Bendigo Presbyterian Church

Having laid the foundation of love as being the key character trait of the believer, in Romans 12:11-13, Paul adds more to the picture of what it means to live the Christian life. In these verses, Paul gives a set of commands that believers are to follow, not as a way of ‘putting on’ Christianity […]

The world often throws up the line or the comeback that ‘love is love’. Well, it is, and it isn’t. In Romans 12:9-10, the Apostle Paul, gives us some clear instructions as to how God’s people should ensure that ‘love’ is the key to the way we function as a church. He speaks of love, […]

After estabslising what believers should do in response to God’s grace with their lives (Romans 12:1) and their minds (Romans 12:2), Paul progresses the way that this response to grace should affect the way we treat each other in the body of Christ (Romans 12:3-8). Here, Paul points out that we are one body with […]

In Romans 12:2, Paul continues the theme of how we ought to live in response to the wonder of God’s grace given to His people. After telling us that nothing less than offering ourselves as ‘living sacrifices’ to God will do in verse 1, he then rounds out the picture by telling us the ‘how […]

It’s kind of unusual to start a series on the book of Romans at chapter 12, three-quarters of the way through the book! But in an attempt to cover the more ‘practical’ aspects of the Christian life, and to follow on from the series on Malachi, Romans 12 is a great place to start – […]

The final words of Malachi’s book, found in Malachi 3:13-4:6 are also the final words of the Old Testament. While the Old Testament begins with God’s creative work in Genesis 1:1, it ends with God’s promise of a destructive work in Malachi 4:6. This is helpful, because it reminds us that while God’s people in […]

When our thinking about God is wrong, so too everything else will be wrong. In Malachi 2:17-3:15, the people of Judah’s thinking about God was way off. They thought that He had changed to the extent that He no longer cared about punishing sin or evil, and that He actually approved of sin and evil. […]

it has been noted that ‘the fish rots from the head down’. Given that the Lord God had already shown through the prophet Malachi that the priests (the leaders of the religious aspect of God’s people) were corrupt and spiritually poor, then it is little surprise that the people also began to disregard the word […]

You may have heard the expression, ‘the fish rots from the head down’. As with that proverbial fish, so with God’s people. In Malachi 2:1-9, we find that the cause of the spiritual decay that had set in among the people of Judah, was found in the priests of the day who were unfaithful and […]

We have a saying in Australia that goes, ‘things are crook in Tallarook’. Maybe they aren’t always, Tallarook is quite a pretty place. But things were certainly ‘crook’ in Judah when Malachi declared God’s word in Malachi 1:6-14. The people had settled back into Jerusalem after the exile, but the worship had been turned upside […]

The book of Malachi is the last of the books of the Old Testament, written about 450 years before the appearing of John the Baptist. In it, Lord addressed His people through the prophet Malachi, calling them to wake up to themselves. Their spiritual condition was poor. And so in Malachi 1:1-5, it’s surprising to […]

Borrowing from the work of John Mackay, guest preacher and theological student, Daniel Hitchcock explored some significant references in the Bible concerning stars, the magi mentioned in Matthew 2:1-15, and how these point to God as Creator and Saviour. Message Outline

Guest preacher and theological student, Daniel Hitchcock, spoke from Genesis 1 about God as creator. The author of creation has authority over it. This is a unique and exclusive claim and has many implications for us as his creatures. Because he is good and loving, we can take him at his word, rely on him […]

Among the book of Psalms there are many gems. Psalm 122:1-9 is one of those. This joyous Psalm was sung by pilgrims as they wound their way up to Jerusalem, expressing something of the joy they felt at the prospects before them. While we are not attached to Jerusalem in the way God’s people of […]

The book of Proverbs is a wonderful part of the ‘wisdom literature’ found in the Old Testament. The text of Proverbs 3:1-12 is especially helpful when considering the uncertainty of life – especially the new year (2025) ahead of us. The text calls us to do certain things, and it helps us to see that […]

There’s no doubt that the shepherds feature prominently in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus, especially so in Luke 2:8-20. The fact that the angels appeared to them and not Mary and Joseph must have had a purpose in God’s plan, and Luke likes to emphasize how utterly afraid they were because of their […]

One of the most common misconceptions about the birth of Jesus, especially the words of the angels in Luke 2:14-16, is that ‘peace on earth’ would be automatic. Just looking around at the world in any era of history will tell you that this didn’t happen and never will. What was the message of ‘peace’ […]

There are all kinds of things to be confused about at Christmas, but we ought not be confused about is what to believe. The virgin birth of Jesus is at the heart of the Christmas message and the gospel. But how could it have happened? And of what the critics say about it? How can […]

In 2 Timothy 4:9-22 we come to the final section of text in this letter. Paul’s last words. Last words take on signficance, especially when the person who gives them or says them is facing death. As Paul signs off to Timothy, his last words take on extra significance as we hear of his needs, […]

In 2 Timothy 4:1-8, we are close to the final words of Paul’s letter – although they are surely the climax of all that Paul has said. As Paul now wraps us what Timothy is expected to do, he uges him toward being diligent, fervent and constant – all in the light of the coming […]

Sometimes last words carry more ‘weight’ than others. As we draw closer to the end of Paul’s second letter to Timothy, his words in 2 Tmothy 3:10-17 stand out among his last instructions to the young pastor. In the context of dealing with false teachers and the prevalence of fale teaching in the last days, […]

When the Apostle Paul wrotes this his last letter to Timothy, he was aware that he was living in the ‘last days’ – days when human sin and rebellion will increase and become part and parcel of daily living. In fact, ever since the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven, those ‘last days’ have been here […]

Paul used numerous meteaphors in the first part of this letter and also in 2 Timothy 2:20-26, especially the diea of a ‘clean vessel’. In order that Timothy might be a ‘worker approved by God’, he would need to be like a ‘clean vessel’ and it would be this, not his wisdom or strength that […]

With the Apostle Paul aware that he would soon die, part of his motive in writing to Timothy the young pastor was to prepare him for the day when he would no longer be there to help him. Further to this, the church at Ephesus (like all the churches of that era) faced the challenges […]

The Apostle Paul was never one to tell someone what to do or to face danger, if he hadn’t done what he said or faced that danger himself. Sitting in his prison cell, writing to young pastor Timothy, Paul wanted Timothy to ‘do as he had done’ – that is, prove to be faithful in […]