40 Rockets

At BPC our desire is for all people to follow Jesus. 40 Rockets is an easy to read book full of tips and encouragements to help us talk to our friends about Jesus. It’s full of practical ideas to make gospel conversations an achievable reality.

In first term of 2018 we’re hoping everyone will read through 40 Rockets, and we’ll be talking about it at church, at Small Group, as we catch up for coffee… so that together we’ve got talking about Jesus on the agenda.

On March 28th, author Craig Josling will be speaking at our 40 Rockets Dinner, helping us see the value of talking with people about Jesus.

We have copies on sale at church for $10. Grab one and start reading!

Super Summer Slam 2018

Rugrats
Pre-school Age Children
Monday 15th – Friday 19th January
9am – 10:45am
Parents must remain on site.
Rug Rats will enjoy supervised play, craft, songs and stories from the Bible. Parents
are able to join in or relax over morning tea and activities whilst their kids enjoy some new friendships.

Triple S
K-6 Primary School Age Children
Monday 15th – Friday 19th January
9am – 12 midday
Triple S kids enjoy games, drama, songs, craft, lessons, and making friends.

SWITCH
High School & Teenagers
Monday 15th – Friday 19th
9.00am – 12 midday
Chill out, snacks, games, challenges, talks, discussions, surprises. Switch includes Dam Day on Wednesday—9am start at the Showground, followed by watersports, games, and hang out at Ben Chifley Dam from 10:30am to 3.30pm. Bring swimmers and packed lunch. Permission note required.

Switch Saturday Event
6pm – 8:30pm Saturday 20th of January
Free BBQ, challenges, live music and talk.

Register online at supersummerslam.com.au.

WHAT IS TRIPLE S?
Triple S stands for Super Summer Slam! It is an annual week of free fun and activities for the whole family! Triple S is focussed around three school holiday programs for pre-schoolers, primary schoolers and high schoolers at the Bathurst Showground.

WHY DO WE DO IT?
We want to give everyone in Bathurst the opportunity to hear the GOOD NEWS ABOUT JESUS! We believe God wants everyone to know him and be friends with him. Knowing God can change your life and give you hope for the future.

WHO RUNS TRIPLE S?
Triple S is run by Christians from:
Bathurst Presbyterian Church
Bathurst Evangelical Church
Bathurst Baptist Church
& a team of young people from churches across NSW.

Christmas 2017


We love Christmas because we love celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Come along and join the celebrations at any of our family friendly Christmas events!

On Christmas Eve (a Sunday) all our usual Sunday meetings are on – 9am Church, 10:30 Church, and NightChurch at 6pm. Also on Christmas Eve we have a special Kids and Family Celebration at 4pm. If you’ve got primary aged kids or grandkids, come along and hear the Christmas story and have a lot of fun at the same time.

On Christmas morning we’re celebrating the birth of Jesus at 9am. This is for our whole church family, but of course anyone else who wants to join us is welcome!

This Christmas we’ll be reading from John’s gospel. Christmas can mean all sorts of things to different people. Family. Food. Presents. Holidays. But what are the original reasons for the season? In our short series we’ll be investigating what Jesus himself says about why he was born and therefore what Christmas is really all about.

December 17th – The Coming of a king – John 18.28-40
December 24th – The Coming of a life-giver – John 10.1-10
Christmas Day – The Coming of a saviour – John 3.17

The Essential Jesus

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Jesus is the single most life changing person in human history. He has been transforming lives for 2,000 years now! In that time a lot of myths and rumours have grown up about him. But there is a way to cut through all the spin and junk and discover the real Jesus for yourself. Here we have a recording of Jesus’ life as researched by the ancient historian and biographer Dr Luke. He was able to get his information from eyewitnesses who encountered and were changed by this remarkable man.

If you like what you hear, please join us at church on Sundays. We love getting back to the real Jesus and seeing the enormous difference he makes; not just in the past, but also today and into the future.

To listen to our series of bible talks from Luke’s gospel, called Announcements That Will Change Your Life! head over to our bible talks archive.

Review: The Plausibility Problem, by Ed Shaw

the-plausibility-problemThe Plausibility Problem: The Church and Same-sex Attraction, by Ed Shaw

There are many books from a Christian perspective on homosexuality. Many are biblical, but many fall short of being biblically helpful. The Plausibility Problem is a book that not only shows how God’s way is right, but also that God’s way is good.

Ed Shaw is same-sex attracted. Shaw understands that if Christians are to live out their relationships and sexuality God’s way they must be not only convinced of its rightness, but also of its plausibility.

So, what is the plausibility problem?

How can you look Peter in the eye and deny him sex forever? How can we ask Jane to turn her back on the one human relationship that has brought her joy? It just won’t seem plausible to them. It doesn’t sound that reasonable to us either. And what doesn’t help them or us much is the standard evangelical response to what they’re facing. We’ve basically adopted the slogan from the 1980s anti-drugs song: ‘Just Say No!’ That’s often all we have to say – exacerbated by the proof-text parade if anyone raises any objections… That used to be a plausible argument for most. To be an evangelical has always meant holding to the truth of ‘The divine inspiration of Holy Scripture as originally given and its supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct’. And when it comes to homosexual practice, those Scriptures are pretty clear; evangelicals like clarity, and those verses were more than enough clarity for many, for years. We all knew where we stood.

In our world, the evangelical church’s message lacks any traction, and simply produces incredulity from the majority. In our world, to live God’s way is simply untenable for the same-sex attracted person. It’s a denial of who you are. You miss out on too much. Such suffering ought to be avoided. And so often those who are same sex attracted give up on following Jesus because God’s words to them on living as a Christian seem implausible for them, and the church often makes that lifestyle seem implausible. Stop and consider that last statement for a moment. And let me repeat it. Those who are same sex attracted often give up on Christianity because the lifestyle seems implausible, and the church often contributes to that.

Shaw outlines 9 missteps our churches have made—9 ways in which we’ve been too shaped by the world around us, and not shaped enough by the gospel. These missteps are the beliefs that:

  1. Your identity is your sexuality
  2. A family is Mum, Dad and 2.4 children
  3. If you’re born gay, it can’t be wrong to be gay
  4. If it makes you happy, it must be right
  5. Sex is where true intimacy is found
  6. Men and women are equal and interchangeable
  7. Godliness is heterosexuality
  8. Celibacy is bad for you
  9. Suffering is to be avoided.

Because we buy into these ideas in our churches, Shaw says:

We have a plausibility issue: what the bible so clearly teaches sounds so unreasonable to many of us today. And so it is (not unreasonably!) being rejected all over the place… What can we do about it? Well, this is where this book is designed to help. Its basic premise is simple: we just have to make what the Bible clearly commands seem plausible again. We need to remind ourselves, and remind Peter and Jane, that Jesus says this to us all: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

These missteps aren’t just relevant to same-sex attraction. They are problems with our understanding of how the the fullness of the gospel shapes our lives and our church. So Shaw carefully and pastorally challenges us with the gospel to rethink how we live out our identities, our relationships, the expression of our sexuality, and our understanding of life as a follower of king Jesus.

The struggle is real for the same-sex attracted follower of Jesus. There’s no denying that. The Plausibility Problem invites us all into a real family, full of real intimacy, and into a real marriage with Christ.

This book is certainly for those who are same-sex attracted. But it’s not only for them. It’s also for:

  • Parents of those who are, or might one day be – same sex attracted
  • Pastors and church leaders and elders
  • You, if you’re part of a church who wants the gospel to shape the way you think and act around those who are same sex attracted.

Have you committed some of the missteps Shaw outlines? I have. I’m going to try hard not to any more. So that I can be a faithful witness for Jesus to same sex attracted people, but also because I want my life to be shaped more and more by the gospel.

So, do you want to make the life of the Christians who experience same-sex attraction more plausible? Then do some-counter-cultural things! Take a moment to review the last big decision you made: if you’re honest, were your actions driven primarily by what would make you happy here and now? If that was the case, recognise the misstep of thinking that if it makes you happy, it must by right. Repent and stop seeing your personal happiness as the authority in your life: embrace God’s word as your authority. Experience the temporary unhappiness that this often will bring, in the certain hope of the lasting happiness that God’s Word promises will eventually be all yours in his new creation – forever and a day.

If you only read one book on the church and same-sex attraction, make it this one.

You can buy The Plausibility Problem online.

Here’s a couple of other reviews…

Autumn Fair 2015

Website Banner Autumn Fair

MAY 2ND | ARTS & CRAFTS
CAKES & JAMS | DEVONSHIRE TEA
BARBECUE | PLANTS | FACE PAINTING
LIVE MUSIC | WHITE ELEPHANT
JUMPING CASTLE | CLOTHING
& LOTS MORE…

Facebook event page

Come along to the church grounds, join the fun and grab a bargain. This year all proceeds of Autumn Fair will be donated to Veritas House, who work with the victims of domestic violence, those dealing with homelessness, and others in need in our community. We give, because Jesus gave–he gave his life to rescue us, even though he owed us nothing.

Church Weekend Away: Resurrection: Past, Present, & Future

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June 19-21 | RSVP by June 7th

REGISTER ONLINE

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1 NIV)

Notice anything strange about the above verse? It says that we have already been raised with Christ. Don’t we only get raised to life after we die? The fact is, the resurrection is a massive reality that governs our whole existence. It’s grounded in the past, it directs our everyday present and it gives us certain hope for the future. Come along and be transformed by a deeper understanding of the resurrection – both Jesus’ and yours!