Dear BPCWA worshipper, Time certainly flies, and even as I began to write this pastoral, it struck me that this is the last pastoral for 2021. Yet another year has passed, a year which for the world was fraught with COVID-19 fears and effects. In the last Seniors Fellowship of the year, I closed off the year with a reflection on our church theme, and I would like to do the same for this last pastoral of the year. But grow … Spiritual growth is something that doesn’t happen “automatically” – it needs effort. I wonder as we went through the series of messages at the start of the year, at the church camp, and repeated in several messages in
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, We will be having our Christmas Service this Saturday. Many churches and Christians do commemorate Christ’s death and resurrection. We intentionally plan many activities and meetings around this occasion for outreach as well. Yet, some say that Christians should not celebrate Christmas. Some oppose the celebration of Christmas essentially because they do not believe that Christ’s birth should be commemorated. Some quote Gal 6:14, saying that we should not “glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”. They say that salvation is only possible through faith in Christ’s death, not in His birth. Is this true? The lesson behind Gal 6:14. As always, when quoting Scripture, we must look at the context in which that
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, In learning how to pick a job, we are using the acronym PICK. We saw that P is for “Priority”. As a Christian, a job is secondary to seeking God’s kingdom as a priority. While it may sound hard and “idealistic”, this is simply what the Bible says. God is Supreme and must be the priority in every Christian’s life. So He must be the priority too, when it comes to a job. Having established that, we will look at the rest of the acronym to learn more. I is for Impact. Having settled in your heart the priority, the next question is to check how does the job impact your seeking of God’s kingdom and His
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, Last month, I conducted a Bible Study with the Y180 group on “Picking a Job”. While this is a pertinent issue for those who are studying or just about to finish their studies, Christian adults should also apply Biblical criteria when they are considering a change of job or are moving on to a new phase in their lives. The video of this message is also available on our church YouTube channel at bpcwa.org.au/youtube. Why this topic is important. We know “theoretically” the verse that “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31). However, we often think that eating and drinking is so “simple” and
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, Last week, we saw that a Christian marriage must fulfill God’s purpose and glorify Him. We do this when married couples set their hearts on achieving God’s purpose, which is to enable each other to better love, obey, and serve God, to increase the church with holy seed, and to prevent uncleanness. The world conditions us to look at marriage in its own light, but Christians who are married must understand and live out God’s plan in their marriages every day. Good marriages are important for the church. Marriages are usually a time for celebration for everyone. However, is God going to be pleased with every marriage? This must be a question that every married couple must
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, We have just covered the purpose, plan, and privileges from God for singles whom He called and gifted with singlehood. Many wish to be married and some are already married. The church is made up of both married and singles, and both are crucial to God’s work on earth. Hence, for those whom God calls to marriage one day and those who are already in a marriage, it is important that you also know the biblical purpose, plan, and privileges of marriage too. God’s purpose for marriage. If a believer’s most basic act of eating and drinking is to be for the glory of God, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, In my last pastoral, I wrote about how singlehood is ordained by God. When we understand that singlehood is God’s gift, we must not only treasure it, but also see it as the means to better serve Him in church and use the life that He has given to us. Christians should not be influenced by the world to think that singles are worse off than the married, as if God has unfairly given some of His children the raw end of the deal if He has ordained them to singlehood. Ultimately, whether married or single, we are called to be Christ’s servants – for His use in a manner that He specifies as best for each
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, I wrote about what was covered at the Family Seminar in some recent pastorals. Families are important because one of the reasons that God ordained marriage is to have godly seed for His church and work. However, we must also remember that God has also called some to singlehood as well. While God has set some apart to marriage to glorify Him in that estate, He has also set apart some singles to glorify Him for His work’s sake. So, to set things in the right and complete perspective of both groups in the church, it is also important to cover in this pastoral God’s purpose for singles in His church and work on earth. A single
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, Today, we commemorate Reformation Sunday. As many of you are aware, the 1517 Reformation was sparked by Martin Luther, a previous Roman Catholic theology professor and monk, when he nailed the 95 Theses (statements) on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. The 95 Theses disputed the errors of the Roman Catholic Church’s teachings and practices regarding salvation, penance, and indulgences. Luther had come to realise that the theology he had learned and was propounding as a Roman Catholic was not what the Bible, God’s Word, taught. Though it was not initially meant to be a protest but to seek clarification and even perhaps not quite expecting the uproar that would follow his action, Luther would
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, Last week, I wrote about what I covered at the Family Seminar. I hope that every married couple, grandparent, and parent has watched the video on our YouTube channel by now. I wonder if there are some parents who, in their minds, may be thinking “Is that really so?”. On the other hand, there may be some who may feel that as long as the children are taught “what is right”, the children will make the right choices, irrespective of what the parents do. Will that certainly happen? What even the world knows. To say that the family’s life does not affect the child is to simply be in self-denial. While we do not believe or disbelieve
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