ALMOST 2,000 Christians from all denominations united to prayfor our nation on Australia Day. In support of this prayer celebra-tion, the Hon Peter Costello, former Federal Treasurer, brought aspecial greeting.

In this era of economic downturn, the prayer meeting, bring-ing together Christian leaders from many different denominationsat the Melbourne Town Hall, focussed on prayer for the Aus-tralian Government, the faltering economy, armed forces, farm-ing communities (and the need for more rain), unity of theChurch and Christian pastors/leaders, the media, Indigenouspeople, and the rising generation, as well as general stimulationto the business sector.

Pastor Danny Nalliah, President of Catch the Fire Ministries(an interdenominational Christian ministry) said he had specifi-cally asked Mr Costello to bring a message because he is ‘aman of integrity’. ‘We wanted Peter to bring a special messageto this gathering because he is a man of integrity who constantlydemonstrates good moral values. He also is very genuine andloves his country. He’s a man who is willing to stand his groundfor the truth, who stands for Australian values based on ourJudeo Christian heritage’, Danny Nalliah said.

The Most Important Thing‘I can’t think of a more important thing to be doing than to unitein prayer for the nation on this, our National Day’, Peter Costellosaid.

‘The first sermon ever preached on Australian soil (by the Rev Richard Johnson) was preached on the words “What shallwe render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward us?” As welook back over hundreds of years of Australian history we canstill see the benefits of God to us – a wonderful country, won-derful people, a home given to those who have come from allover the world, a country that has had a peaceful and prosper-ous history, a country that is now respected around the world.

‘The following verse of the Psalm says: “I will take the cup ofsalvation and call upon the Name of the Lord”, and what greatergift is there than the gift God has given in Jesus Christ? Andwhat more can we do than take hold of it and call upon theName of the Lord, as you are doing today?’

Denominational representatives, including those from theBaptist, Anglican, Presbyterian, AOG, Uniting, Pentecostal,Salvation Army, Catholic and many other churches, came togeth-er for what has become an annual gathering.

AUSTRALIA’S CHRISTIAN NEWSPAPER

VOLUME 71NUMBER 13

www.nlife.com.au ‘Tell the people the full message of this new life.’ (Acts 5.20b)

Thursday 5 February 2009 $2.00 Print Post Approved No. 34918100419

Christians Unite To Pray On Australia Day– Special Greeting From Peter Costello

Pastor Danny Nalliah (centre) leads the Australia For Jesus Prayer Rally in Melbourne Town Hall on Australia Day.

Health ConcernsSOME Third World countries are seeing anapparent increase in illnesses such as dia-betes, cancer and high blood pressure lead-ing to strokes in poorer villages where theseused not to be seen. Pray that Christian vil-lagers will not return to witchcraft to seek acure but will seek the Great Physician tointervene. May Christian workers have wis-dom in guiding those who suffer.New Appointments For 2009GEOFF Cramb is the new QueenslandState Director for Global Interaction.Stewart and Bronwen Hunt are SeniorPastors with Eltham Baptist Church aftermany years in cross-cultural work. Andrewand Lynda Boutros are Pastor at Canter-bury Gardens Community Church. JohnWilletts has been appointed EngineeringInstructor and Jennifer Barton as PA/Admin-istration Officer with the Mission AviationCourse (BCV) at Coldstream. Dale andCheryl Stagg have been appointed asDirector of HCJB Australia, and Peter andGwyneth Michalke as Site Manager of KNXat Kununurra. Pray for these families asthey settle into new situations.Spiritual Warfare With Unreached PeopleDR Grahame Martin has seen God answerprayer after prayer as Satan attempted tothwart plans to prepare the vessel MVPeace for an evangelistic visit to the Idipeople in New Guinea. Five attempts havebeen made to plant a church among them(1956-2002) but without success. At thebeginning of 2009 a team sailed fromCairns with the goal of working with theleaders of the Arufe church to evangelisethese resistant people. Grahame com-ments: 'It is going to be a tough assign-ment, but God says “I sent you to reap whatyou have not worked for. Others have donethe hard work, and you have reaped thebenefits of their labour”.' (John 4.38)

Grahame reports that in answer toprayer the MV Peace has safely left Aus-tralian shores. The crossing has been diffi-cult, with strong winds and difficulties withCustoms in Daru, finally having to pay K400to be allowed in! Keep praying for safety intravel, God's provision, and the Idi peopleprepared by the Holy Spirit to receive theGospel.News From Dr David And Margaret PriceDAVID will be heading to PNG for someimportant CLTC related meetings beforeEaster and then they are preparing for the

Pioneers Europe region conference in lateApril where David will give the daily Biblemessages and Margaret will share with theladies. ‘Continued growth in our Missionmembership keeps the responsibilitiesheavy in our Member Care and trainingareas of Pioneers’, they report. Special Couple NeededGLO at Riverstone, NSW is seeking a cou-ple gifted to host their centre where stu-dents are learning English and training formission. Contact Laurie Cowell, laurie@glo-australia.com phone 02 9838 1595.Praise GodTHE great-grandson of Adoniram Judson inBurma is now Chairman of Myanmar Evan-gelical Fellowship. He is also working along-side MAP Partners (Ministries for AsiaPacific) as they seek to evangelise Myan-mar and other Asian countries. Founder andPresident is Ooi Chin Aik, C/ 19-23 HollandRoad, Blackburn South, Vic 3130(map@pd.jaring.my).Nungalinya College, NTPRAYER is asked for the college as it startsa new year providing a safe and welcominglearning environment for many students andseeks to protect the legacy of indigenouslanguage and culture. Pray for the staff andthe Principal Rev Dr Lee Levett-Olson.Many issues have to be faced.The Cyclone Season!CHRISTIANS in the cyclone prone regionsof Australia are asking for God's protectionat this time for themselves and their churchproperties. May they maintain a strong wit-ness for the Lord.Reaching Chinese SeafarersIAN and Vivian Dennis, European ChristianMission workers in Melbourne, are seekingto send emails to Chinese seamen usingChinese script, hoping they will then be ableto respond. Pray that this will be effective.Reaching Children And FamiliesAROUND Australia Camps and BeachMissions have been held. Pray that themessage will take strong root in the heartsand minds of those who have been impact-ed by God's Word. Pray for recovery forthose who have led these teams – it is anexhausting time for them.Good News For Antofogasta, Chile700 young people are determined to win thecity for the Lord going home to home withChristian literature under the auspices ofEvery Home for Christ. Pray for God to givethe increase.

VisitingAustraliaPASTOR PaulDonoh is theministry leader of Peace Makers Fellowship,Kenya. He will be visiting Australia at theinvitation of CNEC Partners Internationalfrom 27 February until 31 March, speakingin each State. Contact CNEC by phone on03 9899 2044, or 02 9745 2840 or emailcnec@cnecpi.com.auPaul H Popov To Visit AustraliaDOOR of Hope International (02 96328148) announces the visit of Paul H Popovfrom 12-23 March. The organisation seeksto serve as the voice of the sufferingchurch. (www.VOTSC.org)Completing Yumplatok New TestamentMICHAEL and Charlotte Corden (SIL,Torres Strait Islands) report that onlyColossians, 1 and 2 Peter, Philemon andJude remain to be first drafted. Much workis still required to achieve their goal of July2011 to actually complete everything forprinting. Pray for strength, health, accuracy,motivation, and funding to enable this goalto be achieved.2009 Is A New YearPRAY for the many hundreds (thousands?)of Christians starting new courses at univer-sities, Bible Colleges, Theological Colleges,or in other areas. May each be fully equip-ped for God's service now and in the future.Full-Time Volunteer Manager RequiredLINDSAY Nicholls asks prayer for such amanager to run the despatch depot ofJesus DVDs, the evangelistic tool to reachall in Australia. Contact Lindsay, 4 Ingrid St,Dandenong North, Vic 3175, phone: 039791 1830.Four Nations – One Need – God's WordTHIS is the 2009 slogan of the Bible Societyin Australia as they focus on four countriesfor their special project – the countries ofVietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Bangladesh.It reports that most of the 252 million peopleliving across those countries have not yetbeen impacted by the Good News of JesusChrist.Pray For God's Healing OMF Australia asks prayer for Troy andRamona Hester on home assignment inAustralia. Troy has had a recurrence of theGuillian Barre disease he suffered fiveyears ago. This is a serious disease andprayer is needed for him to make a com-plete recovery.

HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE WITH THE WILSONS

Page Two – 5 February 2009 – NEW LIFE

Clifford and Barbara Wilson

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Three

THE casualties continued to rise inGaza as Israel continued to retaliatefor the dozens of Hamas-fired mis-siles that broke the cease-fire whichled the Israelis to launch their offen-sive. Tom Doyle, with E3 Partners,says Hamas voted on 23 Decemberto institute Sharia (Islamic) law inGaza. Doyle says that means radicalIslam will rule – women must be

veiled, secret police will be watchingeveryone, and worse. ‘They alsoincluded in that the ability to crucifysomeone if they make a chargeagainst Islam. It's just definitelygoing backwards in that community’.

Doyle believes that if Hamaswere ousted by the Israelis, therewould be dancing in the streets.Others believe radicals will be even

more hardened. Despite the turmoil,Christians are having an impact.‘We're seeing believers there reachout to help feed believers, Muslims,or nominal Christians, and they'rehelping out in the midst of it’, hesays. Doyle is asking Christians topray that believers will be preservedand will use this opportunity to shareChrist.

‘IN THE FURNACE OF AFFLICTION...’

Uzbekistan Church Learning ToOvercome Amidst PersecutionTHROUGHOUT 2008, the Christians in Uz-bekistan continued to face persecution fromthe government. This has included policeraiding church services, harassment, confis-cation and even destruction of Bibles andother Christian material, arrest and deten-tion of church leaders and members, finesand imprisonment, sometimes with beat-ings. Some large registered churches havebeen closed down. Mass media continuenegative coverage of the Protestant church-es, resulting in harsher persecution ofChristians by society. However, the perse-cution has also resulted positively in agrowing consolidation, unity and mutualhelp amongst Christians, as well asstronger prayer and fasting. Christians inUzbekistan ask us to pray that they may be100% victorious amidst persecution!

Palestinian Christians Face EvenMore Trouble In Gaza

New LifeNew Life – Let us build you up in your most holy faith –SUBSCRIBE TODAY!SUBSCRIBE TODAY!SUBSCRIPTION:$50pa $25 six months$45pa (student/pensioner/full time Christian worker)$25pa (email version)

EMAIL:office@nlife.com.aueditor@nlife.com.au

PHONE:03 9890 3377

POST:PO Box 457Mitcham Vic 3132

VISIT:56 Rutland Rd,Box Hill Vic 3128

CONTACT US NOW!

Tensions Restrict EvangelismRISING tensions between India and Pakistan are impacting the spread of the Gospel.‘We do have work in Kashmir which is where the greatest tension is and even the fightingwar has been going on there, but it's very dangerous to travel. And so the amount ofevangelistic and church-planting work that can go on in Kashmir is very limited. It's limit-ed to a few places where it's relatively safe’. That's Dave Stravers with Grand Rapids,Michigan-based Mission India. Many new Christians face anti-conversion laws, whichrequire them to obtain signatures from the police before their baptism. However, theyusually disregard the law. ‘They said: “No-one is doing that. We're not doing that. Youcannot obey that law because you're only inviting the police to send extremists to yourhouse to browbeat you or even to attack you”.’ Pray that the Gospel will continue tospread as Christians choose to obey God rather than man.

YOU CAN ADVERTISE HERE CALL ALISON 03 9890 3377EMAIL: alison@nlife.com.au

World Economic Situation And MissionPIONEERS Xpress newsletter, December2008, has an interesting perspective writtenby one of their Board members, Trevor G.C.Smith, on this much talked about situation. Isummarise:

People across the world are beingadversely affected by changes in their finan-cial situation. Many have seen their super-annuation funds drastically diminished astrading profits have plunged, and Govern-ments around the world are injecting fin-ance into the banking industry and otherkey industries to try to maintain some sortof stability in what is a chaotic situation.

This all impacts missionaries on the field,many of whom are paid in US dollars. Livingexpenses increase, as does travel, pur-chase of equipment and supplies. Poten-tially it will impact donations from supportersat home for aid and other projects, in spiteof any tax deductibility.

Does this all speak doom and gloom?Not necessarily. It might instead open doorsof opportunity for workers to develop rela-tionships in a new way. It might even causeChristians to re-evaluate their life and areasof ministry. They might be open to hearGod's call to serve overseas.

Let us all continue to trust God for Hisprovision and supply, and be generous inour sharing with those in need.Training For The FutureWE often hear the words: 'Thank God forthe Salvos', and that is certainly true in thissituation. Their 'Employment Plus' hasbecome the first Job Network provider to bea full-time presence in a remote indigenouscommunity. Lauren Martin reports in OnFire, 6 December, of the first graduation inWoorabinda, located 170 km south-west ofRockhampton. The local media speaks ofthis community as being a place of sub-stance abuse and riots with the 900 strongpopulation being very wary of outsiders.

Now an office has been set up thereproviding for the first time access to a con-sultant five days a week, the internet andonline job search facilities. They were ableto move several into full-time work, particu-larly with the mines, who fully participated inthe training. The big need was to developskills, so ten were chosen to participate inan eight-week course. This resulted in fourbeing offered jobs, and others who havepartially completed the recruitment process-es.

This is Christianity in action, and ourprayer is that spiritual training and growthwill go right along with other skills. Yet Another Pyramid UnearthedTHIS time it is beneath the sand at Saq-qara, near Memphis which is relatively closeto Cairo. Egypt's antiquities' chief ZahiHawas suggested that the monument prob-ably belonged to the Queen Mother of thefounder of Egypt's 6th dynasty dating toabout 4,300 BC, which we are told is sever-al hundred years after the famous GreatPyramids of Giza.

Only a square-shaped structure fivemetres tall is still standing, but it was cov-ered by huge quantities of dumped sand.The sides are about 22 metres long. Itseems that the pyramid was at one time 14metres high.

I always find it interesting to hear thatEgyptian aurthorities date the pyramids torelatively recent dates – even ‘younger’ thanthis date. When I was a boy they were usu-ally dated to hundreds of thousands ofyears. It's remarkable how dating – and notonly of buildings such as the pyramids! –has come down in just one generation.‘Thief Walks Free, Victim Charged'AN interesting report comes from London,telling us that a boss who marched a thiev-ing worker to a police station with a placardaround his neck, was charged with falseimprisonment. However, the so-called crimi-nal – who claimed he was not guilty – tookaction against his boss who had forciblymade him parade past shoppers in busyHigh Street with the word 'Thief' around hisneck. The boss and three associates werecharged with false imprisonment.

There is some similarity to our Lord beingforcibly imprisoned and the word 'placard'coming into play in Luke 23.48 where weread that many came together to see thesight of what had been done to Jesus.Ultimately the one (Satan) who organisedthe false charge against our Lord will bedealt with by God, exposed as a wrong-doer.

Paul reminds us at I Corinthians 4.9 thatwe too are made 'a spectacle to the world'.The Greek word is theatron and it means atheatre or a spectacle.

The point I am making is that just as thecrowd would come to the Colosseum inRome to see 'the spectacle' of men fightingto the death with lions, or against eachother, so it was that lusting crowds came to

the spectacleof seeing ourLord crucifiedin agony. The sign that says 'This is Jesusof Nazareth, the King of the Jews' was sup-posed to be a statement of His crime. EvenPilate would not alter what he had written,for five times he made it clear that hebelieved that Jesus should be released, forhe was not guilty of any crime.Even A Worm Will Turn!DR James Watson was one of the two pio-neers who won the Nobel Prize in 1962 fordiscovering the double helix structure ofDNA. Now at 79 years of age he has beensuspended from the top US laboratorywhere he was Chancellor. He has apolo-gised for his remarks to the effect thatAfricans were genetically inferior to whitepeople. He says that he understands howpeople reacted so strongly to what he saidand stated that he knew there was no sci-entific basis for such a belief.

Other scientists were quick to say hisarguments were quite inconsistent 'with thebody of research literature in this area', andone declared that 'At a time when the scien-tific community is feeling threatened bypolitical forces seeking to undermine hiscredibility, it is tragic that one of the icons ofmodern science has cast such dishonour onthe profession’.

It is indeed sad that a man who hasmade such a wonderful contribution toknowledge as regards DNA should havesuch a totally unacceptable point of view.What a pity he hadn't taken the step of say-ing that the almost incredible findings withDNA point unerringly to the amazing factthat all men whether black, yellow or whiteor grades in between come from the sameparents, and there have been amazing peo-ple from each of the various divisions. Asthe Scriptures say God has 'made of oneblood all nations of men on the face of theEarth'. (Acts 17.26)

CURRENT COMMENT – CLIFFORD WILSON

Page Four – 5 February 2009 – NEW LIFE

A ‘NEW LIFE’subscription

makes a great gift.Call Alison

03 9890 3377for details.

VOLUME 71NUMBER 135 February 2009ISSN: 1033-7903

FOUNDER:Eric J. Daley (1910-1992)

EDITORIAL TEAM:Rev Dr Bob ThomasDr Clifford WilsonDr Barbara Wilson

EMAIL:office@nlife.com.aueditor@nlife.com.auPHONE:(03) 9890 3377FAX:(03) 9897 4561POST:PO Box 457Mitcham VIC 3132REGISTERED OFFICE:CBM Building,56 Rutland Rd,Box Hill VIC 3128WEB-SITE:www.nlife.com.au

SUBSCRIPTION:$50pa ($25 half year)$45pa (student/

pensioner/f/t Christian worker)$25pa (email version)

Your subscriptioncontinuesuntil you cancel.

ACCEPTANCE OFADVERTISINGDOES NOT IMPLYENDORSEMENT

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Five

AUSTRALIA’S CHRISTIAN NEWSPAPER

Published by New Life Australia. LtdABN 15 005 035 138, of 56 RutlandRd, Box Hill Vic 3129, and printed byNewsprinters Pty Ltd, Melbourne Rd,Shepparton Vic 3630. (All letters toNew Life please).

Off On A Wrong SteerSOMETIMES you can’t help feeling sorry for an adversary. The atheists inthe UK decided to have a tilt at belief in God so they placed advertising slo-gans on the side of 800 buses in England, Scotland and Wales, and on theLondon Underground in a four-week campaign costing £140,000($A300,000). It is supported by the British Humanist Association and theatheist scientist Richard Dawkins, and this is what they came up with:

There's Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying And Enjoy Your Life.Wow.First of all, if there’s ‘probably’ no God do they even believe their own

propaganda? No strident assertion here, just ‘probability’.Secondly though, it’s precisely because there IS a God – and He is

almighty – that Christians don’t worry in any case and thoroughly enjoy livinglife to the full, or as Jesus says, ‘abundantly’. We’d have cause to worry ifthere really were no God and everything in the cosmos as we know it hascome about by a fantastic number of fantastic co-incidences occurring overa fantastically long period of time; if we were the hapless victims of blindfate, chance or luck. But knowing God and living under His sovereign powerfrees us from worry and enables us to live life to the full.

Reports reaching us in the Antipodes haven’t told us anything yet of thedegree of satisfaction the British Humanist Asociation has had with its adver-tising campaign. We have learned, however, that Christians on the wholehave reacted positively to the ‘probably no God’ campaign, saying that ithelps spark debate and provides an opportunity to talk about God. Well Ishould think so.

Meanwhile here in Melbourne on Australia Day, as my wife and I enteredMelbourne Town Hall for the Australia For Jesus rally, we saw a couple ofdejected, joyless, worried looking atheists holding up placards protestingagainst the rally.

What a contrast this pair made to the crowd inside who were literallyjumping with joy for Jesus. We prayed for them and cherish the hope thatthe Lord would use the witness of His people to bring these poor worriedand joyless ones to know that He exists and to put their faith in the LordJesus Christ.

‘And not just those two, Lord, but all the others who live their lives inuncertainty, worry and sadness’.

– Bob Thomas

Page Six – 5 February 2009 – NEW LIFE

WILLIAM Graham Tullian Tchividjian, grand-son of Billy Graham, is in line to become thesenior pastor of Coral Ridge PresbyterianChurch in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, suc-ceeding its founding pastor, the Rev D.James Kennedy, who died in September2007 at the age of 76.

Rev Tullian Tchividjian made one pointclear, though: it was him and his church ornot at all. ‘I'm flattered, but God put me atNew City Church,’ he said. ‘We talked infor-mally about a merger last summer, but Ithought neither church was ready’.

Coral Ridge appears ready now. Gasps,then applause, greeted Tchividjian's nameas Dr Dan Westphal, head of Coral Ridge'ssearch committee, announced it during themorning service, including the prospectivemerger of the churches. If all goes well (amonth of talks by heads of both churches,plus a congregational vote lies ahead)Tchividjian will be only the second seniorpastor the Fort Lauderdale church has had.

The prospective pastor is a grandson ofBilly Graham with a taste for surfing, popmusic and powerful preaching. He is one ofseven children of Gigi Tchividjian, the eldestdaughter of Billy and Ruth Graham. Hisfather, Swiss-Armenian psychologistStephan Tchividjian, is a member of NewCity Church.

Born in Jacksonville and raised in SouthFlorida, Tullian was named after Tertullian, atheologian of the Second and Third cen-

turies. He is the only one of the famousevangelist's grandchildren to be the seniorpastor of a church. His older brotherStephan Jr, is a minister at Calvary Chapelof Fort Lauderdale.

The pro-posed mergerwould join dif-ferent kinds ofcongrega-tions:Tchividjian'svigorous, 5-1/2-year-oldchurch withattendance of600 to 700,and an estab-lished, half-century-old church of 2,200members and weekly attendance of 1,800.

Dr Dan Westphal, head of Coral Ridge'ssearch committee, said: ‘This will be anexciting legacy for both Dr Kennedy andBilly Graham. I've come to know Tullian well,and he is a godly man’. Davis went on tosay that representatives on both sidesstressed that the possible merger, andTchividjian's proposed Coral Ridge pas-torate, still are not definite.

Tchividjian already has several links withCoral Ridge. His famous grandfatherpreached the dedication sermon of thechurch sanctuary in 1974. Tullian hosts ashow on WAFG-FM 90.3, the church's radio

station, and occasionally preaches duringchapel hour at its Westminster Academy.

He also attended the school but droppedout during a period of rebellion, sinking intoSouth Florida's ‘pleasure-saturated culture’.He then came to a personal faith in Jesus atthe age of 21 and returned to a Christianlifestyle.

He earned degrees in philosophy atColumbia International University in SouthCarolina, and in divinity at ReformedTheological Seminary in Orlando.

He has written two books for MultnomahPress in Colorado Springs: Do I Know God?Finding Certainty In Life's Most ImportantRelationship, and Unfashionable: Making ADifference In The World By Being Different,due out in April.

Besides church work, Tchividjian enjoysweightlifting while playing the likes of Cold-play or John Mayer on his iPod, and enjoyssurfing when time permits, as well as spend-ing time with wife Kim and their children.

Tchividjian said he shares Coral Ridge'slongtime values of ‘passionate preaching’and ‘robust theological commitment’. But headded that his selection as pastor shows thelarger, older church remains flexible. ‘Foranyone who thinks Coral Ridge can'tchange, this demonstrates that that is justnot true’, he said.

– Dan Wooding, from a story written byJames D. Davis, Religion Editor for South

Florida for the Sun-Sentinel.

CHRISTIANS IN THE ACTION ...

MRS Gillean Smiley is the new Chief Exec-utive Officer for Bible Society SA. She tookup the post at the beginning of January.

Mrs Smiley succeeds Michael Chant,who relinquished the post in October afterserving for six years.

A graduate of Sydney University and theSydney Institute for Education, Mrs Smileytaught as a secondary teacher in BrokenHill for five years from 1986 before movingto Clare in SA.

Since 2003 she has been the Managerfor Corporate Services for the AdelaideFestival Centre. She has also served asExecutive Officer and as Senior Consultantfor Policy and Programming for the Trainingand Development Unit of the Department

for Education, Training and Employment.Commenting on her new post, Mrs

Smiley said: ‘I am looking forward to build-ing bridges to people — developing existingrelationships and growing new ones. I willbe working to make Bible Society SA knownand accessible to all sectors of the Chris-tian community, and to all age groups, as asupport to the Christian church in all itsfacets.’ She said she hopes to find andaccess tools such as new IT technology tobetter reach audiences and further the BibleSociety’s goal of making the Bible availableand accessible to people in Australia andoverseas.

Rev Robert J WiebuschChair, Bible Society SA

New Head For Bible Society SA

Billy Graham's Grandson To Pastor Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Seven

SYDNEY Churches are being encouragedto sign up early for Bible Society’s ‘Jesus.All about life’ prime-time media campaignwhich starts in mid-September and runs forsix weeks. (See NL 27-11-2008 p.13).

‘We are very pleased that the campaignhas received the support of the major de-nominations in Sydney’, said Bible SocietyNSW CEO, Daniel Willis. ‘After manymonths of planning, we have received sup-port from the Anglican, Uniting, Baptist,Churches of Christ, Seventh Day Adventist,Salvation Army, Brethren and the AustralianChristian Churches’, he said. ‘The NSWCouncil of Churches have also given JAALtheir endorsement as have a number of thelarger Sydney churches.

‘Because the Sydney campaign startson-air on 15 September, we have designat-ed the 15th of each month as ‘Jesus. AllAbout Life’ day – starting 15 February.

‘Working with Hope 103.2, Sydney’sChristian FM station, we have set aside 15-21 February as Sign Up week during whichwe’re aiming for 500 churches to be signedup to the campaign’, he said.

Churches are able to sign up on-line bygoing to www.jesusallaboutlife.com.au andclicking on the ‘Register’ button. For a one-off fee of $100, churches are then able tolist their church’s details, get a list of BibleSociety resources being produced for thecampaign, order banners for their churchand network with other local churches whoalso sign up. They also receive regularupdates about the campaign, together witha campaign calendar, plus a promotionalDVD which they can play to encourage theirchurch to get involved.

The ‘Jesus. All About Life’ campaign willuse prime-time television advertising, sup-ported by radio and billboards to encouragepeople to find out what Jesus said aboutlife. The commercials and all the print ad-vertising directs people to a web site(allaboutlife.com.au) and a phone number(1300 512 312) so they can request the freeinformation pack.

‘Key to the campaign’s success is localchurches registering and running their own“Jesus. All About Life” themed events’,Daniel said. ‘The community impact of allchurches working together can make as

much of an impact as the media campaign.‘Churches are able to register for the

campaign at any time on the web site, how-ever we decided that a specific ‘Sign Up’week in February would encourage church-es to get involved from the start of the year’.

Simultaneous ‘Jesus. All About Life’campaigns will also run in the Illawarra andthe South Coast and the NSW CentralCoast. The Hunter Region of NSW will runtheir campaign from Easter, 2009.

For more information contact RachelHockings, Sydney Project Managerrhockings@biblesocietynsw.com.au02 9870 5621; 0433 411 990.

SIGN UP! SIGN UP! FOR JESUS ...

February 15–21 Is ‘Sign Up’ Week For‘Jesus. All About Life’

Who Can You Inviteto Subscribe to

‘New Life’?

Page Eight – 5 February 2009 – NEW LIFE

GOOD NEWS WEEK ...

WHILE the secular media makesevery effort to condition us to believethat Christianity is in terminal declinebut Islam is receiving converts on alavish scale, it is refreshing to re-ceive news to the contrary by cour-tesy of the Fellowship Of EuropeanBroadcasters ...NORTH AFRICA:In North Africa, a Reuters Press story hashighlighted the large number of conversionsto Christianity. In Algeria, it is estimated thatthe number of new followers of Christ is inthe tens of thousands. Kabyle AlgerianChristian Leaders have come together toproduce a Christian Leadership Training TVseries with Arab Vision. INDIA:TWR-India has celebrated 30 years ofbroadcasting. It began in five languages in1978 from an AM radio station with a400,000kw transmitter. 30 years later, TWR-India broadcasts from many locations in 56languages over AM, shortwave, FM, pod-casting, TV audio feed and internet audiostreaming. Some 383 programs are broad-cast for 148 hours per week. On average,TWR-India receives approximately 20,000listener responses per month, as the min-

istry now includes church planting, evangel-ism and discipleship.TURKEY:Church Leaders in Ankara recently attendedthe opening ceremony for Radio Shema.Ihsan Ozbek, Pastor of Ankara's KurtulusChurch and CEO of Radio Shema, intro-duced six new programs and their produc-ers to the audience. Rabia Yilmaz Tufan'sprogram My Story explains how and whypeople have come to the Lord. The RadioShema website is accessible from Turkeyand from the USA and Europe in a total of53 countries. 314,754 people have so farvisited. TURK-7:TURK-7, Turkish production partner withSAT-7, has launched a new website thatincludes six mini ‘channels’. To watch theTurkish streams, go to www.turk7.com Thedaily channel streams include children'sprograms, youth programs, dramas, person-al devotions, documentary/magazine showsand in-depth teaching. TURK-7 works withTurkish Christian writers, actors, techniciansand producers to create TV programs inTurkish. SAT-7 provides a satellite broad-cast platform for TURK-7 giving it four hoursa day on the same frequency as the SAT-7Persian channel. Turkish and Persian/Farsiare complementary languages.

KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA:Arab Vision reports that they hear regularlyfrom viewers in the Kingdom of SaudiArabia professing faith in Christ and wantingto learn more about Christianity. The inter-net, and especially forums on ArabicChristian sites, has made communicationwith believers easier and quicker.IN OTHER BROADCASTING NEWS:Christian Community Broadcasting is aliveand well here in Australia, where there are36 full time Christian Community RadioStations.

Christian stations make up 10% of allCommunity Stations. In an average week4,519,000 people or 27% of the 15+ popula-tion listen to Community Stations. 1,145,000or 7% listen to Christian Stations. FRANCE:The Top Chretien Team in France hasannounced that their websitewww.connaitredieu.com (Looking for God) isnow in 13 languages: French, Chinese,Arabic, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Farsi,Russian, Dutch, German, Polish, Turkishand English. More than 10 million visitorsfrom around the world have been throughthe various ‘Steps’ on the website. One mil-lion email commitments to Christ have beenregistered. ‘Real time’ decisions can bewatched live on www.godrev.com

Bible Display In European Parl’tHUNGARIAN Churches initiated a Decem-ber Exhibition in the European Parliamentof European Bibles, ‘to emphasise theChristian spirituality and identity of our con-tinent’. The Exhibition was initiated byBishop Lazlo Tokes, a Bishop of the Hun-garian Reformed Church and a Member ofthe European Parliament for Romania. Itwas opened by the President of the Euro-pean Parliament, Hans-Gert Pottering. Thecollection contained both original and fac-simile editions of the Bible which had beenpublished in Europe and it was prominent inthe open first-floor lobby of the Paul Henry-Spak Parliament Building.

MISSION Network News' Ruth Kramer recently visited Uganda with CompassionInternational. She reports:

‘Ugandans use the phrase “you are welcome” to greet strangers and get to know thembetter, and in order to welcome a friend. The people value relationship, so when it comes toconfronting massive poverty and the deadly HIV/AIDS virus, it's no surprise that “relation-ship” carries the message of the Gospel. That's been Compassion International's approachto a holistic ministry.

‘Sylvanus Turyamuijuka, (tooreeyazha-mooka) says of the children they started workingwith nearly two decades ago:

‘“They are now adults on their own – fulfilled Christians, impacting society. We haveChristian lawyers, Christian doctors, and Christian business people who have integrity andcredibility. They are the leaders we need in Africa, and in Uganda, in particular”.’

To learn more, visit: http://www.mnnonline.org/article/12183

Good News Roundup From FEB

Continued Growth Of Children's MinistryIn Uganda

New Life Needs YOU!� Uphold Us In Prayer � Encourage Others To Subscribe � Advertise With Us

CHRISTIAN Solidarity Worldwide has re-ceived reports of a serious crackdown onchurches in Rangoon, the former capital ofBurma. According to the news agencyMizzima, local authorities in Rangoon haveordered at least 100 churches to stop hold-ing worship services. Mizzima also reportsthat the order could affect as many as 80%of churches in the city, and that 50 pastorswere forced to sign at least five documentspromising to cease church services. Thepastors were reportedly warned they couldbe jailed if they disobeyed the order.

The campaign appears to be particularlytargeted at churches meeting in apartmentbuildings rather than churches that own theirown building and land. According to a reportby the Democratic Voice of Burma, officialsfrom the local branch of the Ministry of

Religious Affairs summoned the owners ofbuildings in which churches were meeting,and issued them with an order prohibiting theuse of private property for religious purpos-es. ‘Christians are worried that they will notbe allowed to worship anymore, even in theirown house’, said one pastor in a reportreceived by CSW.

One pastor in Rangoon, who cannot benamed for security reasons, claimed in areport received by CSW that several church-es have now been locked and sealed, includ-ing three churches in South DagonTownship: the Evangelical Baptist Church,the Karen Baptist Church and the DagonJoshua Church. An eyewitness said that inone church, the pastor presented his LegalRegistration Certificate provided by theMinistry of Religious Affairs to the authorities

when they came to inform him of the neworder. In response, officials told him his reg-istration certificate had been withdrawn.

Some Christians believe that the immedi-ate cause of the crackdown is churchinvolvement in providing relief for victims ofCyclone Nargis, which devastated the areain May 2008. According to Shwekey Hoi-pang, a Chin pastor from Burma living inexile, the regime does not like the fact thatBuddhists have been receiving help fromchurches, and fears this may possibly resultin conversions. ‘The regime does not wantBuddhists coming in and out of churches. Itdoes not want Christianity to grow in Burma’,said Shwekey Hoipang. ‘Ultimately, theregime seeks the destruction of Christianity.This is part of a top-secret plan by the mili-tary to stop Christian growth’.

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Nine

BREAKPOINT:

Copyright (c) 2008 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. ‘Breakpoint With Chuck Colson’ is aradio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries. Prison Fellowship Australia National Office, PO Box 579, Eltham Vic3095; Phone: 03 9431 3877; Fax: 03 9431 3830; email: pfaus@vicnet.net.au

Charles Colson

IN the latest instalment of his Great BooksAudio CD Series, Dr Ken Boa speaks ofA.W. Tozer as a man who ‘understood theways of God’. That understanding is amplydemonstrated in Tozer’s classic book TheKnowledge Of The Holy.

‘This is really a meditative and a devo-tional approach to the attributes of God’,Boa says. Those include more attributesthan we’re used to thinking about all atonce. For instance, Tozer discusses God’somniscience and omnipotence as well asHis love and mercy.

But Tozer doesn’t just show us the reali-ty of those attributes; he also shows howthey work together to form a harmoniouswhole. They are not contradictory, but com-plementary.

Tozer argues that our view of God, isoften ‘distorted’ or ‘diminished’ because wehave embraced the prevailing mindset ofour culture and imposed that mindset uponScripture. So we find ourselves unable evento begin to comprehend concepts like Hisholiness, power, and majesty. (Keep in mindthat Tozer wrote this nearly 50 years ago.

He wasn’t called a prophet for nothing.) Tozer’s desire was to expand our vision

and thus our capacity to worship God right-ly. If we fail to do this, Boa says, that’swhen our understanding of God becomesdistorted, and we move away from Him.‘Imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God’,Tozer believed, are responsible for all ourerrors in doctrine and in faith. Thus, hedefines idolatry as ‘assuming that God isother than He is’.

When you look at it that way, you cansee just how widespread idolatry hasbecome in our day and how much havoc ithas created within the Church. Boa con-nects this kind of thinking to the modernprosperity gospel, which tends to turn ourprayers into ‘strategy sessions’ rather thantrue communication with God. Paradoxi-cally, Tozer acknowledges the ‘incompre-hensibility’ of God, even as he is helping usto better understand His attributes.

When we draw closer to God, you see,we begin to understand just how muchgreater He is than anything we can grasp.Our instinct is to make God into something

‘manageable’ and ‘controllable’. That wasthe sin of the Garden – to be like God. Butif you could do that, you wouldn’t need Him.

So instead of trying to manage or controlGod, we must surrender ourselves andplace our trust in Him, even though we can’tfully understand Him.

And when we do this, we are not grop-ing in the dark, for as Tozer tells us, ‘(God)in condescending love has by revelationdeclared certain things to be true ofHimself. These we call His attributes’. Hehas provided enough knowledge of these,Tozer says, ‘to satisfy our intellects and rav-ish our hearts’.

There is much more in Tozer’s rich, wittyclassic than either Ken Boa or I have timeto go into today. But get started by visitingour website, BreakPoint.org, and subscribeto Ken Boa’s Great Books Audio CD series– and then experience The Knowledge OfThe Holy for yourself.

I believe it’s an important step towardunlearning some of the most commonerrors about God, and learning how tobegin to comprehend the incomprehensible.

Comprehending The Incomprehensible'The Knowledge Of The Holy'

Crackdown On Churches In Rangoon

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Page Ten – 5 February 2009 – NEW LIFE

Melbourne en route to SA because anamazing opportunity has arisen for her tobe interviewed on ABC Radio. She wouldalso be available for other meetings andinterviews as well while in Melbourne from9 to 16 February.

Jill’s private email address is:howejill@yahoo.com.au and she is happyfor people to contact her direct should any-one want to learn more about her work inMongolia and her hopes for the future. Shecan also be contacted on her mobile phonewhich is 0411 706 345.

Jill is currently visiting extended familymembers in New Zealand but her homebase is in Sydney. I do hope it will be possi-ble for you to meet and hear Jill’s testimonyof God’s grace in her life, her calling to thewestern region of Mongolia and how Godhas used this 54 year old grandmother tobless the lives of the people there.

Cheryl Smith, BCV Graduate 1969-71,Missionary with MECO 1974 –1990.

Happy New Year!I trust you have all had a restful andblessed Christmas and New Year. Manythanks to all of you who wrote in a note ofencouragement late last year. Great to hearfrom you (I still would not mind hearing fromthe other 98% of you!).

The new year does not mean all ourproblems have disappeared or that thereremains no more territory to be possessed.Here are some issues to be involved in:

Late last year Margaret Tighe of Right toLife Australia announced her retirement.And with good reason: she is nearly 77years old, and has been working for lifeissues for over three decades. She hasbeen a tireless worker for the unborn andthe sanctity of human life. She is an inspira-tion to us all. Pray that we can raise upmany more workers like her. Why not sendher a brief note thanking her for all her hardwork: rtl@rtlaust.com Does Israel have a right to defend itself?

See my write-up here:http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2009/01/03/on-israel’s-right-to-self-defence/The Federal government is looking into a

Bill of Rights. Is this a good idea?http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2008/12/23/nothing-right-about-a-bill-of-wrongs/ http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2005/08/07/what-is-wrong-with-a-bill-of-rights/

Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatchhttp://www.billmuehlenberg.com

A Good ReadI continue to appreciate reading New Life.For our Golden Wedding Anniversary re-cently we were given a copy of John Piper's

A Godward Life, alternatively titled SavoringThe Supremacy Of God In All Of Life, andall I have read so far is refreshing andgood. The thought came to me as I readarticle 40 on page 117, titled When Un-clothed Is Unfitting that it could prove ahelpful thing for Christian parents to sharewith their young teenagers.

In my experience very little is suggestedby most churches in the way of balancedand passionate Biblical teaching aboutmodesty and why it is important. John Piperexpresses these reasons in a sensitive butclear manner, and succinctly.

I do pray for these wonderful young peo-ple all around us, who are growing to man-hood and womanhood in a world so blatant-ly guiding them into confusion and suffering.

Ruth Cummings, Montmorency, Vic.

Meet The Missionary OpportunityI would like to take this opportunity to intro-duce my friend Jill Howe. She is a witnessfor Christ in Bulgan, a town on the edge ofthe Gobi Desert in Western Mongolia. Shecalls herself ‘God’s Nomad Of The Gobi’.

Jill’s heart concern is for the Torgoodtribal people (a minority Mongolian tribe)and she lives and works in Bulgan at therequest of the local Area Director. There isno NGO, mission or aid organisation work-ing in this area. It is a harsh place to live,both physically and spiritually but Jill hasamazing stories to tell of God’s interventionthrough her to these dear people.

Jill is intending to visit South Australia inFebruary to renew contact and to thank theindividuals and churches that support herministry in Mongolia. She is planning to visit

CHRISTMAS or not, I am amazed at themessages in the Christmas Carols. I hearthem at Carols nights, on the media, and inthe shops. Yet very few seem to realise theeternal truth in these original songs.

One particular carol, Hark the HeraldAngels Sing, and others simply restateBiblical truth: ‘Jesus, the Lamb of God whotakes away the sin of the world has come’(John 1.29).

This is something for all to rejoice about– that He would be the sinless Son of a vir-gin born in Bethlehem as prophesied inIsaiah 7.14, 9.6 and Micah 5.2, and that Hewould be called Emmanuel as in Matthew1.23, showing Him to be God with us the

Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace.‘Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail,

the Incarnate Deity. Mild He lays His gloryby, Born that man no more may die’ isshown in Philippians 2.1-10 where Hechose not to show His omnipotence (power)but submitted Himself to death so that manno more may die but have eternal life (John3.16). Now sinners can receive righteous-ness from the sinless substitute and cometo the Holy, Loving God as His children.

Isn’t this something to rejoice about andgive ‘glory to the new-born King’ – to beready to go with Him when He returns in theclouds as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Nev Richards,Tolga Qld.

The Blessings Of The Carols

Powerful Call ToMission To MelbourneIn 2009

TRANSFORMING Melbourne ispreparing to present the reportsof the All Melbourne Mattersresearch of the Church acrossMelbourne to Heads of Churchesand Pastors and Leaders. Theresearch gives a glimpse of howGod sees the church and thecity.

Transforming Melbourne asksthat the Lord’s people pleasepray that the Lord convicts us ofthe great needs in Melbourne,and calls and leads the wholeChurch to respond in intentionaleffective collaborative mission tothe multitudes outside theChurch.

For news and details, watchwww.transformingmelbourne.org

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Eleven

‘KNOW your God and celebrate all He is’was the advice of the Revd Dr Jo Bailey-Wells, who led the Bible Studies at theannual Summer Conference of CMS Vic.

In her clear and engaging exposition ofIsaiah she took up the theme of the confer-ence: God Of All The Nations. She chal-lenged everyone to consider the awesomegreatness of the living transcendent God,whose glory cannot be contained and whois present, active and living in His creation.God’s plan involves all the nations, and hasto do with both judgment and salvation.

‘We should expect to be challenged,even humiliated, by people who claim toknow God less than we do. God’s work ofjudgment in us might be conducted throughsome surprising channels’, she said.

‘This is the God to whom creation be-longs, but who utterly transcends it whilebeing intimately involved in it. We mustincarnate Christ, embodying the work andmission of the servant as outlined in Isaiahin ways that the world cannot miss, so thatthey will say: “This is the mission of God,and here is God’s servant”.’

Melbourne Archbishop Dr Philip Freiergave a helpful overview of the Old Testa-ment world-view of the nations, when theworld was understood to be divinely or-dered, with nations apportioned fixed boun-daries and their own gods. For Israel theexpansion of others into their territory wasan offence against God and His order. Godand Israel were so inextricably tied togetherthat the reputation of God was on the linewith the history of Israel.

In keeping with the theme, there werespeakers from all nations, telling how Godis at work in their part of the world. FinnTorjesen described the seemingly limitlessopportunities for Christian ministry in China.The story of Certeza related by BeatriceBuono illustrated what can be achievedunder God by a partnership of missionariesand Argentinians committed to providingChristian literature and willing to step out infaith. Ajith Fernando from Sri Lanka spokeof the ways Western and non-WesternChristians can learn from each other andwork in partnership. He also talked abouthow to attract to Christianity the many peo-

ple in the West who are following Easternreligions. A session on The Nations In OurOwn Back Yard reminded us that here inAustralia where there are people from allnations might be the place to which God iscalling us. Missionaries shared experiencesof being sent by God to nations around theworld, from long-term full-time missionarieslike Bruce and Bron Hallyburton who havebeen in Chile since 1979, to Roy and HilaryHoevenaars going to work at St John’s Uni-versity in Tanzania for the three months oftheir Long Service Leave.

A highlight of the Youth Program was thevisit of former Test Cricketer Justin Langer,and his testimony about how, although heseemed to have everything, ‘something wasmissing big-time’ until he became a Chris-tian. One of the young participants in thechildren’s program described it as ‘brilliant’.

All this still left time for much of whatAjith Fernando termed ‘inefficient lingeringwith each other’ being one way in whichtruth is communicated, and just one of thelessons we can learn from non-WesternChurches. – Janine Stewart

MOBILISING FOR MISSION ...

CMS Vic Summer School Celebrates God

Page Twelve – 5 February 2009 – NEW LIFE

YEARS ago I wrote a book called The FalseTrial Of Jesus Christ. I had the privilege atthat time of knowing the late Sir JohnNimmo, a Justice of the Federal Court ofAustralia, as a personal friend. He willinglywrote the Foreword to that book and statedthat the book was the best ever written byan Australian.

One of the major chapters dealt with theverdict of history which shows that ourLord's trial was possibly the greatest traves-ty of justice the world has ever seen. Overtwo issues we are presenting 40 points ofillegality regarding that verdict and showthat our claims are indeed true.When Did Jesus Die?Jesus died in the very week of the Passoversacrifice, on the very day of the sacrificeitself. Spiritually, Satanic forces seemed tobe triumphant, but in fact God was over-rul-ing. This was the great plan of the ages,foretold in the Old Testament (eg Psalm 22).It was brought to pass at the actual time ofthe Divine appointment, for Jesus died atthe exact time for the Passover lamb to besacrificed, the time of 'the evening sacrifice',at three o'clock in the afternoon. Despite allthe machinations of His enemies, Jesus hadtransformed that cross into a symbol ofgrandeur, of majesty, and of heroism.

He had endured a series of trials, and ineach case the presiding judge was unjust.In the two major trials the charge had basicsimilarities, in that it was treason againstGod before the Hebrew Court and treasonagainst Caesar in the Imperial Court. Beforethe Ecclesiastical Court of the HebrewsJesus claimed to be God, and before theCourt of Caesar He claimed to be theChrist, a King whose Kingdom was not ofthis world.

The trials were false, and the evidencewas distorted. The verdict of history is thatJesus Christ was condemned unjustly todeath. The judgment of His disciples contin-ues to be that He is the living Son of God.

A Survey Of The Illegal Trials Of JesusChrist1. No formal charge was laid as the basisfor the arrest of Jesus.2. The apparent intention was to do awaywith Jesus, before His followers and thoseinterested could intervene. Jewish stoningwould have been resisted, and so Romancrucifixion was to be the method, with theexpected acquiescence of Pilate.

3. The use of a traitor and the illegal pay-ment of 'blood money' were condoned.4. The time of the series of the initial trialsbefore the Jews was illegal; a capitaloffence could not be tried at night time.5. The day of Jesus' trial made such a trialillegal. By Jewish reckoning, the hoursbefore dawn were part of the first day in thecelebration of the Feast of UnleavenedBread. Even a criminal could not be tried ona Feast Day or on a Sabbath, and all theproceedings of the trial and crucifixion brokesuch established practice.6. The trial was illegal because it did notcommence with a formal charge; the indict-ment should not have 'developed' as thetrial proceeded. This was an outrageouscaricature of justice.7. Annas, the former High Priest, had noformal authority and Jesus should not havebeen arraigned before him. 8. It was opposed to Jewish law for oneman to sit alone as a judge, as Annas did inthe preliminary investigation.

9. Jesus should not have been struck by anofficer of the court at the trial before Annas.10. He was later illegally struck by officialspresent at the trial before Caiaphas.11. A trial for a capital offence was normallyheld in a building of the Temple, and not inthe relative privacy of the High Priest'shouse as in fact it was.12. Witnesses should have formally pre-sented their evidence, but they did not.

13. That evidence should havebeen investigated after due warn-ing had been given about theseriousness of false evidence.14. False witnesses should havebeen severely punished, even tothe limit of death. 15. False evidence by a witnessshould have invalidated the testi-mony of that witness.16. At the trial of Jesus there wasa deliberate attempt to actually

Find false witnesses and to ensure thattheir evidence agreed. The change of mindof Judas Iscariot was known and it meantthat no knowledgeable witness was immedi-ately available; the trial should not haveproceeded.17. The spoken words of Christ as to therebuilding of the Temple were distorted bythe witnesses, and the charges should havebeen dismissed.18. No prisoner could be condemned on hisown statement at the trial itself: in this ‘trial’the judge became the accuser as he putJesus on oath, ensuring an answer that ledto a declaration of 'guilty'.19. The judges (both Annas and Caiaphas)attempted to force the Prisoner to condemnHimself: by Hebrew law the judge was sup-posed to be impartial, and, in fact, to leantowards the defendant in any doubtful issue.20. In this trial the Chief Priests became theaccusers, the prosecutors, the judges, and– by association – the executioners.

(To be continued next issue)

The False Trials Of ChristDID YOU KNOW? ... by Clifford Wilson

Drs Clifford and Barbara Wilsonare available for Bible Teaching Seminars for churches.

Email: c.bwilson@bigpond.com

Q & A

DONATIONS TO ‘NEW LIFE’ ARE ALWAYS WELCOME

AND HELP US TOCONTINUE AND EXTEND

OUR MINISTRY

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Thirteen

THE theme for this year’s ROCK(Reaching Out to Clayton Kids) was ‘iBelieve U God’.

Jesus is the Rock (1 Corinthians10.4) and the focus of the GOSPELROCK MISSION was on the wondersof God’s creation – bugs, ants, spi-ders, bees etc.

The ROCK Ministries Team consist-ing of 56 members (mostly teenagers)presented their annual mission of theGospel of Jesus Christ to the childrenof Clayton (Vic) during 5-11 January2009. ROCK team members camefrom four churches and the missionwas supported by the ClaytonMinisters’ Prayer Group. Thanks areexpressed to the Kingston Council formaking the spacious grounds and facili-ties of Namatjira Park available for theROCK mission .

James Jensen as ROCK President,Angela Crawley as Secretary, and NickCrawley as Treasurer provided spiritualleadership, ably assisted by Nick Boys andMary Jensen. They led the young teammembers in practical outdoor Gospel wit-ness and testimony.

Six members of the Jensen family wereon the team – father Mike (minister of Clay-ton Presbyterian Church), mother Kerry, andfour of the children. There were also twoother families with four of their members onthe team, and one family with three mem-bers on the team. An inspiring feature ofROCK, as the Body of Christ, was the HolySpirit love and unity operating as they exer-cised their Spiritual gifts in the love ofChrist.

Attendances at the park averaged 130children plus 20 adults daily with someadditional parents and others present atvarious times. About 150 children and 50adults enjoyed the Thursday morning8.30am breakfast BBQ at the Park. Godgraciously answered our prayers with re-gard to the prevailing weather. Fine weatherwas experienced throughout ROCK withmild to warm conditions, and light to moder-ate winds generally. Program at the Park:Each day in the park at 9am, games wereorganised for the children on the spaciousgrounds while the back-drop, sound equip-

ment, marquees etc were set up. The chil-dren were assembled for the start of the up-front presentations at about 10am. Theseconsisted of singing, Bible stories, skits,aerobics, Keenite classes and drama.

Bible Story Plays were:i Believe U God; God Loves Me; God HearsMe; Jesus Is Your Son; God Can DoAnything; God saves.

The Saturday night family event at thePresbyterian Church extending from 6.30 to10pm, was planned and co-ordinated bril-liantly by team member Claire Lawson. TheROCK team organised the games and vari-ous activities. This social gathering wasattended by about 200 children and 100adults. Activities included family folk danc-ing, mini-golf and jumping castle with adelightful supper enjoyed by all. This joyousevent was a great witness to the love andjoy of Jesus to the surrounding Claytonneighbourhood.

The Sunday evening outdoor service,arranged by the ROCK team, was held onthe church tennis courts. An enjoyable bar-becue at 6pm was attended by about 150adults and 150 children, with folk visitingfrom various churches. This was followed at7pm by a worship service conducted by theROCK team on the courts. Christ-centred

worship: prayer, praise, thanksgiving, andsinging was offered including Bible read-ings. The eagerly awaited final episode ofthe daily drama series was enjoyed, espe-cially by the children. That closing item wasenacted by the gifted drama group as aninspiring finale to iBUG. Nick Crawleybrought a moving Gospel message, whichwas a challenge to all. This outdoor Gospelworship service was a witness and testimo-ny of salvation through the love of Christ tothe neighbourhood.

After the congregation had departed onSunday evening, the ROCK team gatheredin the Church Hall for final debriefing andfellowship. The team gave thanks andpraise to God for His gracious provision andenablement during the ROCK mission inSummer 2009. Each team member gave abrief testimony of God’s blessings andenablement in promoting the Gospel ofJesus in the power of the Holy Spirit duringthe mission.

The five ROCK Committee memberswere each presented with a gift from theteam before the joyful team members de-parted, bonded in Holy Spirit love and unity,and in a keen spirit of praise, thanksgivingand prayer for the oncoming Easter ROCKmission (2009). – Dr Des Gafney

EFFECTIVE YOUTH MINISTRY ROCKS ON

ROCK Brings iBUG! (i Believe U God!)

Here come de bug!

PERSECUTION WATCH ...‘Remember those in prison ... and those who aremistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.’

(Hebrews 13.3)

Page Fourteen – 5 February 2009 – NEW LIFE

Malaysian Christians Urge GovernmentTo Ease Bible RestrictionsCHRISTIANS in Malaysia have urged thegovernment to lift restrictions to allow thedistribution of Bibles in the local BahasaMalaysia language and also to ease restric-tions on a Roman Catholic newspapereffectively barred from publishing in themother tongue of most of the country'sMalay majority. The Christian Federation ofMalaysia urged the government to liftrestrictions on the Bible. Under section 22of Malaysia's Internal Security Act, Bibles inBahasa are considered to be ‘prejudicial tothe national interest and security of theFederation’.New Turkish School TextbookEncourages Religious DiscriminationTURKEY’S Ministry of Education has intro-duced a school textbook that encouragesdiscrimination of the country’s small Chris-tian community despite growing internation-al concern about increasing violenceagainst non-Muslims in Turkey. Publishedby Devlet [State] Books this year, the text-book, Primary Education: History of Repub-lic Reforms and Atatürkizm, is aimed at 13-year olds. The controversial text describesmissionary activity as a threat to national

unity by destroying national and cultural val-ues through converting people to anotherreligion.

The text accuses missionaries of usingnatural disasters, such as earthquakes, toserve their own interests and warns childrenof the subversive aims of missionaries aswell as tips on how to recognize their activi-ties. ‘To the Turkish State and society, thewords “missionary activity” encapsulates notonly the work of foreign missionaries, but allChristian activity in the country’, said aspokesperson for the Alliance of ProtestantChurches of Turkey.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Gaza Baptist Church Destroyed ByIsraeli StrikesA tiny church in the Gaza Strip is right in themiddle of the current crisis.

The Baptist church in Gaza was locatedright across the street from a police stationthat was targeted by the Israelis for bomb-ing. The church is now destroyed, with itswindows blown out as well as other dam-age. Speaking in a story published byMission Network News Online, Carl Moellerof Open Doors Ministry described the Gazacrisis as ‘unprecedented amount of violenceagainst the Palestinian people’.

Moeller said: ‘It's extremely distressingnews for obvious reasons. Hundreds ofPalestinians have been killed, and obvious-ly, escalation of violence is not somethingthat we are seeing as at all constructive tobringing peace to the region.

‘It brings back a lot of poignant memo-ries for me, how joyous the time was whenwe were there to dedicate that building,(Open Doors Founder) Brother Andrew,myself and others, but now it's obviouslyright there in the centre of a great deal ofdestruction. The people in the Christiancommunity there have been meeting insmall groups in homes’.

Some Christians, including the workerswith the Palestinian Bible Society, have fledto the West Bank. The church's pastor,Pastor Hanna, has fled the Middle East. Ofabout 1.7 million people in the Gaza Strip,there are only a few hundred Christians left.

‘It's remarkable how much the church isfacing there’, Moeller told Open Doors, ‘andyet the Christians continue to pray; theycontinue to cry out to God; and when theycan, reach out to their neighbours with com-fort’. Politically, Palestinian Christians arenot accepted by Israel or by their own com-munity. Jeremy Reynalds, ASSIST

AT least 12 Nigerian Baptists were killedand five Baptist churches burned duringriots sparked by local election results inNovember.

Motunrayo Adegbilero, a Nigerian who isPresident of the Baptist Women’s Union ofAfrica, informed the Baptist World Alliancethat churches are being burnt and Chris-tians are being killed in Jos, the capital ofPlateau State of Nigeria.

Plateau State lies in central Nigeria, androughly borders the predominantly Muslimnorth and the mainly Christian south of thecountry. Tensions between Christians andMuslims have risen in recent times in themost populous African nation of almost 150million people.

Local elections held in Jos on 28 and 29November led to riots amid rumours that the

candidate supported mainly by Christianshad won the elections, even though the re-sults were not officially declared. Clashesbetween Christians and Muslims led to widescale assaults.

Adegbilero stated that ‘the death toll isabout 400 now’, and that ‘the dead are bothChristians and Muslims’. Several thousandpersons were reportedly injured and an esti-mated 10,000 displaced.

Baptist Press reported that dozens ofchurches, mosques, businesses and homeswere burned in Jos. According to BP, ‘OneBaptist Church lost five members and onedeacon’, and that the affected church ishousing victims of the violence. OtherBaptist Churches are also housing personsdisplaced by the violence. Baptist familiesare giving shelter to students that were

boarding at a local Baptist high school.Jos, a city of roughly 500,000 inhabi-

tants, experienced similar violence betweenChristians and Muslims in 2001 over a polit-ical appointment. Over a two-week period,from 7-17 September, more than 1,000 peo-ple died during the conflicts.

More than 10,000 persons are estimatedto have died in sectarian clashes betweenChristians and Muslims in Nigeria since1999.

‘Please pray for Nigeria’, Adegbilerourged Baptists everywhere.

Nigeria has one of the largest Baptistmemberships in Africa. The Nigerian BaptistConvention has 2.5 million members in9,300 churches, and the Mambilla BaptistConvention has almost 23,000 members in255 churches.

Baptists Killed In Nigeria

PLEASE PRAY CONSTANTLY FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH!

FOR THE YOUNG ONES:

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Fifteen

A Boy Out of Time: A Time Twin’sAdventure, D. B. Macks, AdventureFiction Aimed At Teen Boys.BEN Javan is the almost 14 year old son ofarchaeologists, small for his age, bullied atschool and guilt-ridden over the death of hislittle sister by drowning while he was sup-posed to be watching her. When his parentsleave for a dig in Turkey, he gets to spendthe summer with his mysterious physicistuncle who lives in an isolated area ofAlaska where Ben will also get to meet aboy his own age named Seth, with whomhe has been an instant messaging pen pal.

The ordinary world starts to slip awaywhen he is met at the Anchorage Airport bytwo extremely tall and unnaturally pale indi-

viduals who turn out to be Seth and anassociate of his uncle. When far from thecity, the vehicle leaves the road and hovers,then flies through a cave into Uncle Theo'sproperty in an extinct volcanic crater, themysterious and unpredictable take over.

What follows is a time travel sci-fiadventure that takes the boys and theadults back to the pre-flood world wherepeople are both technologically advancedand endowed with unusual physical andmental powers. That world is succumbing tospiritual darkness most evident in theNephilim who have captured Uncle Theo.

Promotion of moral courage, commit-ment to Biblical accuracy, awareness ofspiritual warfare and development of inter-

esting protagonists takes place in a worldthat has flavours of Narnia and Middle Earthbut just might be a reasonable guess at thatreal antediluvian history that is only sum-marised in Genesis.

The text is marred by many typos whichwill hopefully be corrected in the next print-ing. It is available on the web atwww.thetimetwins.com as an e-book for $7or paperback for $14.95 plus shipping.

– Ross S. Olson MD

Page Sixteen – 5 February 2009 – NEW LIFE

BOOKS WORTH READING ...

A Brief Review Of 'The Eternity Man'Opera screened on ABC1 at 9.45 pmSunday 8 January.

The Good Points:The attempt to tell the story of Arthur Stace– his changed life after conversion, his dedi-cation and faithfulness in writing the word‘Eternity’ in yellow chalk on the footpaths ofSydney over decades – old footage ofSydney, ‘Eternity’ emblazoned in fireworkson the Harbour Bridge in 2000.The Bad Points:The coarse language, the number of nudityscenes, the incorrect portrayal of his salva-tion taking place at Burton St BaptistTabernacle when in fact it was at St Barna-

bas Church in Broadway a number of yearsbefore. (The film totally skipped St Barna-bas Church, Broadway, which filled a veryimportant chapter in Stace's Christian life).There is a scene of him riding the Monorailin Sydney, but he died in 1967 – long beforethe monorail was even thought of.

Nevertheless the story of Arthur Stacetold in any format always presents theChristian community in general and theChurch in particular, with a golden Gospelopportunity to share the amazing grace ofJesus Christ.

I have on You Tube the following out-reach Mr Eternity video clips that you candownload for free and share with yourunsaved friends and family:

1. Gospel Message:http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=CJggqsFwlwQ&feature=channel2. Mr Eternity Song (Part 1):http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=N3wawvKSyqg&feature=channel3. Mr Eternity Song (Part 2):

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj1vox8QSQc&feature=channel

I have also The Life & Legacy of MrEternity – Gospel outreach pack which in-cludes: CD + Tape + Tract for $25 (includ-ing GST and postage.)

– Pastor Peter Rahme

(Readers can contact Peter Rahme on 0418249 989 for details of other resources – Ed)

News Update:MAF Arnhem LandAccidentMANY may be wondering about the cur-rent situation regarding the missing MAFplane off Arnhem Land, NT.

The wreckage has still not beenlocated. The next possible option is adetailed salvage operation. Howeverdue to the unavailability of experts in thisfield and other key personnel over theChristmas/New Year break, there hasbeen little progress.

There are a number of options toconsider and hopefully a way forwardwill be made clear soon. Please contin-ue to pray for the missing pilot's familyand also for wisdom that correct deci-sions will be made in order to establishthe reasons for this tragedy.

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Seventeen

FOR URGENT AND CONCERTED PRAYER:

THE so-called ‘Lord’s Resistance Army’ haswaged a campaign of terror for over 20years. The UN estimates LRA rebels havekidnapped 20,000 children and forcibly con-scripted them into military service or the sexindustry. Countless others have sufferedtheir fate through merciless killings.

Led by the infamous Joseph Kony, aCatholic altar boy turned warlord, the LRAhas specifically targeted the church commu-nity and clergy who have given refuge tothose fleeing the rebels’ brutality.

Christmas Day 2008 was no different asa Catholic church in north-eastern Demo-cratic Republic of Congo was the target forthe LRA's atrocities. The following days sawrepeated savagery at nearby churches andvillages. Catholic Archbishop MonsignorRichard Domba reported that 150 werehacked to death during the Christmas Dayservice with another 280 massacred overthe following days. The Ugandan armyreports that most of the church victims wereinnocent women, children and the elderly.

Recently, though, encouraging signshave surfaced signalling Africa's longestarmed conflict may be coming to an end.Kony and his henchmen failed to show upas promised for an October 2008 signing of

a peace treaty crafted by Ugandan churchand government authorities. In December,Operation Lightning Thunder, a well co-ordi-nated assemblage of armed forces fromUganda, DRC and the Sudan People'sLiberation Army, began air strikes destroy-ing rebel bases in the vast Garamba nation-al reserve in north-east DRC. On the run,Kony and his forces are now fragmentedinto small regiments in desperate search forfood and shelter. Battle fatigue has set in,with commanders and soldiers reportedly'fed up with the war and want to surrender'(The New Vision).

Could this year witness the end to theLRA? Armed with occult powers, the LRAwill not be defeated through normal warfare.Only divine power realised through ferventintercession will stop this menace. It is timeto seize the day and pray for an end to theLRA once and for all.

RLP guest writer Neal Youngquist is afreelance author working on behalf of thepoor and persecuted. The WEA Religious

Liberty Commission sponsors this RLPrayer List to help individuals and groupspray specifically and regularly for religious

liberty issues, and in particular to uphold theChurch where it is suffering persecution.

Please Intercede For:� Humanitarian assistance toreach the survivors of theChristmas week attacks; many arein psychological shock and arewandering in search of shelter andfood, with the UN estimating70,000 people have been dis-placed due to the LRA's recentDRC rampage. � Rebel commanders and sol-diers to peacefully surrender andwith church support re-integrateback to civilian life; may JosephKony be brought to justice to bringclosure to those who have suf-fered from his evil deeds. � Divine strength for the Ugandanand DRC church communities;may they demonstrate rejoicing inhope, patience in tribulation andsteadfastness in prayer to thefullest degree. (Romans 12.12)

AT an economic summit in Kuwait, KingAbdullah of Saudi Arabia pledged the sumof $1 billion as part of a fund to be estab-lished by Arab nations for the reconstructionof the area following the Gaza conflict.

Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, InternationalDirector of Barnabas Fund, commented:‘We welcome and give thanks for this largedonation, and for others made by Muslimsto help the Muslim people of Gaza. Weencourage Christians to show the sameconcern for the Christian minority in Gaza,by giving generously to meet their needs atthis difficult time’.

Barnabas Fund is grateful for the gen-erosity of so many supporters in giving totheir current appeal on behalf of Christiansin Gaza, caught up in the recent conflict.The need is great.

In partnership with Bible Societies in theregion, Barnabas Fund has provided foodcoupons to 400 Christian families. Thesecan be exchanged at supermarkets andtemporary shops and will provide food foreach family for a month. At present fundingfor food is the priority, as costs have risenbeyond the reach of most families, and thebanks have also imposed a withdrawal limitowing to shortage of funds. But in the medi-um and longer term the Christians of Gazawill have many other needs, including theprovision of medicines, the reconstruction ofhomes and infrastructure, support for peo-ple suffering from post-traumatic shock, andallowances for those seeking work.

Barnabas Fund is also working withother Christian partners to send further aidto Christians in Gaza.

Barnabas Fund Helps Suffering Christians In Gaza

Congo; Uganda: Is The End Near For The LRA?

MAKE POVERTY HISTORY? We’re WORKING on it!Visit: www.presaid.org.au

CHANGE OF WORSHIPVENUEPRESBYTERIAN REFORMEDCHURCH MELBOURNE advises that we have changed our placeof worship from:Laburnum Primary School TO NUNAWADING PRIMARY SCHOOL104 Springvale Rd Nunawading(Between Luckie & Esdale Sts)Melway Map 48 Ref. F8Service each Sunday @ 10.30am preceded by prayer @ 9.45amEnquiries phone: Rev Graeme Hulls, 03 9876 5346,or Mr Barry Gregor, 03 9877 4006.

Hear ‘Amazing Grace’ 98.1 Eastern FM, each Sunday 7amFor more information visit our website:www.prc.org.auPresbyterian Reformed ChurchMelbourne Inc (A0049333Z)

Page Eighteen – 5 February 2009 – NEW LIFE

ONESIMUS AND FRIENDS ... ‘Useful to me and to you’

UPCOMINGEVENTS:Matthew Maury will be commis-sioned as TEAR Australia’s NationalDirector on Sunday 15 February 2009 at2pm in St Hilary’s Anglican Church, 12John St, Kew (Mel Ref 45 H7).

MAF Discovery Day, NSW, willbe held on Saturday 21 February 2009 atCamden Airport, south west of Sydney,from 10am. For more information, go towww.maf.org.au

The Fellowship Of Congre-

gational Churches will holdtheir next FCC Teaching Seminar onTuesday 17 February, 2009, at BexleyCongregational Church. The speaker willbe Rev David Thurston, Church Planter,founding Director of NSW PresbyterianMinistry of Evangelism and Pastor ofCentral Sydney Presbyterian Church.The Eighth Annual FCC Preaching Sem-inar will be held on Wednesday 17 Juneat Bexley. The speaker will be Rev MikeRaiter, Principal of the Bible College ofVictoria.

Victorian Women's

Christian Conventions

The opening rally will be held at Murrum-beena Baptist Church (Vic) on 19 Feb-ruary commencing at 10.30am. Thespeakers will be Heather Gaskell andJoanne Keane using the theme HiddenTreasures, and Bev Evans who formerlyworked in New Guinea with Wycliffe BibleTranslators will give a mission spot.Heather is the new President and Joannethe new Secretary. Small children will besupervised. Contact Doreen 03 59771130 for further details

Cre8 Kingdom Business

Summit will be held at Arrow onSwanston Conference Centre, 488 Swan-ston St, Carlton, 13-14 March. Go to:www.cre8conference.org for furtherdetails.

See You At The Pole 2009 willbe on Thursday 21 May 2009 Australiawide. This will be the 10th Anniversary ofSYATP in our nation. For details go to: www.syatpaustralia.com

FIVE years ago, Jennifer Evans foundedHorizons of Hope Ministries in response tothe needs of women in particular in thedeveloping world, importing handcraftsthrough the FAIR TRADE network from sev-eral developing countries. This year,Jennifer’s early focus is on InternationalWomen’s Day on 8 March.

IWD is a global day connecting womenaround the world, celebrating past, presentand future achievements, especially forthose women in the developing world forwhom most days are a struggle to survive.

To celebrate International Women’s Day,Jennifer has organised functions to whichNew Life readers are invited! As a result ofthe generosity and support of the venues,these occasions are completely free ofcharge, including complimentary morningrefreshments. They are low key, with aninvitation to come any time between10.30am to 12 noon, to browse over 200

beautiful and unique handcrafts, made bywomen from several countries in the devel-oping world.

Every purchase not only brings transfor-mation into a woman’s life overseas; the rip-ples in the pond are that families receiveflood and famine relief, health checks, edu-cation, micro enterprise opportunities, jobtraining and so much more.Function details are:Thursday 5 March, The Guards Room, TheBuckingham International, 1130 NepeanHwy, Highett, 10.30am-12 noon.

Sunday 8 March, Syndal Baptist Church,Cnr High Street Rd and Blackburn Rd,Syndal, 9am-12 noon, before, between andafter morning services.

Tuesday 12 March, The Pier Room,Pelicans Landing, 1 Syme Street,Williamstown, 10.30am-12 noon.

Jennifer welcomes invitations to speak,and can be called on 0438 951 665.

A Good Sign:

‘Let the power of

love replace

the love of power’.– Wayside Pulpit, Anglican Church,

Glenhuntly Rd, Elsternwick, Vic.

Helping Women Help Themselves And Others

Ramon A Williams – Worldwide PhotosWANT TO SEE MORE?

‘New Life’ can only publish a small selection of photos, butyou can see more of those attributed to Worldwide Photos

by going to:http://community.webshots.com/user/ramon_williams

e-mail: rlgmedia@ozemail.com.au

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Nineteen

THINKING THINGS THROUGH ...

IN Roman mythology, Janus was a two-headed god who looked backwards and for-wards, and so was regarded as the god ofgateways and doorways. He has given hisname to our month January, which is a timewhen people might be inclined to look backover the year that was and forward to theyear that is coming.

The apostle Paul once wrote of himselfas ‘the least of the apostles, unworthy to becalled an apostle, because I persecuted thechurch of God’ (1 Corinthians 15.9). Henever forgot that he had proudly and inso-lently blasphemed Christ, not recognisingthat He is indeed the Lord from heaven (1Timothy 1.13).

Christians ought never to forget theirpast, that we were all once dead in tres-passes and sins (Ephesians 2.1) and thatthis manifested itself either in open unright-eousness or in the more subtle sin of de-ceptive self-righteousness. Three times inthe book of Acts, Luke recounts the conver-sion of the apostle Paul (Acts 9,22,26). Thatis a salutary thing for any Christian to do.We all need to look back over our lives.

However, Paul was never governed byhis past. He even spoke of ‘forgetting whatlies behind’ (Philippians 3.13). He did notmean that he had erased his past from hismemory but that his past did not rule overhim and hamper his present usefulness.

Some people look over their past andsee great failures, perhaps terrible sin, andthis paralyses them. They dwell on it, stewover it and act as if their failures are greaterthan God's grace. That is not Paul'smethod. He put his past behind him. He hadblasphemed Christ, he had persecuted thechurch. But all that was behind him, cov-ered by the blood of the Redeemer.

Nor did he rest on past successes orlive off his experiences. Because Paul hadpreached in Asia (Turkey) he did not sitback and say: 'Somebody else can doAchaia and Macedonia (Greece).'

Your present usefulness can be greatlyhindered if you are constantly reliving thepast. Whatever your failures and whateveryour successes, put them behind you andpress on.

Paul was single-minded, governed by‘one thing’.Hence hepressed ontoward thegoal for theprize of theupward call ofGod in ChristJesus(Philippians3.13,14).

Paullooked backand also for-ward in his

Christian life. Indeed, this is how the Chris-tian looks at all of history. The coming ofChrist was in the fullness of time (Galatians4.4).

Christ is the centre of all human history.Even in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper,according to 1 Corinthians 11.26, we pro-claim the Lord’s death (which has alreadyhappened) and look to when He comesagain (which has yet to take place). In AD525 a Roman Abbot, Dionysius Exiguus,introduced the custom of thinking in termsof BC (‘Before Christ’) and AD (annoDomini, ‘In the year of our Lord’). This wasadopted in the Middle Ages.

It is rightand goodthat we think of the flow of history in thisway. We are those ‘on whom the end of theages has come’ (1 Corinthians 10.11). TheChristian looks back to what God has donein Christ, and forward to what He will do inChrist. The Christian does so from a firmstanding point, the person of Christ Himself,the Word come in human form.

Some people would tell us to repudiatethe past, and live only for the present.Others dwell on the past in a nostalgic way.Yet others would seek to interpret the flowof history without recourse to the Lord ofhistory. For the Christian, the One whogives light and meaning to history is alsothe One who gives light and meaning to theindividual. Hence we can look back and for-ward while standing firm. The paradox isthat we can grow without being tossedabout (Ephesians 4.13-15).

John Newton put it marvellously well ashe looked over his own life and looked towhere he was heading: ‘I am not what Iought to be — ah, how imperfect and defi-cient! I am not what I wish to be — I abhorwhat is evil, and I would cleave to what isgood! I am not what I hope to be — soon,soon shall I put off mortality, and with mor-tality all sin and imperfection. Yet, though Iam not what I ought to be, nor what I wishto be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say,I am not what I once was; a slave to sin andSatan; and I can heartily join with the apos-tle, and acknowledge: “By the grace of GodI am what I am”.’

As a Christian, Newton knew what itmeans to look back, to look forward, and tostand firm.

– Peter Barnes

Looking Back, Looking Forward,Standing Firm

Your present use-fulness can begreatly hindered ifyou are constantlyreliving the past.Whatever yourfailures and what-ever your successes,put them behindyou and press on.

New Life Now Available ElectronicallyFOR over 70 years, New Life has come to subscribers and readers through the post or Christian book shops,but we can now offer an alternative way of receiving New Life – by email. The email edition contains an addi-tional four pages of news and views we canʼt fit into the print edition, subscribers receive it a few days aheadof the print edition, and it costs half the price!TO SUBSCRIBE to the email edition, contact Alison on 03 9890 3377 or email her at alison@nlife.com.au

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Twenty

WORD FOR TODAY

Listen to “THE LORDʼS CHALLENGE” by Mr Joshua Danielon a radio station near you:

The Lordʼs Challenge is a radio ministry ofLAYMENʼS EVANGELICAL FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL. Visit our website: www.lefi.orgor telephone Freecall 1800 110 202

Western Australia:AlbanyPerthWaginVictoria:MelbourneMelbourne MountainsMilduraAlbury/WodongaBendigoSheppartonGeelongWarragulWarrnamboolYarra RangesSouth Australia:Barossa ValleyCeduna West CoastSalsiburyMurray MalleeYorke Peninsula NorthYorke Peninsula SouthUpper South EastNew South Wales:Sydney

100.9FM-Albany Com’ty Radio107.3FM-Heritage FM1601 AM-(6GS) Great Sthn Bc’s

1179AM106.3FM107.5FM101.7FM88.7FM100.1FM99.5FM93.5FM94.5FM106.3FM-Freshstream FM

99.5FM106.1FM89.7FM-PBA FM97.7FM90.9FM98.9FM100.3FM

90.1FM-2NBC

Sun 7.45amSun 7.30amSun 6pmSun 6.45pmSun 8.30amSun 6.45pmSun 6.45pmSun 6.45pmSun 6.45pmSun 6.45pmSun 6.45pmSun 6.45pmSun 8.30pm

Sun 8.30amSun 8.30amSun 11.45amSun 8.30amSun 8.30amSun 8.30amSun 8.30amSun 8.30am

Mon 6pm

Since 1994 96.3 Rhema FM has been broadcasting

The Reality of Life in Jesus Christ24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Tune in for the latest in Christian musicand quality teaching programs.

For your free program guide: Ph 03 5241 6550Email: rhema@rhemafm.org.au www.rhemafm.org.au

Mail: PO Box 886, Belmont 3216

HOLIDAY GUIDE(VIC)

BBaaiirrnnssddaallee

Gateway to Gippsland LakesSC all mod cons 2br hol house.

Need an affordable holiday?Write 4 info to Bruce Smith,

915 Lindenow RoadHillside Vic 3875. 03 5157 1243

MARYSVILLEMountain Lodge Guest House

12 ensuited bedrooms + large sep-arate dining, lounge, conference

rooms. Table tennis, billiards, near-by tennis courts and golf course.

Ideal for small groups, familyreunions, leadership weekends,

Alpha groups.Ph: 03 5963 3270Fax: 03 5963 4078

www.mountainlodgemarysville.com

NOOSA HOLIDAY UNITStylish 2brm unit by river and cafes,RC aircon, mod-grass tennis court,

heated pool/spa, videos, mod facili-ties, linen.

Book with owners and save!Phone 07 3289 7178

for brochure and bookings.

HOLIDAY GUIDE (QLD)

COMING TO WESTERN

AUSTRALIA?Come to Scots ChurchFremantle, 90 South Terrace(next to Fremantle Markets)Reformed and Evangelical10am and 5pm Sundays12:30 pm WednesdayLunch Time Worship

Also at Southern River Bletchley Park Primary School,

Balfour Road 9:00 am Sunday

Rev Stuart Bonnington08 9398 1304

melbonn@bigpond.com

Visit: www.defenceofthefaith.org

BUYING: Used Postage Stampson paper from Australia & the

World from Church/Charity sourcesAustralia-wide.

Please contact: Anthony Mustonwith your offeringsor for more details

Phone: 03 5967 7106E-mail: muston@bigpond.net.auPostal: PO Box 507 Gembrook

3783 Victoria

WANTED TO BUY

ʻSince you have kept my commandto endure patiently, I will also keep

you from the hour of trial that isgoing to come upon the whole

world to test those who live on theEarthʼ. (Revelation 3.10)

Inserted by Ivan Bell

� � � � � �

� � � � � �

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Twenty One

BIRTH:

ACCOM WANTED

ACCOM AVAILABLE

Mouser (Dawson)David and Naomi are grateful toGod for the safe arrival of EthanJames on 15 January. Grandson

for Graham & Valmai Mouser,and Wilfred & Michele Dawson.

Mature Christian woman seeksaccommodation SE or E suburbs

Melbourne.All options considered.

03 9584 1589.

Christian male to share 2BR unit inReservoir.

Spare room is fully furnished, nearchurches, buses, shops and train.

Rent $30pw.Phone 03 9460 4512

HOLIDAY GUIDE (UK)

AT YOUR SERVICE:

The Highbury Centre, London, UK.Christian guesthouse on quiet private

road.Discount for f/t Christian workers.

Email:enquiries@thehighburycentre.org

Website: www.thehighburycentre.org

Visiting Melbourne?Join us at

St Kilda Presbyterian Churchcnr Alma Rd/Barkly St

Every Sunday 11am and 7pmRev Bob Thomas

Phone 0417 592 646Youʼre welcome at ʻThe Church on the

Hill ̓– a Friendly, Caring, Bible-believingChristian Fellowship

Who Can You Inviteto Subscribe to

‘New Life’?

EASTWIDE PLUMBING SERVICESDomestic, Commercial, Industrial; Hot/Cold

Water; Maintenance; Water Tanks; Gas Fittings;Drainage; Repair/Install Renovate/New Homes.

24 Hour Service 0403 740 345Lic no. 48991

TONER MENWe refill Laser Toner Cartridges

and supply Refill Kits.�More cost effective!�Environmentally friendly!�Uncompromising quality!

Call 1300 733 920sales@tonermen.com.auwww.tonermen.com.au

Thomas Building Services

� CONSTRUCTION � LANDSCAPING �

� MINI EXCAVATIONS �

� BACKYARD MAKEOVERS �

� TIGHT ACCESS EXCAVATIONS�

CARPENTRY: LANDSCAPING:Decks PavingPergolas Turf LayingFlooring Garden MaintenanceExtensions Retaining WallsRenovations Tree Lopping

Chris Thomas: 0402 433 194

Christian Home Fellowships and Studies in the Scriptures.Growing in the grace and knowledge of God.

One Lord … one God and Father of all.Restoring personal relationships under the Lordship of Jesus.

Be loved, show love. For details: Allan and Eileen 03 9435 7449.

Page Twenty Two – 5 February 2009 – NEW LIFE

POSITIONS! POSITIONS! POSITIONS!Literary / Marketing Talent Needed!

Melb based Christian publishingco. in need of Literary Agent /

Marketing PersonSend Profile / Resume to

gospel.publications@gmail.com

PASTORAL OPPORTUNITIESIN RURAL VICTORIA

Do you have a sense of call to ministerin rural communities?

Do you have a passion to share Christ with manyimpacted by drought and hard times?

Do you have the desire to demonstrate ʻChrist in youʼby helping people in practical ways?

Are you Reformed in your theological understanding?Are you willing to undertake ongoing theological education

while you engage in grassroots ministry?Are you ready to explore your call to ministry on a part or full-time basis?

Then contact Rev Dr Robert L Carnerat the Presbyterian Church of Victoria;

Email ministry@pcvic.org.auor phone 03 8786 9358

Applications and enquiries from ordained ministersare also welcome!

Ministry OpportunityFor An Accountant

CRMF, Goroka, is looking for anaccountant who would be willing

to come to PNG to undertakethe annual audit.

Please email gm@crmf.org.pgif you are interested

in this ministry.

PRIMARY SCHOOLCHAPLAINCY

0.4 Part-time 2 Days a week

Fusion Australia requires theservices of a chaplain to be based

at Aldercourt Primary School inFrankston North.

As part of the Fusion MorningtonYouth and Community Work team,the Chaplain would be involved ina holistic approach to youth work.The role would encompass work

within a wide range of Fusionactivities and programs as well as

work within the school and theFrankston North Community.

Relevant training in Welfare, SocialWork, Education or Theology,

experience in working with youngpeople, a driverʼs licence and aWorking with Childrenʼs Check

are essential.For further information and jobdescription please contact Tim

Strange or Chris Grundy on03 5974 1442.

El KanahRetreat Centre

For Churches, Families And Individualsnow with a number of ensuite rooms.

A Special Weekend: 27 Feb to 1 Mar – Inner Healing – Then What?Led by the Founder of El Kanah, Pastor Graeme Cann

2009 Programs:Mid Week Retreat for 50+ 23-27 Feb, Leader: Pastor Graeme Cann

11-15 May; 10-14 Aug; 9-13 Nov. Leader: To be advised.Engaged, Courting Couples: 13-15 Mar; 8-10 May; 31 Jul-2 Aug; 4-6 Dec

Marriage Enrichment: 27-29 Mar; 25-27 Sep.� Weddings and Special Celebrations� Fasting, Prayer & Reflection� Special Ski and Family Packages

Mid Week Special: Monday pm to Friday am from $320 per person.Intensive Professional Counselling

Are you working through challenging issues? Come for a weekend ormidweek to the healing environment El Kanah offers. Our Christian

Counsellors provide individual and couple counselling covering manyissues including anxiety and depression.

For further information please contact Vera Gill: 0414 564 309,email: veralorraine@yahoo.com.au

El Kanah Marysville: Tel: 03 5963 3229elkanahmarysville@bigpond.com

www.elkanahmarysville.org.au

YOU CAN ADVERTISE HERE CALL ALISON (03) 9890 3377EMAIL: alison@nlife.com.au

Wanted To Buy:Agapeland Music for ʻThe Music

Machineʼ, ʻSir Oliverʼs Songʼ,ʻBullfrogs And ButterfliesʼCall Alison 03 9872 4385

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Twenty Three

WITH CHRIST ...

I WOULD LIKE A SUBSCRIPTION TONew Life Christian Newspaper

for the price (inc GST) of:Annual Subscription (posted fortnightly, 23 issues): $50 ( )Concession Sub (f/t Christian workers, students,

Social Service recipients): $45 ( )Half-year Sub (posted fortnightly 11 issues): $25 ( )Half-year Concession sub $22.50 ( )E-mail subscription (23 issues) $25 ( )

I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION TO ASSIST ʻNEW LIFEʼ $ .............

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Please tick appropriate box(es)This is a NEW subscription ( ) This is a subscription RENEWAL ( )I enclose a cheque/money order for $............. orPlease debit my Mastercard/Visacard Please debit my credit card automatically each quarter for $12.50 ( )

No. _______ ________ ________ _______Expiry date _____/_____ Signature _______________________Name: _______________________________Address: _____________________________________________________________________ Postcode: ______ Phone: ( ) ______________Email address:

A TIME TO CLOSE ... Rev Charles Harold Nicholls, 1913- 2008.

HAROLD Nicholls wasthe youngest of thefour children ofGeorge Percy Nichollsand Annie BerthaBrewe. Harold wasactively involved in wit-ness and ministry in

Victoria which included Campaigners forChrist. He was impacted by the ministry ofC.H. Nash, and while at MBI, in 1938,Harold responded to a call to thePresbyterian Home Mission in Queensland,serving in a number of country areas.

Harold married Halley, who was hiscompanion in ministry for over 60 years.While in Queensland, Harold joined theBaptist Home Mission. Having studied atthe Baptist Theological College he wasordained in 1945 at Monto. On coming toBrisbane Harold ministered in the Ashgroveand Toowong Baptist Churches. During thattime Harold was also actively involved inevangelistic outreach as a member of theBaptist ‘Flying Squad’. He was also a mem-ber of the Evangelistic Committee thatarranged for a number of internationalspeakers to visit Brisbane.

In 1957 Harold became Principal of theQueensland Bible Institute (now BCQ) andduring his 13 years of ministry there sawsignificant growth and development. Onleaving QBI, Harold accepted interim min-istries in Cairns and Mackay before movingto West Preston, Melbourne, in 1970. Whilethere he was asked to assist the Moe Bap-tist Church which was hosting a NationalBaptist Family Convention. That led to a calland many years of happy and blessed serv-ice before he retired in 1982. In retirement,Harold served in a number of interim pas-torates and was an honorary part-time pas-tor at Surrey Hills Baptist Church.

Harold encouraged missions in thechurches he pastored. His heart for missionmeant that he served on many missionboards and was a faithful pray-er for thosein ministry. He would pray for the worldeach week. Both Harold and his wife be-lieved in the power of prayer and spentmuch of their lives both individually and asa married couple in prayer.

Harold died just two days after his 95thBirthday when he celebrated God’s faithful-ness over many years.

(Miss) Ruth J. Nicholls

AFTER much prayer and deliberation theCommittee of Bible Radio Productions Inc issad to announce to their many faithful sup-porters that after 53 years of operation, theyfeel the Lord would have them bring thisministry to a close.

Wally Guilford, the founder of BRP, wasa well known and respected child evangel-ist. He was wonderfully used by the Lord inwinning countless numbers of children toHimself. He was the author of Winning TheChildren For Christ, which has been ac-claimed as one of the best books ever writ-ten on the subject.

Challenged by reading Radio, The NewMissionary, the autobiography of ClarenceJones, co-founder of HCJB, he shared avision with friends for reaching children forthe Lord through dramatised Bible storiesusing the medium of radio. With the supportof a number of friends, BRP was born.

The Lord greatly blessed the ministry ofBRP, with listeners telling of their coming toaccept the Lord as their personal Saviourand of many lives being encouraged and

blessed through this unique ministry.After Wally Guilford had to retire, Ken

Knight assumed responsibility as the newdirector, ably assisted by his wife Norma,who acted as secretary. Later, Bible Adven-tures was put into simple English to be usedon short wave stations in other countriesbroadcasting to the Third World, and HCJB,FEBC, TWR, Radio Africa and Radio EastAfrica’s services were also used to broad-cast throughout Central Africa at consider-able cost, but the Lord has wonderfully pro-vided the necessary funds. BRP has alsoused Radio Saipan, Radio Taiwan, andWorld Harvest Radio from Hawaii. SeveralChristian FM stations in Australia also usedtheir programs.

On 17 November 2008 the BRP commit-tee voted to bring BRP to a close after 53years of radio ministry, which the Lord hasso wonderfully blessed. Their cash assetsare to be invested between HCJB, FEBCand TWR to more effectively proclaim themessage of salvation throughout the 10/40window.

Bible Radio Productions Inc Comes To An End –Passes Funds To Other Ministries

Page Twenty Four – 5 February 2009 – NEW LIFE

‘NEW LIFE’ – AUSTRALIA’S CHRISTIAN NEWSPAPER

ARE you a person who loves change?Then the recent Belgrave Heights SummerConvention was the place for you to be!

The council and executive of BelgraveHeights Convention embraced change –and it was great!

There was a change in the timetable.Regular convention goers, both campersand day visitors, quickly adapted to thenew schedule of two morning sessions. Itmade for a busy morning before lunch, butfreed afternoons for a change of approachto the missionary presentations, and somemuch enjoyed relaxation and family timeduring convention.

There was a change in the weather. Weexperienced five mild days, which made itcomfortable to sit in meetings and do lifearound convention. The camp groundswere busy with tents and vans, as peoplespent part of their holiday time enjoying theteaching and atmosphere of convention.

On Thursday 1 January, with a NewYear upon us, people were introduced toIndia, a land of diversity: culturally, linguisti-cally and in almost every imaginable way!As you approached the auditorium throughthe foyer, there was the aroma of chai andBombay mix which were being served to usby ladies in saris and men in traditionalIndian dress. Indian music streamedthrough the building and those presentwere given a passport as they entered.

The presentations about India from dif-ferent missionaries and organisations wereinformative and fun. A highlight for somebeing the rickshaw ride around the auditori-um. It was exciting to hear what God isdoing in India and having the opportunity tomeet and pray with different mission organ-isations.

Always important when embracingchange is to have some things that remainconstant. At the 91st Summer Conventionsome of these constants were:Music: the teams leading congregationalworship provided beautiful music with arange of songs from the traditional to thecontemporary. Artists who came to share inworship brought a delightful flavour to con-vention. The Chatelier Family Singersshared on New Year’s Eve at both the11.30 am and New Year’s Eve Celebration.

The Couriers, Barry McKay, HannahJohnstone, Te Deum and Mal White allenhanced the services as they shared theirgifts in music that God has given them.Mission: A strong mission emphasis wasalso evident again. The missions display inthe foyer was an encouraging and diversedemonstration of the many ways God iscalling people to serve Him within ourcountry and further afield in the world.Numerous mission agencies had theirstands and representatives available toshare about their work. Mission spots werea highlight of many of the sessions. MUKTImission is involved with women and chil-dren in India; highlights were shown of theNational Prayer conferences in Iraq whichare bringing Iraqi and Kurdish Christianstogether; there were snapshots of workwith students in Eurasia; BCV shared a lit-tle of college life; the work of BarnabasFund and Langham Partner-ship in sup-porting national Churches around the worldwas highlighted; and the vital task ofMissions Interlink in connecting missionorganisations as they work together to dotheir individual work God has challengedthem with was explained.Bible Teaching: Strong Biblical teachingwas another constant at the convention.Jonathan Lamb, on staff at LanghamPartnership International brought the morn-ing Bible study sessions from Habakkuk.Habakkuk the prophet brings God’s word topeople and speaks to God on behalf of thepeople. He was burdened by the society helived in. He felt the bewilderment of not

understanding what God was allowing tohappen and yet knew that God was in con-trol in God’s world. Habakkuk has greatlessons for us as we sit in God’s waitingroom: the place between God’s promisesand the fulfilment of them.Ian Powell, minister at St Barnabas,Broadway, in Sydney, preached from thebook of Revelation, taking a step back toview the big picture rather than getting toocaught up in the details of the book. Ianencouraged us to consider the teaching ofRevelation which God revealed to Jesusand then to His servant, John (through anangel), in order to get the message to theservants, the Church. We saw the mostrecent ‘picture’ of Jesus that the Bible givesus, and John had difficulty in finding thewords to describe Him. Ian led us throughwhat Jesus thinks of the Church, the goodand the bad. Ultimately he challenged eachof us to fulfil our purpose of finally reachingHeaven and taking as many people with usas we can.Kofi Anane-Fenin from Pioneers in Ghanataught from 2 Kings 2 on Elisha’s dedica-tion to following Elijah. Each of the placesof significance in this story: Gilgal, Bethel,Jericho and Jordan can have parallels inthe walk of a Christian as we seek to bethe servants that God calls us to be.

As new and familiar aspects of conven-tion melded, God was challenging us to beHis people in a world that can at timesseem to be out of control. Do seriouslyconsider spending Easter at BelgraveHeights and the beginning to 2010 as well!

New Life Breathed Into Convention

THE headline found at www.timesonline.co.uk,in The Times of London grabs your attention:‘As An Atheist, I Truly Believe Africa Needs God’. Thetagline is even more pointed: ‘Missionaries, Not AidMoney, Are The Solution To Africa's Biggest Problem –The Crushing Passivity Of The People's Mindset’.

What kind of atheist is this? Matthew Parris, Timeswriter, award-winning author, and former Member ofParliament, is not your typical atheist.Atheists And Agnostics Unite!Recent projects promoting atheism or agnosticisminclude bestselling books: Richard Dawkins' The GodDelusion, Sam Harris' The End Of Faith, andChristopher Hitchens' God Is Not Great. Bill Maher's filmReligulous calls ‘anti-religionists’ to unite against reli-gion's dangers and ‘enshrine.rationality’.

In Illinois and Washington state capitols, theFreedom From Religion Foundation countered govern-ment-sanctioned Christmas nativity displays with signsdeclaring religion false, heart-hardening and mind-enslaving.

It is unusual for an atheist to write favorably aboutfaith. What led Parris to his surprising conclusion?

Reluctant ObservationParris grew up in Africa, and returned recently to cover anongovernmental development organization for TheTimes. The NGO, Pump Aid, helps provide clean waterto rural communities. The organization is secular, butseveral of its ‘most impressive’ African representativesare devoted followers of Jesus. Their character evokedmemories for Parris:

‘Travelling in Malawi refreshed [a] belief I've beentrying to banish all my life, but an observation I've beenunable to avoid since my African childhood. It confoundsmy ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my worldview, and has embarrassed my growing belief that thereis no God.

‘Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced ofthe enormous contribution that Christian evangelismmakes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular

NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts.These alone will not do. Education and training alonewill not do. In Africa Christianity changes people'shearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth isreal. The change is good’.

Interestingly, Parris' carefully considered conclusion,based on empirical observations across Africa, res-onates with biblical statements: Jesus told a 1st Centuryleader: ‘You must be born again...of the Spirit’. Paul, anearly skeptic-turned-believer, affirmed: ‘Anyone whobelongs to Christ has become a new person. The old lifeis gone; a new life has begun!’How It LiberatesParris emphasizes Christianity's impact on the individ-ual, beyond the good works it spawns. Living in Africa,he observed: ‘the Christians were always different’. Theirfaith seemed to have ‘liberated and relaxed them’. Theyexhibited a liveliness, curiosity, engagement and direct-ness that seemed absent in traditional African life. TheChristian Pump Aid workers he met stood out for theirhonesty, diligence and optimism.

Parris bemoans tribalism for fostering an attitude offear and ‘exaggerated respect for a swaggering leader’.He credits Christianity's emphasis on a direct, personalrelationship with God for encouraging an individualitythat can help ‘cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. Thatis why and how it liberates’.

Christianity ‘engenders individuality and frees themind’? Is this the same Christianity that some criticizefor breeding a herd mentality among undiscerning fol-lowers – something like ‘a crushing groupthink’?

Actually, it isn't. Parris specifies Christianity based ona personal relationship with God. He observes that suchChristianity ‘smashes through’ the traditional collectivemindset. No surprise. Jesus overturned Temple tablesand blasted religious leaders for supplanting God's wayswith their own.

Though atheists and Christians might debate themechanism, atheist Parris finds the fact undeniable:when God is personal, Christianity changes Africanhearts, lives and communities for the better.

Atheist Recommends GodBy Rusty Wright and Meg Korpi, ASSIST News Service

NEW LIFE EXTRA:

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Twenty Five

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Twenty Six

COMPASSION Australia, inassociation with TranslatorRecords and Musical ArtsMission, is pleased to an-nounce the first tour of TheSowers Group, a renownedEast African band, to Australiaand New Zealand.

Throughout March and Ap-ril, two former Compassionassisted children, Mike Matumaini and Oswald Basoka,originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, willtake to stages across Eastern Australia from Queens-land’s Easterfest to Sydney’s premier venue The Base-ment, sharing their songs of hope and purpose risingfrom turmoil and tragedy.

Joined by childhood friend Kosto Zahinda and Mike’sRwandan wife Christelle K Mugeni, the Sowers Groupwill mesmerise audiences with gospel grooves and tradi-tional rhythms from Rwanda, DR Congo and Tanzania.

‘These guys have anastonishing personal storyof escaping conflict andsurviving war’, says Aus-tralian tour keyboard play-er, Andy Sorenson ofTranslator Records andMusical Arts Mission.’Theyhave moved from countryto country, learning six lan-

guages along the way, in an attempt to leave behind thepoverty of their upbringing and inspire thousands withtheir music and message’. The Sowers Group will tourthroughout Victoria, New South Wales and Queenslandas well as venues in New Zealand during March andApril. For more information and tour dates, visitwww.compassion.com.au or www.translatorrecords.com

Cheza!, the group’s latest album recorded inTanzania, is available from Koorong, The PlanetCompany, iTunes and all major retail stores.

NEW LIFE EXTRA:

The Sowers Group On Tour

Remember Michael Chang?WITH the AustralianOpen TennisTournament reach-ing its climax as thisissue of New Lifegoes to press, it isperhaps timely toremember a formerʻgreatʼ, namelyMichael Chang, whomade an impact inthe tennis world a

few years ago not just because he was in thetop class of players but he was known for hisfairness and his strong Christian profession.

Since retiring from the circuit Michael hasbeen very busy. In January 2002, the ChangFamily Foundation launched the ChristianSports League in the hope that it would beused as a vehicle for local churches andorganizations to share the Gospel throughorganized and competitive sports.

CSLʼs mission is to introduce people toChrist by using sports as an avenue throughwhich individuals can see, hear, and experi-ence the Christian faith.

CSL places a premium on sportsmanshipand God-honoring conduct, making everyeffort to ensure a professional, organized, funand safe environment for physical play andfellowship.

Team captains play an integral role inmaintaining the integrity and vision of theleague, as well as the level of fellowship andcamaraderie on their teams in the hope thatCSL provides people with a fun setting thatencourages friends, family and colleagues onand off the court.

The Chang Family Foundation currentlyhas CSL branches in Seattle, WA and OrangeCounty, CA. Potential branch sites include:Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, SanDiego and Denver. For more information, con-tact CSL at cffoundation@mchang.com

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Twenty Seven

NEW LIFE EXTRA:

A CHRISTIAN bus driver has refused to drive abus with an atheist slogan proclaiming ‘There'sprobably no God ...’ (See Editorial, p.5) RonHeather, a Christian bus driver, refused to drivethe bus with the atheist message (Photo: SolentNews)

According to the BBC, Ron Heather, fromSouthampton, Hampshire, responded with ‘shock’and ‘horror’ at the message and walked out of hisshift recently in protest.

First Bus, who operate the bus service, said itwould do everything in its power to ensure MrHeather does not have to drive the buses.

Buses across Britain started displaying atheist mes-sages in an advertising campaign launched earlier thismonth. Mr Heather told BBC Radio Solent: ‘I was justabout to board and there it was staring me in the face,my first reaction was shock and horror. I felt that I couldnot drive that bus. I told my managers and they saidthey haven't got another one, and I thought I better gohome, so I did.

‘I think it was the starkness of this advert whichimplied there was no God’.

The BBC story said: ‘When he returned to work onMonday he was called into a meeting with managersand agreed to go back to work with the promise hewould only have to drive the buses if there were no oth-ers available’.

First Bus said in a statement: ‘As a company weunderstand Mr Heather's views regarding the atheist busadvert and we are doing what we can to accommodatehis request not to drive the buses concerned. As anorganization we don't endorse any of the products or

sentiments advertised on our buses. The content of thisadvert has been approved by the Advertising StandardsAgency and therefore it is capable of being posted onstatic sites or anywhere else’.

The BBC went on to say that the advertising cam-paign is backed by the British Humanist Association andprominent atheist, Professor Richard Dawkins.

Hanne Stinson, chief executive of the British Human-ist Association, said: ‘I have difficulty understanding whypeople with particular religious beliefs find the expres-sion of a different sort of belief to be offensive. I can'tunderstand why some people seem to have a differentattitude when it comes to atheists’.

Pressure group Christian Voice has questioned thecampaign's effectiveness but the Methodist Church saidit would be ‘a good thing if it gets people to engage withthe deepest questions of life’ and suggested it showedthere was ‘a continued interest in God’.

The advertisements run on 200 bendy buses inLondon and 600 vehicles in England, Scotland andWales.

Man Refuses To Drive 'No God' BusBy Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST Ministries

New Life Needs YOU!� Uphold Us In Prayer � Encourage Others To Subscribe

� Advertise With Us

� Point People To Our Website: www.nlife.com.au

NEW LIFE EXTRA:

NEW LIFE – 5 February 2009 – Page Twenty Eight

THE wave of the persecution of Christians may be inten-sifying in Iran. Arrest reports came in almost everymonth during 2008. Paul Estabrooks with Open Doorsnotes that the harassment isn't following the normal pat-tern. ‘The pressure against the church growth hascycled: there's a period of pressure, then a period ofrelaxation. Most recently, three different Christians havebeen arrested from two different families, and we're veryconcerned for them’, he says.

Estabrooks says the recent change in the penal code

is cause for great concern. Leaving Islam, which is con-sidered apostasy, carries a deadly penalty. ‘It meansthat these men could actually be executed for havingbeen converts from Islam to Christianity,’ he adds.

It appears the arrests are part of a concerted, nation-wide government plan. Estabrooks urges prayer for thebelievers in Iran. ‘As we've seen in church history, when-ever the church has been under pressure, the churchseems to deal with that pressure in unique ways,and in ways that actually helps it to grow’.

Iran Feels Tension Between Faith And Religious Freedoms

MAKING PEOPLE WHOLETHIS is essentially Jesus' work during His earthly ministry. He makes people whole.He takes a brash, boisterous braggart named Peter who is spiritually as shifty as sand, and fashions him into asolid rock, so that thousands will hear the Gospel through him.He takes a John of boiling temperament and fiery disposition, channels that fire into love and gives gentlenessin place of harshness.He takes a sinful woman twisted in all her thoughts, torn apart in her conscience, tormented by seven demons,and releases Mary of Magdala from her captivity, even gives her the honour of being the first to see Him risenfrom the dead.He takes a greedy, selfish, despicable tax collector and transforms Zacchaeus into a person of Christian charityand benevolence who in turn makes a deep committal: ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor;and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold’. (Luke 19.8)He transforms [men and women] by the power of His love. A group of very ordinary people are forgiven for theirsins, changed in their goals, given a vision, empowered with His Holy Spirit, and these Christians turn the worldupside down, or shall we say, right-side up? – H.S. Vigeveno in ‘Jesus the Revolutionary’

REV Dr Jo Bailey-Wells leading Biblestudy at ‘SummerUnder The Son’,Annual CMS VicConference. (Seestory p.11)