Whitefield

On saturday our church put on a Bushdance, so much fun!

Hi Everyone,

Well this week has been busy and it’s only just started.

I’m working on an essay on George Whitefield which has been really fun. Getting to read biographies of great Christian people throughout history and then writing about them is a real privilege.

Whitefield discovered that people really love to be challenged. He would preach passionate and emotively, often with tears. He also didn’t hold back. He never assumed that his listeners where Christian. This ‘rocked the boat’ quiet a bit because at the time (and still now I guess) it was thought that all you needed to do to be a ‘Christian’ was to be baptized as an infant and then not get excommunicated or commit suicide. Whitefield however preached that people must have an ‘inward’ religion. That is, that they must know God and obey him.

On Monday I got to catch up with my Uncle Peter, his wife Kanako and daughter Namiko. Which was a lot of fun. Namiko is a year and a half now and growing up fast!

Church has been going really well. I think I’m starting to settle into life in Sydney. I hope to make the most of the next 18 months. Even though I’m super busy with study I feel there is more to be done.

In fact I’ve been thinking a lot about how Ephesians (and James for that matter) talks about singing and praying to God and have some idea which should hopefully be put into action soon. Step 1, buy a Guitar… done.

Praise

• Again I’m thankful for the opportunity to study here at SMBC, wonderful friends, facility and being able to study the bible like this is a real privilege.
• Thank God for all the opportunities that seem to come up for sharing with people about God. Even though I’m at college most of the time I’m finding myself more recently bumping into to people around the place and having some great conversations.

Prayer

• I’m planning a trip to China soon (December?) but I still haven’t got any details confirmed. I need a place to stay, someone western to take notes from, and tourist visa. Please ask the Lord to provide these things for me.

The Lord Grants Sleep to Those He Loves

The cupcake cake from Ceanne and Lawrys wedding

Hello again,

The term has fully kicked in now and I’m back into the swing of things. I remember starting the first semester when it took me weeks to settle in. This time round after a week and a half I’m adjusted to the time table and new room.

The subjects this semester are getting even more interesting. Especially the class where we learn about Cross cultural (inter cultural actually) communication. It’s amazing how much we learn in this class. Essentially it address the universal issue of ‘What you here and what I say are two different things”.

This week I’m spending most of my spare time preparing for a sermon and trying to keep up with all the reading.

Also my parents are up visiting which I’m very excited about. I’m going to catch up with them again on Saturday.

Finally I figured this semester would be a good one to start getting a little more musical. I’ve started playing (or practicing more specifically) guitar in church and am looking at buying a guitar.

I was reading Ephesians ages ago and came across the following

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,”

I figure if Australia can be known for its drunkenness this it should also be knowing for its hymns and spiritual songs. The plan is to get together with some friends and start learning a few, especially the psalms (yay for Sons of Korah!)

Ok got to go

-Matthew.

P.S. I learned a new Chinese proverb the other day ‘the stupid bird flies early’. I find it very fitting. If you know you’re not so good at something it just means starting early so that you get a head start. It reminds me most things can be done, they just might take longer for me to learn (such as learning guitar!)

Prayer requests

• Please pray that I would always remember to weigh what God things over what people think. I’ve been forgetting to do this a lot recently L
• I’ve been doing a few late nights and early mornings. I’m not sure if this is something I should be doing (the lord grants sleep to those he loves – psalm 127:2)

Praise

• We are making some progress with the retirement village, I’ll keep you posted.

A New Semester!

When I came to Sydney I packed everything into that black suitcase. 6 months later I've some how managed to accumlate all this stuff!

Well I'm back after a long (3 week!) holiday and have moved rooms. At SMBC they move all the first years around mid year so that we get to know different people.

I've been getting very lazy at updating my blog but hopefully this will be the turning point.

Study for exams ended up actually being a lot of fun. I really feel I learned a lot, especially from Church History. It feels good though have finished the first set of exams and I’m really looking forward to the next half of the year.

This semester looks like its going to be a big one. I have a lot of ideas about things I would like to get involved in outside of college, but I think I’ve probably over estimated what is possible with the amount of spare time I have. (I seem to do this every year!)

One thing I’m pretty excited about it seeing if we can get involved in doing some visits to the retirement village just next door. There are so many reasons why this makes a lot of sense and I just really pray that the retirement village will be receptive. My friend Richard is also very keen to do this so we’re going to have a chat to them later this week / early next week.

The other idea is to become a little more musical. I’ve been practicing some songs on guitar and will hopefully start playing along at church shortly (in the background and probably unplugged for the start… phew). If this works out alright I might also start organizing some informal worship times here at college. First things first though, I need to find a guitar!

Finally, I’m going to try to keep learning Mandarin. I find myself using my Mandarin more and more here in Sydney. The other day I tried buying some cloths in Mandarin which was going really well until I found out the lady I was talking to didn’t speak Mandarin, but rather Cantonese! Lol that seems to happen to me all the time, but she was very polite and she seemed to understand what I was saying.

Pray requests

• That the retirement village next door (or one close by) would be receptive to having some SMBC students visit the elderly there.
• I’m organising another trip to China (QingHai) please pray that the organisation of this will go well.

Praise

• Praise God for the opportunities available to me, both here in Sydney and overseas! Especially in regards to ministry with and to Chinese people.

Found a church!

Our team photo from Mission

Hello everyone,

Thanks Dad for the suggestion of 'St Matthews' as a "a church of my own" but unfortunately there aren't any around here.

But I have found a church! Its called St John's and its in Campsie. I've been praying quiet a bit about a church to attend. Our time here at SMBC is quiet busy and I will not be able to put a lot of time into serving at church. Which means I think its important to be intentional in where I go and what I do there.

The church I've found is a smallish church (30-40 people) with a great mixture of ages and cultures. Its the same one I mentioned previously. There are many opportunities to help out there and I look forward to getting to know everyone better. I get to speak (and write) a little Chinese while I'm there and there is even a Chinese church next door! Which I'm really excited about. The best part is it will be an easy church to bring people to because the service is in simplified English, and the diversity means anyone would feel welcome.

I've already organised to meet up with some people from the church to study the bible with them. It should be a lot of fun, they have offered to teach me a bit about Chinese culture too which will be great.

So thanks everyone for praying for me. There where many good churches to choose from but I believe God has shown me the right one for me for now.

On another note, mission was really good. We got to try many new things for the first time, and it was a really good learning experience. The people at EFC looked after is so well (too well!) and we had a great (but busy and tiring) time. I got the opportunity to do a 'kids talk', I'd never heard of that before coming to Sydney but apparently they're quiet common. It was on 'if you want to be greatest in the kingdom of God you need to be servant of all'. I really enjoyed doing it. Explaining the bible in simplified English is a really useful way of understanding it I think.
I also got the opportunity to preach on the Sunday night and following Sunday morning. I'm always quiet nervous before I speak (that hasn't changed since primary school) but once I start speaking I'm fine (that has changed since becoming a Christian). I preached on "If anyone is to come after me, they are to deny them selves, take up their cross, and follow me". And then tied it into Easter.

I must not have blogged for a while because there is too much to tell.
During Easter I went to the Katumba Easter Convention, which was very good but I'll be brief cause this blog is getting ridiculously long.
Kirk's message on Ecclesiastes was very very good. I thoroughly recommend getting a copy if you can. More on the wisdom books I think.
Looking after toddlers was heaps of fun, I've never done it before but I enjoyed it heaps. I still miss the kids.
Insistently meeting up with my billots from mission was a great surprise. It makes Sydney seem a whole heap smaller.


Prayer and Praise

• Thank God for showing me a church to go to. This really lets me settle in a lot more. Looking for a church can be quiet disorientating so I'm glad its all done
• Thank God for a great mission trip. A number of people decided to follow Jesus and become Christians which is great news. Thanks heaps to all the EFC people who love to serve Him.
• Pray for wisdom on how I should serve at St Johns
• Pray that God would help me to learn my Chinese characters (I know 100, and I'm hoping for 1,000 by the end of 2010)

Thanks for reading and praying
-Matthew 马修

Mission

This Sunday we leave for a one week mission to a Chinese church in Sydney.
There are 14 wonderful people in my team. I'm really looking forward to putting into practise some of the things that we've been learning over the last month or two.
The biggest challenge for me will be preaching a 15-20 minute Evangelical talk on "if anyone is to come after me he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me". Its my first time preaching and quiet a strong message. I've been rewriting and rewriting the sermon to the point of quiet some confusion.
But I'm reminded to trust in him. Its actually quiet hard sometimes to put things simply when there is so much to say. I think preaching on this verse (and the surrounding ones) for 3 hours would be much easier than 15 minutes.
Anyway like always this is another wonderful opportunity to trust in Him. His message and His servant. I'm looking forward to all of these 'trials of many kinds'.

Please pray our mission trip. We are going to east Linfield to a Chinese church.

• Pray that we would be able to serve the church in any way possible
• Pray that peoples hearts would be softened during the many outreach events over the week
• Pray that our team would grow in our faith and character.

Research Week

For some reasons the trees in Croydon all seem to grow at 45 degrees. This photo was taken on Badminton Rd which I walk down a few times a week to go to the Burwood shops or catch a train. In this case I was making a trip to centrelink to sort out some paper work.

This week have been a little different in that we don't have lectures but instead can use the time to write essays and finish assignments. I spent most of the time working on my Old Testament essay. Its the first real essay I've written since high school (8 years ago!) which meant that it was lots of work. I really enjoyed it though.

I learned so much reading through judges, most of which I wasn't able to put in my essay (I tried to fit it in there but it just wouldn't :(). Each time I read through the book I learned something new. I never really realised how much amazing attention to detail there is in the bible. The main story of Judges is very clear:

That Israel sinned against God by worshiping the Gods of the people around them.
That God responded to this in judgement by sending the nations to attack them.
That Israel cried out to God to save them and He did by raising up judges.
That after the judge died Israel went back to their wicked ways.

These themes repeat each other through out the book. Yet its in the subtlety that God beautifully adds to this message. Did you know that this book has two introductions? That the phrase "Did evil in the sight of God" is always followed by "Cried out to the LORD" except in the account of Sampson? That most of the events in Judges occur twice (foreshadowing). I could have written 100 essays and still have more to say.

It brings me great joy to know that the bible has so many layers. There is treasure in there for people willing to dig. And yet the best news is that the most important (and useful) information is presented to clearly.

I'm reminded though of how people often find in hard to start reading the bible. It certainly is hard to read without an introduction. So much of the bible assumes a good knowledge of the other books (Judges without Numbers would not make much sense). I remember a course I did once called "The Old Testament in a Day". It was really good and put so much in perspective.

Sorry that this entry probably sounds like an essay. I guess I'm just in that mode from all the writing this week.

I keep bumping into mandarin speakers. In fact I've had two conversations in Mandarin just today! I'm still very much out of practise and my pronunciation (which was never all that good) is slipping.

If your praying for me here are some requests

Pray and Praise

• Thank God that I was able to finish my essay on time without too much stress.
• Thank God for good health!
• The next few weeks a lot is on in terms of study work load. Pray that God will give me wisdom in how to prioritise my tasks.
• I'm trialing taking Saturday's off (Friday sundown to Saturday sundown). It's quiet difficult not to work or study for a whole day but I see this as God honouring and important for my own health.
• I'm still having dramas with Centrelink. Please pray that this will go through smoothly.
• It looks likely that as a student I'll be entitled to the $950 hand out later in this year. Please pray that God will show me how to best use this unexpected blessing.
  

Until next time
-Matthew.

Judges

Well its a new week and I'm feeling very good.

Yesterday I went to church with one of my house-mates, Dave. It was very encouraged by the way in which the church represented the community it which they live in. There where Fijians, Indonesians, and of cause Anglo Saxons. Apparently there are also a few Chinese people who where not there that day. I'm always very exited to see diversity in the Church. I think it speaks volumes about what it is (who it is) that truly unites us.

I'm still looking for a church of my own. My thoughts are currently that I would like to find a local church (within walking distance) which is not demographically biased and which has an outreach into the local community here in Croydon. I still have quiet a few churches to visit and I'm really enjoying getting an idea for what is happening around Sydney. Still, I really to miss not being settled into a church.

Right now I'm working on an essay on the book of Judges. I've read the book through 2-3 times and each time the rabbit hole gets deeper. I was thinking today how thankful I am to be able to take time out like this to study the bible. I really would not want to be studying anything else!

A few things I've been up to:
Started playing the piano a little for fun (I'm 'borrowing' the one in our chapel).
Reading "Sophie's World" for a little 'outside' perspective.
Put our kitchen here to work on Sunday and managed to (finally) make a noodle soup work.
Still (slowly) learning Chinese :)
And of cause meeting heaps of new friends

Prayer and Praise
* Once again I'm very thankful for the amazing people we get to meet here at college. That goes for the on-site missionary's, the lectures and the students. I'm very blessed and feel quiet privileged.
* Praise God that I'm feeling really good. A few lateish nights and some early mornings but my body seems to be coping well.
* Please continue to pray that I can find a good church to settle in where I can both serve God and be encouraged in my faith.
* Please pray that I will remember to find practical ways to love my brothers and sisters here. It's really easy to get caught up in the (sometimes huge) workload.

Thanks for your support.
-Matthew.

Stephen

Something I've been thinking about today which I never have really thought about before is the importance of Stephens speech in Acts Ch7.
I've been wondering what importance the emphasis Stephen places on God working outside of Israel may have had on Paul.
Stephens speech is quiet amazing in that it summarises Jewish history in terms of God working outside of Israel. It notes that God dwelt in the desert, he appeared to Moses in a burning bush (on the outskirts of Egypt) and that Abraham had no inheritance in the promised land. His speech remembers how Gods chosen people rejected his messengers time and time again. At the end of his history lesson Stephen throws fire into a wound by telling his accusers that he sees Jesus sitting at the right hand of God. At this point the infuriated (think covering ears and shouting wildly) temple leaders then stone him to death.
Acts has a habit of making connections. One connection made here is the similarities between Jesus' death and Stephens who cries out 'Father forgive them, they know not what they do'. But the other is that after every record of a trouble or trial we find a link to something wonderful. A connection between the suffering of the church and God growing his church. In this case the
'beauty from ashes' connection is Saul (who becomes Paul). At the end of the chapter we are told that Saul was there I wonder if perhaps the seeds of Paul's radical mission to the gentiles began with Stephens account of God working outside the land of Israel?

I've also been challenged by the account of Ananias and Sapphira (Ch5) . I wonder if I seek a reputation of being Godly rather than to be actually be Godly. God is no fool and can't be tricked by shallow attempts to look right in the sight of others.
In this account Ananias and Sapphira sell their house and give the money to the church. It sounds great! What a selfless act and huge sacrifice they have made. However instead of giving all the money to the church they give only part. If this is where the story ends it would be a happy tale, how good it is to give to God. However instead this sad story ends in death. Taking their money to the apostles they pretend to have given it all. "Wasn't this money yours to begin with" Peter asks. "What made you think of such a thing?". Ananias wanted to be known for his commitment to God but was not willing to actually be fully committed. It would have been much better for him to be honest.
Its seems the only thing worse than being half hearted is to pretend to be whole hearted.

Looking over my life I realise its much easier to be thought of as Godly than it is to really be Godly. Or perhaps I should say easier to be thought of as honest and genuine than it is to be honest and genuine. Sometimes our reputation with God and our reputation with people conflict with each other. To do whats right in the sight of God we may have to 'lose face' with people we know. This is the price of honesty, but is I feel, the cost of carrying the cross.

Thanks for reading, please remember to prayer for me if you can, I really appreciate it (heaps).

Please thank God for

• The wonderful lectures here. Its really is a great privilege to be studying. I'm blown away every day.
• His wonderful provision. Its great to not have to worry about anything while I'm here, God has provided amazingly.
  

Please pray

• That I would stay on track. Like everywhere there are plenty of distractions (facebook!) some of which are not very helpful.
• For my health (not been feeling so good. I think my body's not really copping 100%
• To stay in love with God, I might have mentioned this before but its really easy to loose sight of my first love here. Deeds, hard work, and perseverance are no help in this regard (rev 2:2-5)
• To find a good church. This will help heaps.
  

Thanks once again for reading
-Matthew.

Oh.. why the map. Because I've stuck a copy of this map in my diary and have started putting a dot in each country as it comes up in coverstation. I'm amazing how much I'm learning about places I never new existed. Who knew the silk road went through Tajikistan.

First Week of Lectures

This week was our first week of lectures. The courses here and SMBC are divided into ACT subjects (which are quiet accidemic) and SMBC certificate subjects (which are quiet practical). I think having both of these type of subjects its what makes SMBC so great.
Some of my favourites so far have been Biblical Theology, Old Testimant, and Introduction to degree Theology.
I havn't studied for many years (since highschool) so my study habbits need some work but I'm starting to get into the swing of it. I find I'm writing heaps down in class. My plan is to then type these notes up the following day as a way of reinforcing what we learned.
I spent most of today walking with some friends (I forget the name of the walk but its in Budenia and is about 30Ks). It was great to get outside SMBC for a while, chat, and get some exersize. We where fortunate to not get rained on till the last 30 minutes of the walk.

Some praise points

• I'm basically all settled in now and in the flow of things. Horray.
• I'm thankful for the wonderful people here at SMBC, both lectures and students.
• For the wonderful accomidation here.
  

Some prayer points

• For good health (my throat is not feeling so good)
• For my AUStudy application to go through smoothly. (It seems this not not always/often the case)
• That in studying Gods word I would not loose sight of God himself (Sounds silly I know but its easy to do...)

Thanks helps for reading
-Matthew.

First Week

Its been an amazing first week (well part of a week) at SMBC.

I moved in on Monday any meet my house mates. There are 8 of us living in a 'cluster' called Troull. I've meet many new friends here already and have already started making some contacts for finding a good church to go to. I'm intending on finding a chinese church, hopefuly with an englight and madarin service. I miss my Chinese Church friends back in QLD a lot.
Its been hard to find time to get out of SMBC to do some shopping (I intended to buy some basics - like a towel, when I got here).

I've found that time is a currancy when studying at SMBC. Very different from my 6 weeks on holiday! I did manage to get to the shops yesterday though to pick up some stationary and have a look around. There are many different cultures in this suburb and and a lot chinese people. I noticed the clerk in one shop speaking Mandarain to a customer so I thought I'd see if my rusty 中文 still works. Luckly shopping and food are ingrained in my memory from my trip to China and the lady could understand my (broken and gramatically dodge) speach.

I very excited about the next two years. Its going to be hard work (even harder than I expected) but more than worthwile. SMBC has exceeded my expectations already and my expectations where quiet high to start with!

Some praise points:

• I'm having a great time and am in good sprits and good health!
• I have meet many good friends already and find it amazingly encouranging living with believing believers.

Some prayer requests:

• I've been considering upgrading from a two year assosiate degree to a three year bachelor degree and have been praying and asking staff and students about this decision. Please pray for wisdom and peace regarding this decision.
• I'm also feeling a little overwhelmed meeting so many new people (I think there are 250 people here). Everyone has such interesting stories to tell but I find it quiet draining. The culture here is also a little different compaired to the laid back Sunshine coast and adjusting to the study from a working background is a challenge for me.

One Week to Go

Only one week to go before SMBC starts and I can't wait to get started.
I've been plowing though a text book on Church history recently, reading around 3 hours a day. I've also found it helpful looking deeper into things using wikipedia on the internet.
This last week looks to be getting quiet busy (I think I'm doing something every night) but I'm happy that I'll get to catch up with everyone.
I'm still aming for a weekly blog update but I don't know if that will always be practical.

To Many Games

Recently I've been finding that every time to I go to do some church history study I end up falling asleep (even in the middle of the day). I hope this is not the beginning of a trend for next year! Its possiable that I'm a little unwell which doesn't help.
I'm still reading through Ezekiel but am almost finished. There are quiet a few well known chapters in there, I just finished the part regarding the river flowing out of the temple. God was very specific when describing the temple to Ezekiel. He even made sure to go through each section measuring it.
I've also been playing way too much computer games (Mordor) and continuing to read my grandmothers book (which is quiet engaging). Finaly I'm writing a holiday game using flash which is starting to take shape.

I've been thinking a bit about prayer recently My dad was preparing to lead prayers at the anglican church he goes to and reminded me how little I understand prayer. I think back to Solomon and his 'text book' prayer yet his heart was proven to be far from God.
Tonight I went to a prayer meeting at a friends house which really rekindled something inside me. Theres nothing quiet like intimate prayer with God. Its unique.