Beaumaris Community Baptist Church WA

05/06/2026

This Sunday | "The Blind Will See and the Seeing Will Become Blind"

Pastor Rod will be teaching from one of the most powerful encounters in John's Gospel. Come join us - 10:00am!

05/06/2026

04/06/2026

Pastor's Pen | Right Timing and True Thoughts

Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. ~ John 7:6

John tells us of a time when Jesus was purposefully staying away from Judea because the religious leaders were seeking to take His life. His brothers were not supporters or followers of Jesus at this time and were quite indignant that He had become this enigmatic and influential figure. They said to Him that He should go to the festival in Jerusalem and show Himself to everyone as anyone who wants to become a public figure does not act in secret but instead shows themselves to the world. They said this out of spite and with a spirit of mockery as they did not consider Him to have anything worthwhile to offer.

Jesus’ reply began with a question of timing. He would only show himself to the world when the time is right and that meant hearing from His Father first. For a worldly person, anytime is right and the sooner the better. For a follower of Christ, it is important to only move and act when the Spirit prompts us to do so.

Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. ~John 7:16

Jesus did eventually go up to the feast and began to teach. His teaching was so extraordinary that everyone was amazed at what He had to say. Jesus then lets them all know that another principle for a follower of Christ is to not come up with our own ideas about things but to only share and teach what the Father has given us. He explained that when we just share thoughts and principles that we have worked out ourselves, we do so to gain honour for ourselves. The person who seeks to honour the one who sends us into the world is said to be a person of truth.

In essence, John 7 teaches us that as followers of Christ we are called to speak truth before others yet we are very careful about what we say and when we say it.

Our intention must be to sense the prompting of the Spirit in order to glorify Christ and hence honour the Father.

Rod

28/05/2026

PASTORS PEN | The Power of Symbolism

3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh -Philippians 3:3

Paul was trained up to be the most ardent proponent of the law of God. He would have known the old covenant Scriptures intimately and been able to defend any position. He would have been a fiery advocate for all things pertaining to Judaism which under the old covenant was the former plan of God.

His dramatic change of heart to become someone who had turned away from all things he previously had embraced is astonishing in every way.

He now is staunchly against anyone who promotes circumcision or any other aspect of the law of God. He had been taught by revelation from Jesus Christ that all the law stood for is now fulfilled in the coming and work and resurrection of the Messiah.

For this reason, he called all believers the “true” spiritually circumcised and those who continued to promote the physical act of fo****in removal and bloodletting as mutilators of the flesh.

The old practice was a symbol that pointed to the removal of the spiritual flesh or sinful nature of all those who turn to Christ and the bloodletting pointed to the blood of Christ shed on the cross for the sins of the world.

This now means that to continue in physical male circumcision as being essential to be part of the family of God is to deny the work of Christ who died for us to make us adopted sons and daughters of the living God.

True followers of Christ now live by the Spirit and no longer are under the law. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

True spiritual circumcision is the daily dying (the rolling away) to the flesh and looking to the finished work of Christ on the cross by His blood.

Let us live in the new covenant by the power of the Spirit looking daily to the finished work of Christ to please Him.

Rod

20/05/2026

Pastor's Pen | Grief is part of being Human

27 Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. ~ Philippians 2:27

The church at Philippi had sent Epaphroditus to help Paul who was in prison for the sake of the gospel. He had become extremely ill and had almost died. He had been so supportive and such a trusted gospel co-worker and friend in Christ that Paul knew he would have gone through a period of real grief if he had in fact died.

Earlier when Jesus had come to the tomb of Lazarus, we read that Jesus wept. He truly wept with sorrow at the death of Lazarus and also at the horror of death that separates loved ones from us.

We are made to love each other and when we lose someone close to us it is heartbreaking. Death is the ultimate enemy and is described in the bible as the last enemy to be defeated.

Losing someone can cause a deeply emotional hole in our life.

Paul touches on this reality when he says to the church at Thessalonica that although we do grieve “…we do not grieve like the rest who have no hope”.

There truly is hope beyond the grave, as Martha correctly said about her brother that he would rise again at the resurrection on the last day.

For loved ones who rejected Christ, we must learn to trust the perfect sovereign will of a loving God who will never do wrong. We can eventually come to a place where we hear Jesus’ words that ‘my family are those who do the will of God’.

Grieving with hope points us to a time when we will gather with all the family of God knowing that we will never be separated again.

Rod

15/05/2026

This Sunday, we’re excited to welcome the Martin Family as our special guests!
Serving with Interserve Australia, they’ll be sharing about their missionary work and ministry in North Africa. Join us for an inspiring and encouraging time together.

Come join us - 10:00am!

13/05/2026

Pastor's Pen | The Gospel is not confined to Prison Bars

25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. ~ Philippians 2:25
One of the most astounding truths in Philippians is the JOY that Paul exudes despite the privation of his circumstances. He chooses on a daily basis to rejoice in the Lord and send the sorrow, self pity and bitterness far away from his heart. He knows that if such things begin to take root they would bring about deep resentment and the work of Christ would be paralysed for a time.

Paul not only is filled with JOY in the suffering, he also does not view his confinement as an obstruction to the work of the gospel.

It is all too easy to look at our current situation and consider it in terms of a restrictive and confining prison cell. We may think that if only we were not tethered to such and such a person, or work or location, then we would be free to work for Christ in the areas that we are most gifted in.

We are given the “prison epistles” of Paul to show us that no prison cell can ever keep the gospel from spreading, growing and taking root. Paul sees his difficult suffering as an opportunity to demonstrate the life of Christ within. His response to his chains is not normal and there is no rational explanation as to why he is not bitter or depressed.

With the divine provision of JOY he is able to share the hope within him and the gospel is powerfully given wings. When we are always wanting things to change in order to do the will of God, we deny the sovereign working of God in our lives.

Any difficult and restricting situation can be a prison. We must choose to be people of JOY and see it as an open door for the gospel although not in the way that we might have expected.

This is the life of faith.

Rod

06/05/2026

Pastor's Pen | Shining Like Stars in the Night Sky

14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky ~ Philippians 2:14

Vincent van Gogh loved to paint starry nights. One of his most famous paintings is a starry night over the Rhône river. The glow of the stars falls over the river as people walk by its light.

Stars may be considered as just “nice pretty lights” but are in fact huge spheres of fiery gas so far away that they only give us a flicker of their power and ferocity.

Stars have acted as guides to humanity from the beginning of time. They light up an otherwise dark blanket of outer space in an ever changing tapestry of wonder and delight. They lift our minds and hearts above the mundane and the earthly and point us to a grander vision.

As believers we can act as guiding stars that draw people toward a heavenly vision and show the way to Christ on this broken and dark globe we inhabit.

In the centre of this passage calling the family of God to shine like stars in a dark world we encounter the clouds that drift over and block out the starry night.

Paul candidly reveals that the blockages to shining for Christ are in practices and attitudes that we can easily minimise and dismiss.

He calls us to do everything without grumbling or complaining. This includes moaning and arguing and even rolling our eyes when asked to go the extra mile.

Why is this so important? How does it effectively cancel out the light of heaven?

Joy in service is one of the most characteristic signs of a true follower of Jesus Christ. When we fail to serve all those around us with joy, no matter how trying the circumstances and how oppressive the attitudes we encounter, then the clouds block out the light of Christ and we no longer can lead others to a place of salvation.

May we serve with joy even when the task is difficult so that we might shine like stars in this dark and needy world.

Rod

30/04/2026

Pastor's Pen | The Rich Young Ruler

23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” Mark 10:29

We are told about a great young bloke whom Jesus loved. This young man rushed up to Jesus as He was going along, flung himself down before Him, called Him “Good Teacher” and asked what he had to do to inherit eternal life.

Jesus doesn’t tell him to do anything but instead asks him if he knew the commandments listed in the Scriptures. The young man says he has been very diligent in doing all those things that Jesus listed including to not steal, not commit adultery and to honour his parents. He was truly an honourable person who sought to do right as much as he could.

For many people this would surely be enough to be accepted in God’s eyes as clearly he is doing his best and is actually way ahead of most others.

Jesus knows the heart of all human beings though and recognises that the sinful nature will always be in operation at a deep level. Sin is about finding security in things other than God and trusting in our own capacities and even our own apparent goodness.

Jesus strikes to the core of the matter by telling him that he just lacks one thing. He then commands him to sell all he owns, give the money to the poor and he will have treasures in heaven. Having done all of this he is then free to follow Christ.

This reveals the rotten core that we all have at a deep level. Sin is living independently of God and seeks to prove our own righteousness to others and God.

He is exposed for being the sinner that he is and the truth is too much for him. Instead of obeying Christ he goes away with his head hung down.

Living this side of the cross and resurrection we can now look to Christ as our sin bearer and live lives daily choosing to “be dead to sin” and alive to Christ.

Jesus said that no human being can save themselves or help another to be saved using human means. God alone can save through the sacrifice of His Son as He does what is impossible at a human level by His Spirit.

Choose today to accept the sacrificial work of Christ on your behalf, surrender your life to Him and live a new forgiven life in the power of the Spirit.

Rod

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22/04/2026

Pastor's Pen | Jesus Cleanses the Temple

15 When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. ~ Mark 11:15

During a seven day period at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He entered the temple courts, made a whip, and cleared the temple of the buyers and sellers. During the final week of His life on earth, He cleansed the temple a second time and cried out:

“Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

While it is true that Jesus was addressing faulty and broken worship patterns, there is also something else as a result of this corrupt worship that He is dramatically confronting.

Jesus was quoting the prophet Isaiah who was speaking of a time when the foreigner and the eu**ch who under the old covenant, were excluded from the presence of the Lord, would be welcomed with open arms. The welcome of “the excluded and the wounded” is close to the heart of God.

It is perhaps common nowadays to read this section as Jesus saying the church should be praying for the nations to come to Christ. Instead of being caught up in faulty worship, we need to pray for “foreigners” in far flung lands. This is of course a great thing to do.

The reality is as God’s people, we as Gentiles are actually the “foreigners” who Isaiah prophesied about. We can now come to pray in the presence of God in a spiritual and deeper sense at any time of the day or night.

The holy worship we are called to actually will result in even more of the nations flooding into the presence of Christ and engaging in prayer themselves. The association between true undistracted worship and people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation crying out in prayer all over the world is not to be missed.

Pastor Rod Holmes