Grace Bible Church

07/09/2026

Great line up this week ⬇️

🌯 TASTE & SEE - TUESDAY NIGHT (8 Sept)🍷
It's part 3, where we get to the heart of it all: Jesus' death on the cross.
Come and enjoy a great meal (Sahil's famous 10hr roast lamb and flat breads, and Ella's amazing sticky date pudding😋)—a reminder of Jesus' last meal with his friends, which he used to explain the meaning of his death. Bring a mate and come along. 6pm at Grace House.

🇳🇿 SUNDAY MORNING - CHRISTIANS AND THE GOVERNMENT
In our Romans series, we're upto a very important passage (Romans 13:1-7) which takes us into a whole world of thought about the relationship between Christians and government. In our politically divided world and with an election in weeks, we need the Bible's unanxious wisdom on these pressing issues.

🧭 SUNDAY NIGHT - GUIDANCE
How does God lead us and guide us in the decisions life presents to us? How do we walk in obedience and wisdom and faith? This Sunday night, we're tackling the big question of guidance in the Christian life.

23/08/2026

Tonight at 7pm is the third of five Theology Nights we've got planned for this year. Tonight the theme is Jesus Christ and what he's done.

Tonight we're going to try and flyover the story of the whole Bible in one night and see how Jesus is at the centre of it all.

This is part of a project to strengthen our theological foundations and, as we go, we've been drafting a short book called 'The Riches of His Grace', that we hope will serve as an intro to Reformed Theology. We've got the draft of chapter 3 ready to give out tonight as a sneak peak, and we want the refining and polishing to be a team effort, so questions and feedback are most welcome.

Love you to join us!

20/08/2026

PREVIOUSLY IN ROMANS

This Sunday we return to Paul’s letter to the Romans. Like siblings, we can’t really have favourites when it comes to books of the Bible—but it’s fair to say Romans is a high achiever. John Stott called it “the fullest, plainest, and grandest statement of the gospel in the New Testament.”

We’re picking it up at chapter 12, where Paul turns to the practical implications of being saved by God's grace. So here’s a quick “Previously in Romans.”

Romans begins with a grand statement of the gospel: that Jesus, having died and been raised from death, is Lord and Christ. And Paul says that this gospel message is not something to be ashamed of, rather it is powerful to save all who believe, Jew and Gentile. (See Romans 1:1–17)

After this introduction, Paul backtracks and outlines the root problem all human beings face. We are all, religious and irreligious alike, rebels and subject to the wrath of God. This shows up in many ways: in our failure to acknowledge and worship God, in our disobedience to his law, in our treatment of others, in our pride as we judge and look down on others. All are included in this bleak assessment of the human condition. Our best efforts wont save us. (This is Romans 1:18–3:20).

But the wonderful news is that God has graciously provided redemption—a way for people to be declared “in the right” (justified) with God through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus. This is given as a free and generous gift, not earned but received by faith. That God’s people belong to him “by grace through faith” is not a new idea, but is as old as Abraham and means we can have peace and reconciliation with God and assurance of salvation. Just majestical! (Romans 3:21–5:11).

In Romans 5–8 Paul clarifies how what God has done in Jesus, and now works in us by the Holy Spirit, actually delivers the rescue from sin, the freedom, the change and transformation, and the assurance that the Old Testament law, though good, could not.

Chapters 9–11 then tackle head on the awkward question of what it means, if Christ welcomes all people (Jew and Gentile) by grace through faith, for the people of Israel who have (presently) rejected Christ. Paul weeps for such presently cut off kinsfolk and rejects any sense of Gentile-arrogance. Paul insists they retain their special place in God’s heart and is optimistic that they may yet be saved through the gospel. For though he knows not how or when, God may be trusted to be merciful and to fulfil every one of his promises.

That’s where we’re at.

Romans 12 starts with a big ‘therefore’. In view of all that ‘I urge you to’ ...
How should we live in view of God's mercy? What practical difference does grace make, as we make our way in the world and live together in the church.

That’s where we now turn.

13/08/2026

Hello! My name is Olivia and wanted to share with you my thoughts on the character and promises of God.

I have been a follower of Christ since I was 11 so for the last 8 years. During my time walking with the Lord I have been faced with substantial health challenges which have led me closer to God and his character. For me this looks like a myriad of chronic illnesses that have at times brought me incredibly close to losing my life, seeking treatment overseas for rare diseases & still living a life sustained by various daily medical interventions. During this time there have been three key character traits of God that I have clung to.
Firstly, that God has a reliable, unchanging nature that is good. It was tempting to look around at my world crumbling around me and think that God was no longer good. However when examining the word God reminds us that his love, character and promises stay the same forever (Malachi 3:6) and that he is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). This has allowed me to see that the same God who delivered and was good throughout the entire Bible was the same God holding me amid every season of my life even “when your [his] footprints are not seen” (Psalm 77:19).
Secondly, knowing that God is my sustainer and holds everything together (Colossians 1:17) has been my comfort despite not being fully healed yet. That I can live every single day knowing that while I do not have the strength to sustain myself he is my sustainer.
Finally the truth that God is sovereign over all has helped me to recognize that the path that I am walking is not an accident or failure of God rather his hand in building an unshakable endurance and a deeper hope (Romans 5:1-5) that I could never have been given otherwise.
All of these traits of God have helped to reinforce to me that I don't need a perfect body right now to know I have a perfect Savior. He was faithful then, He is sustaining me now, and He is entirely purposeful in the waiting.

06/08/2026

The ODT were kind enough to publish this article from our pastor, Ben.

The oddness of The Odyssey

29/07/2026

We're REALLY looking forward to Sunday nights in August.

We've got some fantastic guest preachers coming to help us tackle some of the big questions.

2 August - If God is there, why the silence? with Nic Blackie
9 August - How can I forgive? Can I be forgiven? with Geoff Lloyd
16 August - Could Jesus really be the only way? with John McGimpsey

7pm Sundays - all welcome. We'd LOVE you to join us.

24/07/2026

Meet Nicola. Nicola is a member of our church and youth group. She’s also a prefect at her school.
This week she had the opportunity to address the whole school community. Check out what she shared …

Who am I?
This is a question many of us ask ourselves. In a world of 8 billion people, who am I? What makes me important? What gives me value? Stay with me just a second as I take you through a scenario.

Imagine a basketball. On its own, it's probably worth $50. But what would happen if it were to be put in the hands of Lebron James? Suddenly it's worth millions more.
What about a tennis racket? By itself, it's just a piece of sporting equipment. But place it in the hands of Roger Federer and its value increases significantly.

Now, take two ordinary nails…what are you going to do with it? Most of us would use them to build something or hang a picture up. But when those nails were placed in Jesus’s hands on the cross, they became part of the greatest act of love the world has ever seen.
The point is this: It matters whose hands you're in.

So if our lives are in God’s hands, what does that say about our value? It means we are worth more than we could possibly imagine.
The truth is that many of us spend our lives searching for our worth in all the wrong places. We look for it in our grades, our achievements, our appearances and our friendships. And while those things are important, none of them define who we truly are.

Before we were born, God knew us. He created us with purpose and value. My worth doesn't come from what I achieve or how successful I am.

So, who am I?
I am someone who often makes mistakes. Someone who places more faith in what I can do than the one who created me. I’m not perfect and I don’t have everything figured out. But I know this. I am loved deeply by God and nothing can change that.

Maybe today you're asking yourself the same question. “Who am I?” My hope is that you remember your value is not determined by the world around you. Your value comes from God, who created you, knows you and who loves you. As Isaiah 41:10 says, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."