministry but that doesn’t mean it is only the ‘minister’ who should encourage other family members with God’s word and His promises. Each one of us should be able to open the Scriptures and read a Psalm or some other passage to encourage a fellow brother or sister in the Lord. Likewise, all of us can pray for or with each other. Our prayers may not always be fluent and graceful, but the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groans even while we are stumbling to find the ‘right’ words to express what we wish to say. Similarly, most of us are in a position where we can care in practical ways. Perhaps the parents need a night off from the kids; perhaps an extra meal is needed; perhaps someone who is lonely needs a visit; perhaps an elderly person needs to be invited out for dinner or a cuppa. It’s all part of being part of God’s family.
Let me mention three “d’s” in closing.
1. Don’t say you cannot be involved in some way, for that would be denying the oneness we have in Christ and a lack of love for God’s family in Christ. Rather, just as it is a real privilege to be part of a loving earthly family, see it as even a greater privilege being part of God’s family, especially when you consider what it cost His Son to make you part of the family.
2. Don’t abuse the privilege of being part of God’s family or treat it with contempt. And if we have been guilty of abusing the privilege, we should sincerely ask for forgiveness, knowing that just as earthly parents always stand ready to forgive their children, God even more so stands ready and able to forgive because of His Son.
3. Don’t put yourself in a position where you cannot be ministered too or be able to minister to someone else in the family. That would grieve the Holy Spirit and be to your detriment and to ours.
Prayer: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, thank you that You have made us part of Your eternal family. JZ