Church on the Hill

30/07/2026

In July 1941, a man escaped from Auschwitz. The guards chose ten men from the same block to die by starvation as punishment. They chose Franciszek Gajowniczek, who was a husband and father. Amazingly, a Franciscan priest named Maximilian Kolbe stepped out of the line and said, "Let me take his place."

The guards agreed. Kolbe walked willingly to the starvation bunker for a man he did not know. Kolbe was one sinner dying for another. Jesus is the innocent Servant of the Lord dying for the guilty. Isaiah 53 says that he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, he was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

In Acts 8, an Ethiopian official reads those very words and asks who they are about. Philip tells him they are about Jesus. And on that same road, the man who had travelled a thousand miles to worship at a temple that would not let him in is welcomed, washed, and sent home rejoicing.

The same Lord is willing to welcome you home.

21/07/2026

Have you ever been part of a church that felt... safe? Not safe in a good way, but safe in a sedated way, where the biggest risk on a Sunday morning is whether or not the coffee runs out at morning tea.

Last Sunday we looked at this idea from the perspective of the life and death of Stephen (Acts 6 & 7). He was full of the Spirit and full of grace. He stood before the most powerful court in Israel and told them truth they didn't want to hear, and it cost him his life.

Christ used Stephen's death to blow the doors off the comfortable church. Persecution looked like defeat, but in the providence of God the gospel was flung into the world. God used Stephen's death as a turning point in history. Since the Spirit of God lives in us, are we content just to meet and feel comfortable? Or will we listen to the words of Jesus and behave like a sent church?

Why not join us next Sunday as we consider the amazing encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian man (Acts 8:26-40)? If you live in Tamworth, you are welcome to join us at 9:30am. Our building is on the corner of Mathews and Crown Streets in West Tamworth. Or listen to talks online.

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17/07/2026

Hey, be sure to join us for church on Sunday. We keep moving though the book of Acts, learning from an overview of Acts 1 to 6, and considering the speech and death of Stephen.

Back to school next week and into another term!

09/07/2026

I hope you enjoy this poem. Murray Campbell is a Baptist Pastor in Melbourne and his blogs are well worth reading.

a poem

07/07/2026

Someone recently asked me about good books on church history. Books that are accessible to the ordinary person, and let's throw "interesting" in for good measure.

I recommended this book by Sandra Richter for OT history:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Epic-Eden-Sandra-L-Richter/dp/0830825770/ref=sr_1_1

Stuart Coulton has written a great book on NT early church history:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Hitting-Holy-Road-Stuart-Coulton/dp/1844745112/ref=sr_1_1?content_source=fb&fb_content_id=Q9-wBQHWGLgtKnZpvba5DWfeZ6Ht1LzKxFWUgYx7WYe9mmc4Ws0Dr_ZhGOynSY7bWDFM&channel_type=fb&fbclid=IwY2xjawS6aBJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE1ckFnN05QRXp0dmRHZHRzc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHtt8jpDUmo_yV8EJtMiRoDRyzDjDMZzmH0TlXLWjVymBOvMvswLeq0qpTBYV_aem_lVZOczdo2qDaIK6FZFeUlQ

Well worth a consideration!

Hitting the Holy Road: A Guided Tour Of Christian History From The Early Church To The Reformation

02/07/2026

Last week we were thinking about Acts 4 in church. When Peter and John were dragged before the most powerful religious court in Jerusalem and told to stop talking about Jesus, their answer was striking. "We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." That's the language of people who have witnessed something they are unable to un-see.

Most of us would say our problem with talking about Jesus is a courage problem. If only we were a little braver, a little less worried about what people think.

But Acts 4 suggests the real issue runs deeper. The authorities in Jerusalem noticed that Peter and John had been with Jesus. Their boldness wasn't a personality type. It was the overflow of resurrection conviction. They had seen a dead man after he walked walk out of a tomb. Silence had become the harder option.

Courage is the fruit of conviction — not the other way around. So the more honest question isn't how do I get braver? It's how real is the resurrection to me?

We're working through Acts together on Sunday mornings. Come and dig in with us. 📖

📍 Church on the Hill, Tamworth | Sunday mornings

28/06/2026

Yesterday, we enjoyed our term church lunch together. Plenty of food to go around!

25/06/2026

I'm back from holidays and the FIFA World Cup is in full swing. Monty Python's World Cup Team of Philosophers are in this video. The Greek philosophers v German philosophers. Football at its finest moment.

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11/06/2026

For nearly four decades, a man rose before dawn most mornings and walked the streets of Sydney. In his hand he held a piece of chalk. On footpaths, gutters, and public pavements he wrote a single word, over and over, thousands of times.

Eternity.

Arthur Stace had been an alcoholic. He drifted through life caught in habits he couldn't break, and was heading in a direction he couldn't change. Then he heard the gospel and everything changed. He didn’t become perfect overnight, but he radically changed direction.

Stace did what Peter calls for in Acts 3:19, "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out." Notice those words, “wiped out.” His sins weren’t reduced, or managed, or balanced against his good deeds. They were wiped out. Gone. Remembered no more.

This is why the gospel invitation is such extraordinary good news. No matter what road you've been walking, no matter how far you've wandered, no matter what regrets you carry, the risen Christ says, “repent and turn to God, and your sins will be wiped out.”

That invitation is open to every person, and that’s good news.

05/06/2026

Murray Campbell is a Baptist pastor at Mentone Baptist church in Melbourne. He's very active in the Christian blogosphere and its worth subscribing. He recently wrote a blog for Christians wanting to engage in the political space. Well worth a read.

I should point out at the beginning, that I am reflecting and writing as an Australian who is pastoring a Church in Melbourne.