Bendigo Presbyterian Church

What is the most surprising thing? That Nineveh repented at Jonah’s message from God? Or, as we read in Jonah 4:1-4, that Jonah is angry that the message was heeded and God spared the people – after he was spared himself! Do we forget God’s promises? Are we surprised by God’s mercy? Do we doubt […]

While Paul speaks about love being the mark of the Christian and his/her resp;onsibility to extend it to all men, he is also aware that there are times and circumstances that make ‘loving others’ difficult. In Romans 13;11-14, he outlines some of these difficulties while also calling believers to see ‘how’ love can flourish – […]

In Romans 13:8-10, Paul spoeaks again about love, but this time in the context of the Law of God. The Old and New Testaments are not enemies but friends, and love is a dominant theme of both the Old and the New Testaments, even though some would say otherwise. In presenting this call to love […]

In Mark 1:21-45, we see Jesus demonstrate authority in teaching, over unclean spirits, and in healing the sick. As amazing as Jesus’ authority is (the spirits are terrified and fear Jesus destroying them) we also see what is important to Jesus and what he has come to do with this authority: He cares about relationship […]

In Romans 13:1-7, Paul continues along in the same train of thought, but with a different application – that of how believers ought to relate to those who are in positions of authority over them. How should believers live as those wanting to give themselves as ‘living sacrifices’ to the God who showed us such […]

In Romans 12;17-21, Paul sets out the way in which the believer should respond to those who hate and mistreat them. Jesus promised that His followers would face persecution for His sake and this is certainly borne out in practise. Believers all around the world are mistreated in major ways, but also, many of us […]

In Romans 12:14-16, Paul continues to explore the applications of what it means to be transformed from within by the Spirit of God. Having addressed the way we are to relate to each other within the body of Christ, his concern now is to apply some more principles in relating to others who are ‘outside’ […]

In Jonah 3, we read how by repentance, Jonah was delivered from the sea and from the fish. By repentance, Jonah obeyed the Lord, went to Nineveh and proclaimed the judgment of God. By repentance, the people of Nineveh caused the Lord to relent so that he did not judge them as they deserved. By […]

The story of the resurrection of Jesus isn’t just a made up story to make us feel good about death or to give Jesus some more status that wasn’t meant for him. In Matthew 28:1-10, the facts are laid out for all to see and they must be wrestled with! For, if God did really […]

When the gospel writer, Matthew, recorded the fact that Mrs Pilate (Claudia Procla) told her husband, Pontius Pilate, about her dream and her ill-feeling towards the situation her husband would soon be in, sentencing the Lord Jesus, we could ask the question, why? Why did Matthew record that incident? There might well be some suggestions […]

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 […]

Any talk about being ‘soldiers of Christ’ may be a bit ‘on the nose’ for many today. Images of the Crusades might quickly come to mind. But this was the metaphor that Paul used the most in 2 Timothy 2:1-7 as the Apostle urged Timothy to do many things that would show him to be […]

As Paul wrote to the younger pastor/teacher Timothy from his Roman jail cell, his time on earth was short, and Timothy’s time on earth would soon become more complicated with the rise of many false teachings and teachers. So what Paul wanted Timothy to do was be committed to the truth of the gospel – […]

Message Outline • What's unbelievable here?• Jonah's sin• Your sin and mine• See how the text speaks of…. ‘Fruit in keeping with repentance'Responding to the grace of God…Something you need to put right?

Message Outline • Jonah, down, but not gone!• The appointed rescuer• Did it really happen?• See how the text speaks of…. Vows?Before you vow!If you've broken a vow…

In this message on 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Presbyterian Theological College student, Aaron Maskell, encourages us from the text to live lives on integrity (by both believing and living the gospel) based on Paul’s experience and example. Message Outline Introduction

In 2 Timothy 1:8-12, we find that the Apostle Paul was just ‘getting warmed up’ after his initial greeting to Timothy. After establishing the reasons why he was so thankful for Timothy, Paul proceedes with some exhortations to Timothy to take responsibility for the gospel, not so much teaching it (not yet anyway), but suffering […]

The letter of Paul to Timothy that we know as 2 Timothy is significant for a number of reasons, but mainly because it stands as Paul’s last letter before his execution. Written to his younger son and trainee Timothy, a pastor-teacher in the first century, it is full of warm feelings from Paul to Timothy, […]

The text of Genesis 35:1-29 tells us that Jacob finnaly headed from Shechem, where there had been much disgrace brought upon his family, to Bethel, where God renewed so many of His promises to Jacob’s family. With three revelations of the Lord to Jacob on the way to and while at Bethel and three deaths […]

There’s no way of looking at Genesis 34:1-31 without saying that the story is not a pretty picture. In fact, the actions of jacob’s sons were deplorable, as we the actions of the young man who raped Jacob’s daughter Dinah. Moses, who recorded the story for us, certainly doesn’t hold back – even Jacob himself […]

The text of Genesis 33:1-20 gives the conclusion to the long anticipated meeting of Jacob and his twin, Esau. All that Jacob had been through now led up to this most significant moment when he would have to face up to his brother. But while the reader might have expected to be fireworks and anger, […]

When Jacob was left alone at the river Jabbok, with all his family and goods sent on ahead of him to placate Esau, he could never have known that this was the moment when his life would be changed forever. After meeting with angels earlier in chapter 32, then his own messengers returning from Esau, […]

When Jacob finally broke ties with Laban, he had another, bigger trial with someone else ahead of him. His twin brother, Esau. Though Jacob feared His meeting with Esau, God showed his great kindness to Jacob in preparing him for what was ahead – even sending his angels to remind him of his previous encounter […]

After Jacon and family left Laban secretly, it’s little wonder that Laban did his best to ctach up with his fleeing family. The text of Genesis 31:22-55 tells the story of how Laban caught up with Jacob, the difficult conversation thjat followed and the fruitless search for the household gods he valued so highly (that […]

There are many times when decision making is hard. Guidance doesn’t always come easy. But in the case of Jacob in Genesis 31:1-21, the Lord made the decision for Jacob to leave Laban a relatively easy one. He told him to go. Circumstances around Jacob were also pointing in that same direction. And even when […]

Through all the story of Jacob’s life, God’s providence and favour toward him is evident. This is never more so than in the outworkings of the evenst recorded in Genesis 30:25-43. While Jacob is trying to free himself from Laban’s hold, the Lord enables Jacob to see his flocks and wealth flourish under His good […]

Although the Bible tells of men who had more than one wife (such as Abraham and Jacob) it never speaks favourably about it. Jacob is a case in point. Although he loved Rachel and ended up being married to her after marrying her sister, Leah, things didn’t work out well! Jacob soon found himself in […]