Join us for our Sunday Worship Service- 9.45am at Knox, Flos and 11am at Elmvale Presbyterian.

Please find the link for last Sunday’s service and sermon:

May God Bless and keep you and your family safe and happy as the Fall fast approaches.

You will find two Blogs below – “Why should I become a Christian” and “A Study on the Lords Prayer” if you are interested.

?WHY SHOULD I BECOME A CHRISTIAN?

If you feel a stirring in your heart to seek God, it is because God Himself is seeking you (Luke 19:10; John 6:44). Life’s highest honor is to be pursued by the Creator of the universe and offered an invitation to become His own child. In addition to recognizing the great gift you are being offered, there are other reasons you should become a Christian: your past, your present, and your future.

Why should I become a Christian? – Your past. Since the moment you let out your first wail, your nature has demanded its own way. Children do not have to be taught to sin; they come by it naturally because we all inherited a sin nature from our first parent, Adam. The knowledge of our sin weighs on us. Some harden their hearts, drown the guilt in addictive behaviors, or lie to themselves about it. But our spirits know we have done wrong, and they seek resolution. We know our sin needs forgiveness, but we are unable to obtain it.

When Jesus, the Son of God, came to the earth, it was to become the final sacrifice for those sins (John 10:18). When we trust Jesus’ sacrifice, God declares our sin forgiven (Romans 4:25). Our past is wiped clean, and we are given a fresh start (Psalm 103:12). God did not simply overlook our sin; He punished it severely by placing it on His own perfect Son (Colossians 2:14). Then God raised Him from the dead—one of the most documented facts in ancient history! No other religious leader has risen from the dead. God’s pardon exists only for those who believe in His Son and bow to His authority (Acts 4:12). We do not earn forgiveness; we simply receive it.

Why should I become a Christian? – Your present. Becoming a Christian not only cancels the debt you owe God, but it also allows you to step into the purpose for which you were created. God designed each of us for a unique purpose that we discover only in relationship with Him. Human beings are like mirrors. A mirror serves no useful purpose covered in mud. Likewise, human beings serve no eternal purpose covered in sin and shame. When a mirror is wiped clean, it reflects the beauty around it. When we allow God to wipe our sin away with the blood of Jesus, we begin to reflect the beauty and glory of God Himself.

As we grow in faith and wisdom, we reflect His image in unique ways. We discover the gifts He entrusted to us to serve Him and others. No longer chasing our own happiness, we find deeper fulfilment in living out God’s plan for our lives. Jesus encouraged His followers to “store up treasure in heaven” (Luke 12:33–34; Matthew 6:19–20) and promised rewards to those who live for Him (Revelation 22:12).

Why should I become a Christian? – Your future. Physical death is not the end. Jesus conquered death and invites us to join Him in eternal life (John 6:37). He already paid our ticket, but we have to accept it on His terms. Mere acknowledgement of the facts is not salvation. Satan also knows the truth but does not trust in it (James 2:19). The bottom line for each individual is this: Who or what is the boss of my life? The answer to that question determines where you will spend eternity.

You should become a Christian if you have the faith to believe and the willingness to surrender your life and future to the One who knows you best (Psalm 139:13–16). It is the most important decision anyone can make. In his book The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis wrote, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it” (HarperOne, revised ed., 2009, p. 90).

A BIBLE STUDY on THE LORDS PRAYER 

Matthew 6:9-13 The model prayer.

In this manner, therefore, pray: “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”    (King James Version.)

1. Our Father in heaven: The right kind of prayer comes to God as a Father in heaven. It rightly recognizes whom we pray to, coming with a privileged title that demonstrates a privileged relationship. It was very unusual for the Jews of that day to call God “Father” because it was considered too intimate.
2. It is true that God is the mighty sovereign of the universe who created, governs, and will judge all things — but He is also to us a Father.
3. He is our Father, but He is our Father in heaven. When we say “in heaven,” we remember God’s holiness and glory. He is our Father, but our Father in heaven.

iii. This is a prayer focused on community; Jesus said “Our Father” and not “My Father.” “The whole prayer is social. The singular pronoun is absent. Man enters the presence of the Father, and then prays as one of the great family.” (Morgan)

1. “There is no evidence of anyone before Jesus using this term to address God.” (Carson)
2. Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven: The right kind of prayer has a passion for God’s glory and agenda. His name, kingdomand will have the top priority.
3. Everyone wants to guard their own name and reputation, but we must resist the tendency to protect and promote ourselves first and instead put God’s name, kingdomand willfirst.
4. Jesus wanted us to pray with the desire that the willof God would be done on earth as it is in heaven. In heaven there is no disobedience and no obstacles to God’s will; on earth there is disobedience and at least apparent obstacles to His will. The citizens of Jesus’ kingdom will want to see His will done as freely on earth as it is in heaven.

iii. “He that taught us this prayer used it himself in the most unrestricted sense. When the bloody sweat stood on his face, and all the fear and trembling of a man in anguish were upon him, he did not dispute the decree of the Father, but bowed his head and cried. ‘Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.’” (Spurgeon)

1. A man can say, “Your will be done” in different ways and moods. He may say it with fatalism and resentment, “You will do your will, and there is nothing I can do about it anyway. Your will wins, but I don’t like it” or he may say it with a heart of perfect love and trust, “Do Your will, because I know it is the best. Change me where I don’t understand or accept Your will.”
2. One might rightly wonder why God wants us to pray that Hiswill would be done, as if He were not able to accomplish it Himself. God is more than able to do His will without our prayer or cooperation; yet He invites the participation of our prayers, our heart, and our actions in seeing His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
3. Prayer will freely bring its own needs to God. This will include needs for daily provision, forgiveness, and strength in the face of temptation.
4. When Jesus spoke of bread, He meant real bread, as in the sense of daily provisions. Early theologians allegorized this, because they couldn’t imagine Jesus speaking about an everyday thing like bread in such a majestic prayer like this. So they thought bread referred to communion, the Lord’s Supper. Some have thought it referred to Jesus Himself as the bread of life. Others have thought it speaks of the Word of God as our daily bread. Calvin rightly said of such interpretations which fail to see God’s interest in everyday things, “This is exceedingly absurd.” God doescare about everyday things, and we should pray about them.
5. “The prayer is for our needs, not our greed. It is for one day at a time, reflecting the precarious lifestyle of many first-century workers who were paid one day at a time and for whom a few days’ illness could spell tragedy.” (Carson)

iii. “Sin is represented here under the notion of a debt, and as our sins are many, they are called here debts. God made man that he might live to his glory, and gave him a law to walk by; and if, when he does any thing that tends not to glorify God, he contracts a debt with Divine Justice.” (Clarke)

13. Temptationliterally means a test, not always a solicitation to do evil. God has promised to keep us from any testing that is greater than what we can handle 1 Corinthians 10:13.
14. “God, while he does not ‘tempt’ men to do evil James 1:13, does allow his children to pass through periods of testing. But disciples, aware of their weakness, should not desire such testing, and should pray to be spared exposure to such situations in which they are vulnerable.” (France)
15. “The man who prays ‘Lead us not into temptation,’ and then goes into it is a liar before God…‘Lead us not into temptation,’ is shameful profanity when it comes from the lips of men who resort to places of amusement whose moral tone is bad.” (Spurgeon)

vii. If we truly pray, lead us not into temptation, it will be lived out in several ways. It will mean:

Never boast in your own strength.

Never desire trials.

Never go into temptation.

Never lead others into temptation.

1. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever: The right kind of prayer praises God and credits to Him the kingdom and the power and the glory.
2. There is some dispute as to whether this doxology is in the original manuscript Matthew wrote or was added in later by a scribe. Most modern Biblical scholars believe this line was a later addition.
3. “It is variously written in several MSS., and omitted by most of the fathers, both Greek and Latin. As the doxology is at least very ancient, and was in use among the Jews, as well as all the other petitions of this excellent prayer, it should not, in my opinion, be left out of the text, merely because some MSS. have omitted it, and it has been variously written in others.” (Clarke)
4. Matthew 6:14-15 More on the importance of forgiveness.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

1. If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: Forgiveness is required for those who have been forgiven. We are not given the luxury of holding on to our bitterness towards other people.
2. “Once our eyes have been opened to see the enormity of our offence against God, the injuries which others have done to us appear by comparison extremely trifling. If, on the other hand, we have an exaggerated view of the offences of others, it proves that we have minimized our own.” (Stott, cited in Carson)
3. Neither will your Father forgive your trespasses: Jesus has much more to say about forgiveness Matthew 9:2-6, 18:21-35, and Luke 17:3-4. Here, the emphasis is on the imperativeof forgiveness; on the fact that it is not an option.