Travel Itinerary
Upcoming Church Visits in Australia
11 October | Grace Bible Church
18 October | Bald Hills Presbyterian Church (AM) / Mitchelton Presbyterian Church (PM)
19–21 October | Sydney
25 October | Village Church (AM & PM)
1 November | Redemption Baptist Church
8 November | Christ Central Church
22 November | Ipswich Central Church
29 November | Glasshouse Baptist Church
6 December | Noosa Presbyterian Church
13 December | Maroochydore Presbyterian Church (AM) / Palmview Church (PM)
20 December | Aura Church
27 December | Peninsula Presbyterian Church
10 January | Coolum Beach Baptist Church
Westminster Creed
I believe man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
I believe that the word of God, contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule given to direct us how to glorify and enjoy God.
I believe God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth; I believe there is but one true living God; that there are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and that these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory; I believe God has foreordained whatever comes to pass; that God made all things of nothing, by the word of His power, in the space of six days, and all very good; and that God preserves and governs all His creatures and all their actions.
I believe our first parents, though created in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, sinned against God, by eating the forbidden fruit; and that their fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery; I believe God determined, out of His mere good pleasure, to deliver His elect out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer; I believe the only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continues to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever; I believe Christ, as our Redeemer, executes the office of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king; I believe Christ as our Redeemer underwent the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, the cursed death of the cross, and burial; He rose again from the dead on the third day, ascended up into heaven, sits at the right hand of God, the Father, and is coming to judge the world at the last day.
I believe we are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit; I believe God requires of us faith in Jesus Christ, and repentance unto life to escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin; I believe by His free grace we are effectually called, justified, and sanctified, and gathered into the visible church, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation; I believe that we also are given in this life such accompanying benefits as assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end; that at death, we are made perfect in holiness, and immediately pass into glory; and our bodies, being still united in Christ, rest in their graves, till the resurrection; and at the resurrection, we shall be raised up in glory, we shall openly be acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgement, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.
(Emphasis in original.)
The Westminster creed is based mostly on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, it is taken from the Pastor’s Book p329/330 (Kent Hughes & Douglas Sean O Donnell, Crossway)
Is God doing something special in Germany?
Yesterday, 18th September, about twenty of us gathered in Giessen, in the heart of Germany, for a meeting called RefNet. RefNet is a new Reformed and Presbyterian network aimed at bringing together like-minded men from across Germany. It began about two years ago and has now developed into an annual gathering.
This year’s theme was “Discipleship,” and we heard from three pastors who spoke on the subject. What I found particularly encouraging was the honesty with which the men shared about the struggles and challenges they face in their respective churches. There was no pretence that everything is easy. Instead, there was a willingness to speak openly about the difficulties of ministry.
But perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the whole day was the fellowship with other men. Knowing that I am not standing alone, but that others are standing together for the gospel, brings immense joy and encouragement to a weary soul. There is something deeply strengthening about meeting with other brothers who are labouring for the same faith and facing many of the same challenges.
An older, retired pastor also charged us to remain under the Word. He repeatedly said to us, “Stay under the Word! Don’t make any compromises!” The weight of those words were felt by us all. This pastor has laboured faithfully, and often alone, to establish a Reformed church in Germany for most of his life, with a gentleness and faithfulness that is not often seen today.
Looking ahead, there are many encouraging signs. Could we be seeing the beginnings of a revival of healthy churches in Germany? We do not know what the Lord has in store, but we can pray for it.
Would you pray with us that God would rebuild His church in Germany? Germany was once the heartland of the Reformation, but today it is very much a mission field. Yet the Lord has not changed, and His promise remains true: Christ will build His church.
As Jesus told Peter: “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” — Matthew 16:18
May the Lord raise up faithful men, establish healthy churches, and cause the gospel to flourish once again in Germany—all for the glory of Christ.
The Supremacy of Christ
Colossians 1:15–20 is one of the most significant Christological passages in the New Testament. In a remarkably concentrated manner, Paul describes Christ’s relationship to God, creation, the church, resurrection, and redemption. The passage presents Christ not merely as an important figure within God’s purposes, but as the one who stands at the centre of them all.
This emphasis is particularly important in the context of Colossians. Paul is addressing a church that appears to have been exposed to teachings involving ascetic practices, Jewish legalism, and pagan gnosticism (Col. 2:8, 16–23). Although the precise nature of the false teaching remains uncertain, its effect was evidently to diminish the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ. Paul therefore responds not by providing the Colossians with a competing spiritual system of try harder, but by giving them a larger vision of Christ.
The passage can be understood in two broad movements: Christ’s supremacy over creation (vv. 15–17) and Christ’s supremacy in the new creation and redemption (vv. 18–20).
Christ and the First Creation
Paul begins by describing Christ as “the image of the invisible God” (v. 15). The language draws attention to Christ as the definitive revelation of God. The invisible God is made known through the Son. This corresponds closely with other New Testament descriptions of Christ. Hebrews 1:3 calls him “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,” while John 1:18 declares that the Son has made the unseen God known.
The phrase also has significance in relation to humanity’s creation in Genesis 1:26–27. Humanity was created in God’s image, but Christ is the perfect and definitive image of God. The relationship between Adam and Christ therefore cannot simply be understood as Christ being another image-bearer. Rather, Christ is the one in whom the divine image is perfectly revealed.
Paul then describes Christ as “the firstborn of all creation.” This phrase has sometimes been interpreted as meaning that Christ was the first being created. Such an interpretation, however, does not fit the immediate context. Paul explains his statement in verse 16: “For by him all things were created.”
The term “firstborn” (prōtotokos) can communicate priority, status, and authority rather than chronological origin. Psalm 89:27 provides a useful Old Testament parallel, where David is called God’s “firstborn” and is described as “the highest of the kings of the earth.” The emphasis is on supremacy.
Paul’s point is therefore that Christ possesses supremacy over creation because creation itself came through him.
Indeed, Paul reinforces this by repeating the phrase “all things.” Everything in heaven and earth, both visible and invisible, was created through Christ and “for him.” Christ is therefore not located within the created order as one of its inhabitants. He stands on the Creator side of the Creator-creature distinction.
Verse 17 makes the claim even stronger: “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Christ precedes creation and continually sustains it. Creation not only originated through Christ; it remains dependent upon him.
This is the theological foundation for the church’s historic confession concerning Christ’s deity. The Nicene Creed therefore speaks of the Son as “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,” and affirms that through him “all things were made.” The confession is not an abstract philosophical formulation but a theological articulation of the biblical conviction that Christ is eternally divine and not a created being.
Christ and the New Creation
In verse 18 Paul moves from creation in general to the church in particular:
“He is the head of the body, the church.”
The language of headship establishes Christ’s authority and his life-giving relationship to the church. The church is not an independent institution whose identity is determined by its leaders or traditions. It derives its life and direction from Christ.
Paul then calls Christ “the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.” The connection between Christ’s resurrection and the church is crucial. His resurrection inaugurates the new creation and establishes him as the one who possesses supreme authority within it.
The purpose is explicitly stated: “that in everything he might be preeminent.”
Christ’s supremacy therefore extends across both creation and redemption. He is supreme over the original creation because all things were created through him, and he is supreme over the new creation because he is the risen Lord and head of the church.
Paul reaches the theological centre of the passage in verses 19–20:
“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things…”
The language of “fullness” (plērōma) is particularly significant in Colossians. Whatever spiritual fullness the false teachers may have claimed to possess through other beings, practices, or forms of knowledge, Paul locates the fullness of God entirely in Christ. There is no deficiency in him requiring supplementation.
This becomes even more explicit in Colossians 2:9: “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”
Yet Paul does not separate Christ’s deity from his work of redemption. The one through whom all things were created is the same one through whom God reconciles all things. The cosmic scope of creation and reconciliation are brought together in Christ.
And the means of reconciliation is striking: “the blood of his cross.”
The cross is therefore not an unfortunate interruption to Christ’s mission. It is central to it. The Creator becomes the redeemer, and reconciliation is accomplished through his sacrificial death.
Colossians 1:15–20 thus presents a comprehensive Christology. Christ reveals the invisible God, stands supreme over creation, sustains all things, heads the church, inaugurates the resurrection, possesses the fullness of God, and accomplishes reconciliation through the cross.
The fundamental claim of the passage is consequently not simply that Christ is significant, but that Christ is supreme. Nothing in creation stands alongside him as a rival source of spiritual fullness. Nothing needs to be added to him.
Paul’s answer to the competing teachings at Colossae is therefore ultimately a vision of Christ himself: the one through whom all things were created, the one for whom all things exist, and the one through whom God is reconciling all things to himself.
5 ways to care for a gospel worker on home assignment
Help gospel workers in practical ways as they prepare for their home assignment. For example assist in organising a car and accommodation during their time in Australia. Many missionaries receive a salary that doesn’t allow for paying double rent, therefore try to find accommodation for them that is not going to be a burden on them but that will also provide the refreshment that they need. Some other ways to help, is to organise someone to pick them up from the airport, fill the cupboard and fridge, help them organise a SIM card, help them with clothes (especially if they are coming from another season), shout them a much needed holiday. Perhaps provide the opportunity for the husband and wife to go on a date.
Reassure and encourage. Many workers come home discouraged that they didn’t reach all the objectives and goals that they wanted to during their term. Understand gospel workers have left their work and church behind, and are quite apprehensive about returning to a home culture that they haven’t experienced for a number of years. Many might be nervous about all the changes and the loss of social structure that they have worked hard to cultivate in their host country.
Help workers with doctor check ups and/or other help that they can’t get in their host country.
Provide gospel workers with pastoral care. Many have gone through a number of hard years filled with stress, disappointments, suffering, and loss. They might just need someone to sit down with them and listen to their needs and concerns.
Help gospel workers both to reconnect with existing churches and supporters but also provide the opportunity for them to form new partners.
3 ways you can pray for Germany!
Pray Colossians 4:3, “that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ” in Germany. We know that it is only God who saves through the preaching of his word.
Pray for the government of Germany to make wise decisions that will enable the gospel to flourish in Germany.
Pray that the Lord would provide funds for ministry and church planting. As the evangelical church is quite small (about 1.5% of the population), many churches rely heavily on outside support. There is also the great challenge that every pastor and missionary faces, exorbitant taxes.