Combined Christian Celebrations Narrabri

13/05/2026

22/04/2026

Life Matters

New Life Christian Fellowship

There is a legend about a sign on a road in outback Canada that says “Choose your rut carefully. You will be in it for the next 60 miles.”

A month or so ago, I was feeling that my church had hit one of those ruts and we were stuck in it, with no escape route.

From time to time we all feel dissatisfied with our lives. It feels like we are “stuck” doing things that don’t really satisfy, but unable to take the risk of changing.

We all have routines that make life easier to navigate. At about 10.30 each evening I instigate the bed routine. I don’t have to think about what to do next because each of the dozen steps in the process flow from one to the next.

You get in the car, and you no longer have to think about how to start the engine, change gears, use blinkers etc. Those things become routine, allowing us to focus on the important things like the road ahead and adjusting the stereo system.

Routines are helpful, but when we allow the routines to define us, they become ruts. As you get older, the ruts get more comfortable but so deep that you cannot escape them even when you want to.

Every church has its routines. We give them fancy names but they are routines. You get to church, sit in the same place, expect the worship to flow along the same path. Then the comfort of routine turns into something that must never be changed.

On the Easter weekend our church shook things up a bit for Good Friday and Easter services. Then two weeks ago, we laid hands on and prayed for some people with different illnesses in our church, which we haven’t done for a long time. The same morning, I felt that God was saying I should abandon my prepared talk and talk about something completely different.

The rut is broken, but we need to avoid the next one.

Jesus said, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

He is not talking about being chaotic or unaccountable, but having the freedom in our hearts to hear God’s Spirit and to obey His direction.

That sounds like the opposite of a rut to me.

17/04/2026

Life Matters
Bernard Gabbott

Creativity

Last Friday was such a delight. My family and I loved NARRABRIGHT. The creativity was sensational – the music in the main street, the food that was available, the light displays. And then we walked by the creek pathway… and that was such a wonderful experience. Sitting on Number 3 oval, looking at the NARRABRIGHT sign, under the stars, with the burble of the town around us – what a corker of an evening!

I am so thankful that we live in a country town like this. To be able to enjoy such an experience, to be exposed to creativity in such a beautiful setting, to benefit from the service of so many (a huge ‘thanks’ to all those who enabled this event!) – there was so much to be thankful for!

And, as we walked down, the clouds in the west, with the sun caught behind, and massive beams of light shining through – that was another moment of creativity to be thankful for. This remarkable convergence of human and divine creativity (and I will call it that!) brought three simple truths to my mind.

First, human creativity is a gift that is hard to fathom unless we grasp that we are made in the image of the Creator. Any reading, on face value, of Genesis 1-2 exposes us to such a reality, and the abundance of the world around us shows us creativity at its pinnacle.

Second, the damage and brokenness in this world that we experience in no way undercuts or erases such creativity, human or divine. But it does push us to consider, and yearn for, a restoration where these two work perfectly together. You can see such a moment when Jesus calms the storm in Mark’s Gospel (ch.4).

Third, the closeness of NARRABRIGHT and Easter forced me to consider the way in which divine creativity serves broken human creativity, for our good. The events of Easter expose our need, and God’s solution, in a moment of creativity that is merciful and kind and gracious and loving. At the cross, and at the empty tomb, God’s divine creativity is displayed completely – and we benefit!

01/04/2026

Join us at 10 am Friday for a group walk, or any time on the weekend.
Find the special messages of hope at each cross and take home any that are specially meaningful to you.

26/03/2026

Life Matters
Pastor Keith Bates, New Life Christian Fellowship

What does Easter mean to you?

Is it all about the bunnies and the eggs? I love chocolate, but this year they seem to be even more expensive than filling the fuel tank.

One headline I saw said this: “Modern Aussie Easter made easy: Barramundi with charred pineapple and a stunning upside-down apple & quince cake” So it’s all about the food then.

For other people, the long weekend is a perfect time to get away, possibly camping. Four days off work and time to de-stress.

The hardware shops will all tell us now is the time to buy that camping gear and paint the house, definitely a mixed message there.

So what is Easter about?

It all goes back to around the year 33 AD in the city of Jerusalem. Jesus Christ had become a problem for the authorities. His ability to draw crowds with lively preaching and miracles of healing was upsetting the religious authorities. Worse still, there was the possibility that riots might erupt, political turmoil develop and the occupying Roman authorities clamp down on everybody.

The religious and civil leaders hatched a plan. They rigged a show trial, complete with false witnesses who claimed that Jesus was stirring up trouble, The Roman governor didn’t have any qualms about crucifying one more Jew.

So on the day we now celebrate as Good Friday, Jesus was nailed to a cross at about 9 o’clock in the morning, dying six hours later. He was buried in a tomb. The authorities thought that episode was over, and life could get back to normal.

However, on Sunday morning, the day we call Easter Sunday, it became clear that Jesus had risen from the dead. Over the next few weeks hundreds of his followers reported seeing Jesus alive, in a restored body.

Easter is a celebration of two things.

We remember that Jesus died for us on Good Friday. His death paid for the things that we did that are wrong.

We also celebrate that Jesus has won the victory over death. He died and returned to life and promises that everyone who trusts him will also live forever.

The most famous verse in the Bible says, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

That promise is for you if you will believe it.

22/03/2026

The hardest thing to do
With Easter coming up, I’ve been thinking about forgiveness.
Have you been to the summit of Mt Kaputar? The view is spectacular. You can spot towns and farms, enjoy the crisp mountain air, and gaze into the seemingly endless horizon.
Getting to the top doesn’t require ‘climbing’ if you drive to the summit carpark. We are spoilt that we can enjoy it without breaking a sweat.
Have you been to the summit of Mt Koszciosko? This one is a bit harder, but in summer a marked track and boardwalk emerges from the snow.
Our year 11 class did it in November one year. It was really cold, and I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes for most of the trip. But standing up the top and trying to get a photo with dozens of my mates is still warm in my memory.
Have you been to the summit of Mt Everest? This mountain seems terrifying. The air above 8000m is not just crisp, or even just cold, but deadly. According to Wikipedia, at least 344 people have died up there.
I have not attempted this summit! Climbing Mt Everest seems like one of the hardest things a person could ever do.
Climbing a mountain is in some ways an analogy for one of the hardest things a human needs to do.
Have you ever been required to forgive someone who has hurt you? It feels like such a struggle, and cold hurts can be piercing.
But when you decide to let go of the hurt, it is like seeing the most spectacular view on life again.
Forgiveness does not mean trusting the person who hurt you, nor that the other person should not have a consequence for their action.
It simply means standing above the hurt and releasing forgiveness, and breathing fresh air again.

10/03/2026

Pray Narrabri is Thursday March 26th at New Life. Come along and join the church of Narrabri in praying for the town of Narrabri and beyond.