Church Billboard
At the front of St Mark's building there is a billboard which normally gets changed each month.
People may wonder what the meaning of particular posters are.
Every month we will provide an explanation so there is no confusion.
I remember Christmas eve as the peak of childhood excitement. I could say it was about family or feasts or celebrating Jesus’ birth, but the truth is it was all about the anticipation of presents. It was a magical feeling falling asleep on Christmas eve… the scent of Christmas pine, the glow of twinkling lights, the promise of presents.
But as the years pass, the excitement declines. As a teenager getting gift cards is preferable but not quite as exciting. As a young adult Christmas starts to hold more responsibilities and less magic.
As the excitement of presents dim over the years and the awareness of stress and conflict grows, that little figurine of baby Jesus in the manger starts to seem more important.
I want to take you back for a moment to the first Christmas evening. It was an ordinary night. There were no Christmas preparations, no gifts bought and wrapped. Ordinary shepherds were doing their ordinary thing watching their sheep. Then something truly remarkable happened. An angel in dazzling light appeared to them. The angel announced that the promised saviour had just been born in Bethlehem. And to highlight the magnitude of such news the whole sky was set ablaze with a multitude of shining angels singing glory to God. Read the original account in Luke 2:8-15.
That first Christmas the ultimate gift was given - the gift of peace with God. Jesus Christ came into the world to reconcile God’s rebellious children to their loving heavenly Father. Jesus was born, lived and died to be a peace offering between us and God. This ultimate Christmas present, given over 2000 years ago in a little town over 14,000kms away, is still available and being received today.
What would it mean to you to have peace with God? To know through Jesus’s life and death you are completely forgiven and accepted by God; you are completely known and loved by God, you are right with the author of all creation and even after death you are going to enjoy peaceful friendship with Him forever.
Forget battery operated toys and gift cards, the gift of peace with God is like all our Christmases have come at once.
PRAYER
Dear God, I accept the gift of peace with you through Jesus Christ. Thank you. Please show me how to live in this peace from now on. Amen.
Do you know that throughout recorded history there has never been a period of complete global peace? Though some consider we have been in a state of “long peace” since the end of WW2 that isn’t the reality for the millions who have lived in Myanmar, Rwanda, Nigeria, Congo, Somalia, Libya, Vietnam, Sudan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Ukraine, Palestine and so many more countries.
Then there’s our own homes. It’s rare to meet a family where there isn’t an estrangement, an ongoing conflict, or a renegade somewhere in the family tree or even sitting around the dinner table.
Getting even more personal there’s the conflict within us -- the uncertainty, the arguments with ourselves, the double guessing and anxieties.
Peace… world peace, family peace, inner peace it all seems unattainable for any length of time. But Jesus said: “What is impossible for people is possible for God.” Luke 18:27
When Jesus said this he was answering the question “who can be saved?” Another way the Bible speaks of salvation is having peace with God. With the wars around us and the conflict within us we often overlook our deepest need for reconciliation and peace - peace with God.
If we can’t garner peace amongst us or within us how can we possibly secure peace with God? We can’t! It is impossible for us, but is possible for God. That is exactly what Jesus came to earth to do, earn peace with God for us. He paid the penalty for our rebellion and warring with his undeserved crucifixion. His death bought our everlasting peace.
Can you imagine everlasting peace? Being in God’s beautiful, all loving presence for eternity in heaven. No more arguments or slammed doors. No more weapons or funerals. Nor more sickness or anxieties. Tranquility, contentment, everlasting peace. This is what God has made possible for all us through Jesus. It is everything you’ve ever really wanted. Accept this gift from God today.
PRAYER
Dear God, I can not find peace on my own. I am distressed by the wars and conflicts around me and inside me and I know I don't have the power to stop them. Forgive me for my own rebellion against you. I want the everlasting peace you offer through Jesus. Amen.
Have you ever felt you can’t take anymore? Difficulty after difficulty, hurdle after hurdle, loss after loss seems to have overcome your ability to cope. Overwhelmed you simply want to collapse in a heap and give up. It’s a hopeless feeling. And sadly a common one in this world of corruption, deception, disappointment and danger.
Yet as difficult and dangerous as this life really can be, the Bible speaks of a gentle, comforting God who offers us rest and refuge.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge. Psalm 91:4
Like a baby bird cosy and sheltered under the large strong wings of its mother, this verse creates in my mind the image of God as a soft, safe, warm place I can simply cuddle up in and rest without worry.
This doesn’t mean the world is safe or easy. We still need to go out and experience the storms of life. And the storms can really hurt. The storms can cause damage. But with God I am safe. In my relationship with God I can rest in his love and care. I can depend on his faithfulness. I do not need to strive or be on guard with Him. With Him I can simply be.
Refuge in God is seen most clearly and only made possible by Jesus Christ who declares “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). When we come to and trust Jesus, his death and resurrection has secured forgiveness for all our wrongdoings and prepared a safe and everlasting home for us in God’s presence.
Are you looking for this rest and refuge from the storms of life? Come to God through prayer now and you will find it.
PRAYER
Dear God,
I need rest. I need refuge. Life seems more than I can bear sometimes. Please help me. Please forgive me. I trust Jesus’ death and resurrection has secured my forgiveness and eternal safety with you. Let me rest safely under your wings. Amen.
When do you feel at your weakest and most vulnerable? Perhaps it’s when you’re experiencing financial insecurity or if a relationship isn’t going the way you hoped. Perhaps you feel weakest when you’re faced with uncertainty whether it’s uncertainty about your children, about your health, or about your future. Perhaps the everyday demands of life simply leave you exhausted and unsure how you will muster the energy to face another day.
When the world seems to be throwing more at you then you can handle it is natural to feel weak, insecure or under attack. Yet, in our weakness we can discover something beautiful. As the ancient King of Israel, David, declares during his own experience of vulnerability: “The Lord is my strength and my shield” Psalm 28:7
The LORD, that is the God who is compassionate and all knowing and all powerful, is my strength and shield. The God, who sent his son Jesus to die for my sins to bring me forgiveness and new life, is my strength and shield. When what is coming at me is bigger and stronger than me, God is my strength and my shield. That doesn’t mean I won’t get hit or get hurt. We see from King David’s life and Jesus’ life and the Apostle Paul’s life that trusting in God doesn’t guarantee physical safety and comfort. What it does mean is that whatever is coming at me God’s got it. It also means that I am safe from the most horrifying and dangerous thing of all - God’s punishment for my rebellion against Him.
It is before God in our sin that we are truly at our weakest and most vulnerable. But… Jesus died to pay the price of our sins and bring us back under God’s protection. Through trusting Jesus we are protected, not merely from the perils of the world, but the punishment of God due us for our sin. Do you know the strength and protection of trusting Jesus Christ? However weak or tired or attacked you are, whatever the world throws at you, you can be safe in Jesus Christ.
PRAYER
Dear God, I trust that I am safe from punishment from you through Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection. Thank you. I want you to be my strength and shield come what may in this world. When I feel weak or under attack please help me to depend on you. Amen.
Australia is a very safe country to live in. According to the Institute for Economics and Peace 2024 report Australia ranks as the 19th safest country in the world. In such an economically, politically and environmentally
stable country it’s normal to feel safe.
Then there are events global or personal that rock our sense of safety. Covid 19 threatened not only our health but our sense of normalcy and control. The impact of current American politics ripples through the world economy including the cost of our groceries. Bushfires and floods sweep away homes and lives.
On a more personal level, unexpected sickness, unemployment, separation, or death of a loved one can ambush us, leaving us to feel we have no solid ground to stand on. Even living in a country as safe as Australia, most of us will experience times of desperate fear or hopelessness. A sense that our world’s
falling apart and we have nowhere to run to. So, it seems, felt the author of Psalm 91. With the exception that, during times of desperation and danger there is one place to run to, one place to find safety and refuge - God the LORD Almighty.
“I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:2
Everything in the world can break or disappoint or perish, but God is not of this world. When you feel you have nowhere else to run to, God is the safe, unshakable fortress and refuge you need. Everything else may fail and fall but He will not.
Run to Him today and know the safety of the loving powerful God.
PRAYER
Dear Lord,
Whether I feel safe and secure or desperate and hopeless may I find my refuge and safety in you. May I trust you alone as my safe place and my protection.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.​