Southern Cross Presbyterian Church

I can remember blogging about the rising price of petrol back in May. This morning I have sent off the piece below as a letter to the Northern Star, in view of the imminent fall in petrol prices. I suppose the message of both pieces is much the same though. Rise or fall, you wouldn’t want your trust in anything other than Jesus. Here’s what I sent:

It seems we’re set for some good news at the pump as petrol prices retreat from the highs of recent months. Apparently we might be paying as little as a dollar a litre within weeks. That’s welcome news. Yet it wasn’t that long ago at all that we thought anything over a dollar was outrageously expensive!

It all seems so fickle. There has to be more to life than riding the economic rollercoaster of  petrol prices, stock values and government policies.

Jesus said, “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).  He said it a long time before the current ‘global financial crisis’. He said it because there is always a crisis when our trust is in the temporary things of this earth.

Lots of people are doing it tough at present. So there is some good news in relief at the bowser. But Jesus came to earth to offer far greater relief than that. Eternal relief. As Christmas approaches, rather than being swept up or psyched out by the ‘commercial’ Christmas, why not check out the Christ of Christmas.

Steve Cree
Southern Cross Presbyterian Church Lismore

It’s Vision Sunday on 16 November and last Sunday we were reminded about mission, not only here in Lismore but beyond…

A member of our church family, James Ritchie will be heading overseas to Thailand at the end of this month to spend a couple of months thinking through what it means to serve Christ overseas.

James will be working with a mission team in the Karen village which is on the Thai-Burmese border and will be spending time encouraging other Christians and sharing the gospel with unbelievers.

He will also be visiting other missionaries and Thai Christians to find out what its like to live and work as a missionary in Thailand.

Please pray for James while he is away (leaving on Sunday 30th November – returning on 18 February).  During his time away James will be thinking through what it means to work in overseas mission long term and how to best glorify God in his life.  Please also pray that James will be loving in how he shares Jesus with others.

James will be coming back earlier than originally planned and he had a few reasons for doing this including his family and also his excitement for connect09 and his involvement with mission right here in Lismore.

Vision Sunday is only a few days away where we will all be able to look ahead to connect09 and see what part each of us has to play right here in Lismore.

It was hard not to be a little misty-eyed listening to Barack Obama’s victory speech last night. It is truly an amazing ‘moment’ in history we are witnessing as the U.S.A. has elected its first African-American president.

We need to be prayerful for him, and for other world leaders including our own here in Australia. They carry a great weight of expectation in these times of war and financial upheaval.

We need also to think carefully about these expectations so many people have of their leaders. It is interesting to hear words such as ‘hope’ and ‘freedom’ and ‘peace’ used so frequently in relation to the president-elect. Clearly he has a very important job to do and that is why we need to pray. But as we pray we will also be mindful of what a mere man can do and what he cannot do.

Ultimately we know that true hope and freedom and peace come only through a greater moment in history than the one we witnessed yesterday. It was that moment witnessed by the apostles and over 500 others (1 Corinthians 15:6) when the crucified Jesus rose from the dead. And ultimately that is where aching hearts and expectant faces need to turn to find all that they long for. It is for us to point to him.

In readiness for Vision Sunday, we have been hearing from our church family about how they have been challenged to reach out to those around them for the sake of the gospel.

James is a uni student who is living his life dictated by what is best for the gospel.  He writes… “I can’t wait until mission year’ next year.  I was going to stay in Thailand for 6 months next year – but decided to come back cos I really wanted to be a part of sharing the gospel with Lismore.”

Another couple within our church has made the move from their property 40 mins out of town to move into a 2 bedroom flat right here in Lismore for the sake of the gospel.  They believe that this isn’t just about a year of mission but about their whole lives and living a life worthy of the gospel.

Brad will finish his schooling at the end of this year and he spoke to us last Sunday about his plans to start Year 13 – the Gospel Gap Year in 2009 which means that he will use the year between school and Uni to be in ministry training and helping the church spread the gospel.  Brad has been especially challenged by connect 09 and is looking forward to involving himself in new ministry areas and hoping to get more involved with PHATT (People Hearing About the Truth) – a high school lunch time group that is designed to encourage Christian students in their walk with Jesus and also a place where Christian students can invite their non-Christian friends along to hear the great news of the gospel.

We would love you to join us for Vision Sunday on 16 November at 9.30am or 6.00pm where we will look ahead to Connect 09 and see how we can all play a part in our year of mission.

Please feel free to leave a comment…