The Vine - York St Church of Christ

june2012
From the Depths—Jonah
Testimony from Leigh and Angela Oliver
Repentance—King David
Search Me—Psalm 139
helping people meet Jesus, become like Him and be equipped to impact the local and global community

Tim Clark - Senior Pastor
A word from our Senior Pastor
Hi, and welcome to the June edition of The
Vine, our monthly church magazine. We trust
that you have a great time with us as we
worship our awesome God together. Here at
York St, we are a large regional church that is
ALL ABOUT LIFE. This month there are many
things happening in the life of the church so
please take the time to read through The Vine
and if you have questions or comments then
don’t hesitate to contact our church office –
office@yorkst.com.au or check out our web
page www.yorkst.com.au for more
information.
Throughout the month of June we will be
looking at the topic of Courageous Prayers.
This will be an exciting month as we focus on
prayer. Prayer is the engine room of the
church and here at York St prayer is one of
our core values. We believe that PRAYER is
the foundation for all that we do. We believe
that God always hears our prayers and
answers them according to His will and
purpose. We believe that prayer is the means
by which we draw near to God and build a
relationship with Him. We believe that God
works through the prayers of His people to
impact the world.
So you won’t want to miss a Sunday this
month as we look at a number of Courageous
Prayers. On Sunday 3 rd June at all three
services will hear the testimony of Leigh and
Angela Oliver as they share with us their
journey over the last few years. We also
celebrate with Angela as she returns from
maternity leave to the role of Worship Director
on Sunday 24 th June.
If you are new to the church you are invited to
an Intro to the York St Church of Christ on
Monday 4 th June from 7pm to 8pm . This is for
anyone who is new to the church this year
and also for those who haven’t yet had a
chance to attend an Intro to York St Church of
Christ before. During the night you will be
introduced to the Ministry Team, Elders and
2
key staff as well as hear about the vision of
the church. You will also be taken on a tour of
the building and have an opportunity to ask
questions. There will be a light supper served.
If you would like to attend then please RSVP
to the church office by either phoning 5331
1079, email office@yorkst.com.au or write
your name on the Intro to York St Church of
Christ form at the Information Desk.
Congratulations to the Ballarat Churches
Eureka Carols 2011 which won the United
Way Volunteer Recognition Award for best
Community Event. I want to thank everyone
who was part of the Eureka Carols team and
a huge THANK YOU to the churches in
Ballarat who worked together to run this great
community event.
I would like to personally thank Glenn & Trace
Valentine (who are now living in sunny
Queensland), Maree Chapman, James & Pam
McKee, Bob Bennett and the rest of the 150
plus volunteers who help bring the real
meaning of Christmas to the Ballarat
community through the Ballarat Churches
Eureka Carols.
This month we also pray for our State Youth
Games (SYG) team as they head to Warragul
over the long weekend. We will hear some
feedback from SYG at the Youth Take Over
service on Sunday 24 th June at the 6pm
service. This is the 20 th year that York St has
been part of the Churches of Christ Youth
Vision’s State Youth Games.
Blessings
Tim

3
WHAT’S HAPPENING ON SUNDAYS IN JUNE?

‘High Tea’
for our Widows
and Widowers
4

Greetings all from Rob Petty,
What have the Elders been up to in the last
month or so? Well my friends, brothers and
sisters, we have had to deal with the
resignation of our much loved brother in Christ,
Glenn Valentine from the Eldership due to his
new job and family move to Queensland in
April. We in the leadership wish him and his
family well as they start the next season in life
and the kingdom.
Glenn will be missed by all of us and especially
the Elders and Leadership Team. Glenn’s
business prowess and experience lived through
a life of faithfulness to our Great God were
always present when we met as Elders and
leaders. We thank God for him. It goes without
saying that we in the Eldership are now praying
and seeking the Lord’s guidance as we look for
suitable godly men and women that the Lord
wants to join us here in the Eldership team at
York Street.
The Elders not only perform in a business and
management type of function, but are also
actively engaged in the spiritual life of the body
here at York Street Church of Christ. We are
involved in all facets of pastoral care, preaching
and teaching (regional churches and groups),
Sew N Sews Patchwork Group
We are enjoying this year sharing together.
5
ELDERS’ UPDATE
prayer and healing etc. We constantly battle
with the requirements of church governance
and spiritual growth of the congregations here
at York Street to ensure the Body of Christ here
is healthy and growing in the kingdom for the
Master, Jesus Christ.
I would like to share with you what our York
Street Church of Christ Pastoral Care Visitation
Team is doing since the team was formalized
earlier this year. The team consists of
committed and passionate individuals who visit
our congregation members and those
associated with our church either in their
homes, in the city’s hospitals, retirement
homes and hostels. This ministry has been able
to organize and run a Church service monthly
at Kirralee Retirement Home and provide
communion to other people at the Messer
Retirement Home. This Visitation Ministry is
York Street Church of Christ in action caring for
our people and the community.
We in the Eldership and Leadership Team are
committed to: Helping people meet Jesus,
become like Him and be equipped to impact
the local and global community.
Blessings and Shalom to all.
We started the year making quilts for the Children’s Ward at the Ballarat
Base Hospital. We have also made over 80 cushions for breast cancer
patients. The Zonta club filled the cushions.
Last meeting we had a 12 hour day. Lynn inspired the ladies to make a
mystery quilt. Some lovely tops were made and we shared a Chinese tea
together.
During May we had a Mother’s Day luncheon and a ‘Sit & Sew’ day.
In August everyone goes to a retreat in Gisborne where they have a great fun weekend.
Beginners are most welcome to join us. The cost is $5 per meeting and tea and biscuits are
provided. [More details about Sew N Sews can be found on page 13 of The Vine.]

MOPS Term 2 is in full swing, with two
meetings in May; one being our annual
Mother’s Day pamper morning. We get such a
buzz from seeing the mums really enjoying
themselves and receiving some hard earned
pampering. Many made comments on how
wonderful it was and that they hadn't
received pampering like that in a long time.
Others enjoyed the opportunity to paint their
nails in peace with time for the polish to
completely set! Thank you to everyone who
helped make the day a highlight of our MOPS
year. Special thanks to Polly Walters for being
our barista for the morning and to Wilsons
Fruit for their continual generosity to us and
their lovely flower arrangements for our
mums.
On Saturday April 28, MOPS members from
Ballarat and across Australia participated in
our annual Mothers on the March fundraising
and awareness day. This is MOPS’ biggest
fundraising day, with proceeds going towards
the support and growth of new and existing
groups, while encouraging unity amongst
members.
In Ballarat, we were blessed to have around
60 mums and their families (including 4
legged family members) from all three MOPS
groups. God put on a glorious show as we
were bathed in warm sunlight for our morning
of fun, fellowship and food. Lake Wendouree
was our perfect venue for families
participating in the 2, 4 or 6km walks (or
runs). The popular location of Lake
Wendouree allowed other people to engage
and learn more about MOPS Australia and
helped raise interest within the Ballarat
community.
A special thanks to all the mums (and dads)
who helped make the day a success, both
preparing beforehand and volunteering on
the day.
MOPS is a wonderful mission to our local
mums. If you would like to support mothers of
young children, please consider helping with
MOPS once a fortnight. There are two main
ways you can help. 1) as a carer of the
children, or 2) in the kitchen on our
hospitality team. Please talk to me or one of
our team members to find out more.
And of course, please continue to pray for
York St MOPS and all involved.
Peace,
Sarah Bolton
6

Term 2
Last week we had a special visit from Paul Mah (musician) who
shared how he honours God through music. A big THANKS to Paul!
So what’s happening for the rest of Term 2?
3rd June
What Does It Look Like?
“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7
Reviewing the virtue of Honour
10th June
Honouring those who are overlooked
Honouring others more than yourself
Honouring our Mothers
Honouring those who are over you
Honouring God in front of others
Long weekend – David & Goliath DVD
YORKIE KIDS WELCOMERS
Would you like to say ‘hi’ to people as they
arrive at Church on Sunday mornings?
Then you should consider being a Yorkie
Kids Welcomer!
You will need to be here between 10:15 –
10:30am on the days you are rostered.
17th June
24th June
Yorkie Kids Take-over Service Rehearsal
YORKIE KIDS TAKE-OVER SERVICE
Bubbles group can dress up in their favourite costume
Please ask your parents to talk with Eileen
Bennett if you are interested.
30th June
No Yorkie Kids – school holidays
21st July Yorkie Kids resumes for Term 3
Please send a named drink bottle to
Yorkie Kids with your child.
* * *
Please put June 24 th in your diaries for our Yorkie Kids
Take-over Service
MOPS Dinner
MOPS Pamper Day!
When?
Saturday June 30th
Where? York Street Church of Christ
Cost?
Why?
$22 per person (2 course catered meal)
To get together, have a FUN night and celebrate MOPS!
We will have Rachel Francis as our special guest speaker
to share about her next adventure - moving to India with
her family.
To find out more or to purchase a ticket please speak to Hayley
Mah or contact her on 0426 509 808.
7

20 Years of SYG
for Yorkie
2012 marks the 20 th Anniversary of York Street
Church of Christ’s involvement in the annual
Youth Vision State Youth Games held each
Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend. Back in 1993
Jarrod & Kristin O’Brien made the wise decision
to take a group of young people to SYG at
Queenscliff, and the tradition has continued
ever since. Back then the team was small and
the catering I hear consisted of little more than
sausages and hot chips and throwing a car
engine on the fire to get things warmed up!!
I’m happy to say that the catering has improved
since those early days, but the spirit of SYG and
of York Street’s teams has remained the same.
This is my eighth year at the helm of SYG and I
recall my very first year in 2005 when it rained
all weekend, the tents flooded and everything
was so soaked that I thought it would also be
my last year. I’m so glad it was not, because it
has been an awesome privilege to work with so
many great people and volunteers over the
years who saw the value in taking a bunch of
young people away to enjoy Christian
community and also get a little competitive
with a variety of sports. For anybody who has
been to SYG you know what I’m talking about
and how it is a special weekend even when it is
freezing cold and you don’t know what the
weather will do next!
I’d like to thank a few key people I’m aware of
who have been an integral part of the SYG
legacy over the last twenty years. Jarrod and
Kristin O’Brien, Lisa Gaddes, Heather and Craig
Paxman, Jay Sawyer, Trevor and Kaye Wilson,
Mel Fulcher, Matt Hill, Linda Pearse, Trudy
Cuttler, Paul Duthie, David and Sue Leaney,
Brett and Heather Donaldson, and in particular
I’d like to make mention of Brad Irvin who has
attended each and every SYG over the past
twenty years. Well done Brad!
SYG 2012 is just around the corner and this
year we have a team of 65 people who will
again venture down to East Gippsland for what
will be a memorable weekend. We have some
new team helpers this year and we also
welcome Paul and Kerry Harper as our SYG
cooks this year. The legacy continues...
Blake Moore.
Below:
SYG advertising
in 2012
Left:
Front
page of
the SYG
Program
from
1993
9

THANKS AND
GOODBYE!
Thank you to Kylie Peterson for
generously gifting her congas to York
Street Church of Christ.
We’d also like to say farewell to Kylie
and Danny, and thank you for all you
have done over
the years.
All the best for
your future
adventures.
11

What’s Happening
Pre-Schoolers
Youth
MOPS will be held on Wednesdays
June 6th & 20th
9.15am-11.30am
Cost is $5 each session
(less for health care card holders) and the first
time is free.
New Mums are always welcome!
WILDSIDE & DETOUR
(Grade 6-Year 12)
Friday 1st June
SYG Warm-up
7pm-9pm @ Yorkie
Cost $3
June 8-11
SYG 2012
June 22-23
Lock in 2012
Cost $10
7pm-7am
Mainly music is on Thursday mornings during
school terms at 10:30am. There are
information brochures about Mainly Music
available on the Information Desk.
Alternatively you can speak to Brenda, Alisa or
Kirsty for more information. If you are
interested in becoming involved in this
ministry please speak to Brenda Peralta or
contact the church office.
Children
Please see page 7 for
more details about the
themes for Yorkie Kids
during June.
CHICKS’ NITE IN
(Grade 6-Year 9 Girls)
Fridays 15th & 29th June
6:30pm-8pm
Cost $3
YEAR 10 GIRLS’ GROUP
(Year 10 Girls)
Fridays 15th & 29th June
4pm-5:30pm
@ Yorkie
THE LADS’ SUNDAY ARVO GROUP
(Grade 6-Year 10 Lads)
Sunday 17th June
4pm @ Yorkie
Cost $3 (includes tea)
VCE GROUP
(Years 11 & 12)
Tuesdays 5th & 19th June
12

What’s Happening
Young Adults
Men
More details coming soon...
Wild at Heart
Saturday 16th June
See page 24 for more details.
Prime Time
Prime Time is in recess for June/July/August
and will meet again on September 25.
Handicrafts
ART AND CRAFT COMPANY
Art and Craft Company are a group of craftloving
people who meet for a day of fun,
fellowship and CRAFT
Each Friday at the church
from 10am until 2pm.
Please see Jan or Harold Howlett for more
information.
SEW N SEWS
The Sew N Sews quilting and patchwork group
meet together for fun and fellowship whilst
sharing their interest in patchwork.
The meeting place is at the church on the first
and third Saturdays of the month from 10am-
3pm. Cost is $5 per session. Morning and
afternoon tea supplied. Beginners are most
welcome!
Musicians
WORSHIP PRACTICE
Wednesdays
7pm-8pm
(for 8.45am Sunday service)
8pm-9pm
(for 10.30am Sunday service)
Remember the latest roster can be found on
the website. Please note the rosters are
continually changing!
Prayer
A NIGHT OF PRAYER & WORSHIP
MONDAY 25th June 2012
Join us on Monday 25th June for our Monthly
night of Prayer and Worship starting at 7:30pm.
Once again this month there will be two ways of
praying on the night. There will be an
opportunity to “Be Still” and pray in quite space
with others, and there will be an opportunity to
sing praises to God in worship and prayer. This
will be an awesome night of drawing near to
God. Plan today to be there .
13

june2012
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Theme: Pentecost
Sunday
The Lads’ Sunday Arvo
Group
Theme: Prayer in Secret
Prayer and Worship
Intro. to York St
VCE Group
Worship Practice
27 28
29 30
Elders’ Meeting
Worship Practice
3
4 5
6
STATE YOUTH GAMES
Theme: From the
Depths
Theme: Repentance
10
Queen’s Birthday
Holiday
Church Office Closed
11
12
Worship Practice
13
Mission Focus: Grills
The Lads’ Sunday Arvo
Group
FOOD SUNDAY
Commissioning
Francis Family
14
17
o f
Yorkie Kids Takeover
Service @ 10.30am
Youth Takeover Service
@ 6pm
24
VCE Group
Worship Practice
18 19 20
Elders’ Meeting
Prayer and Worship
Worship Practice
25
26
27
More information about the events above can be found elsewhere in The Vine

Electronic
Tithes and
Offerings
The technology is available for you to give your regular tithes and offerings
by electronic transfer from your bank account (via online banking).
Online banking can also be used to make one-off donations and missions
gifting.
Please contact the Church Office if you would like more information about
how this is done.
Thursday Friday Saturday
31
Art & Craft Group
1
Sew & Sews
STATE YOUTH GAMES
2
Need
More
Info?
7
14
Art & Craft Group
Art & Craft Group
Year 10 Girls’ Group
Chicks’ Nite In
Art & Craft Group
8
15
Eureka Men
Sew & Sews
LOCK IN
21 22 23
9
16
Resource Desk/
Information Boards
Located at the back of the
auditorium you can find extra
information about many of the
upcoming events.
www.yorkst.com.au
Our website is your online
resource for up to date
information.
Contact us
Call the office on 5331 1079
between 9am-3pm or email us
at office@yorkst.com.au for
more information.
15
Art & Craft Group
Year 10 Girls’ Group
Chicks’ Nite In
Worship Clinic
28 29
Worship Clinic
More information about the events above can be found elsewhere in The Vine
Dinner
30
Regular Service Times
Traditional Service 8.45am
Family Service 10.30am
(including Yorkie Kids)
Worship
6pm

Yorkie Roaders
Yorkie Roaders are taking another trip.
October 26th - 28th
Halls Gap Big 4 Caravan Park
‘Parkgate’
Ph: 1800 810 781
Contact Jim Oates or Noel
Jenkins for more information.
16

Top Ten Questions
With Fiona Deutscher
1. What is your favourite food? Chocolate
2. What is your favourite TV show or Movie?
Anything Jane Austen
3. Who’s in your family? Husband Peter.
Daughter - Lauren Fraser. Son & daughter-in
law - Michael & Jenny Fraser. Gorgeous
Granddaughter - Abigail Fraser
4. Which church service do you attend?
10.30am service
5. How long have you been involved at York St?
5 years
6. What is your favourite Bible verse? Isaiah
43:1-3 “Fear not, for I am with you; do not
be dismayed for I am your God. I will
strengthen you and help you; I will uphold
you with my righteous right hand.”
7. What do you do for leisure or what are your
hobbies? Tennis, bushwalking, gardening, music and quilting.
Fiona Deutscher
8. If you could change one thing in the world what would you change? Poverty and
injustice.
9. Who is your favourite Bible character? Paul: his miraculous conversion from being a
persecutor of Christians to being a strong, faithful and dynamic Christian leader.
10. What do you like the most about York Street? It is a vibrant church which reaches
outward into the community. It has a strong focus on teaching and prayer. The Life
Group’s wonderful discussion, encouragement and fellowship.
“Fear not, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I
am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I
will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 43:1-3
17

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the
very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20
Welcome to World Missions! God has a part for you to play in His mission to spread the
hope of the Gospel and help build His Church world-wide. When you share the hope of
the Gospel, when you pray, provide financial support, encourage through
correspondence or provision, or work to plant churches, you are playing your part in
world mission and the great commission.
The Grills Family
Nathan and Claire Grills In India...Well, with
the recent birth of their son, Jacob, neither of
them are actually in India at the moment, but
their work there does continue. Nathan (a
public health doctor) and Claire (a
dermatologist) are serving in India (via long
distance at the moment) under the umbrella
of Pioneers and Interserve. Their work is
based in Mussorie, Uttarakhand, which is an
impoverished Himalayan state with little
access to healthcare or the good news of
Christ. They are involved in training
community health program workers
(Uttarakhand has a cluster of 34 Christian
community health programs) in preventative
medicine, so that these workers can take
what they have learnt to the hundreds of
villages in the region, thus providing the
impoverished people of these villages with
Nathan, Claire, Abby and Jacob Grills
access to basic healthcare. Training these
workers provides Nathan and Claire
opportunity to share the love of Christ and
disciple believers, who in turn can share their
faith with the people in the villages.
18

Abby and Jacob Grills
More recently the community health training
has focused on disabilities. In this area of
India, people with disabilities are often
neglected and bring shame on the family, as
the disability is seen as punishment for
wrongs from a previous incarnation. Disabled
kids are often tied and locked up, or simply
left to die. Their 'Samvedna' project is a
disability program that aims to train
community health workers to provide
disability support services such as
physiotherapy, occupational therapy and
speech pathology. The program also trains
the workers to be advocates for those with
disability, and teach the villagers that these
lives are special to God.
The recent arrival of Jacob (born in April) has
meant that the Grills family are all in Australia
at the moment. Claire is recovering well from
the birth (a C-section) and Abby has recently
started eating through her mouth (rather than
just via her feeding tube) and is enjoying
attempting to eat (or rather slobber on) her
little brother. Nathan continues their work in
India via telephone and internet. He is
involved in securing funding for various
projects, increasing awareness of the needs
of this part of India, planning budgets,
marking assignments, planning assessments
Hello,
and emailing other faculty in the training
programs, hosting trainees, arranging
volunteers, as well as continuing his Global
Health Research for Melbourne University.
Please pray:
for Claire as she continues to recover, and
praise for a healthy baby in Jacob
for Abby as she continues to learn to eat
for Nathan as he recovers from a broken
arm in a recent bike accident
for their work in India – that the community
health leaders can work co-operatively and
that Nathan can be given wisdom in
troubleshooting issues that arise
that the Samvedna project would be used
for God's glory to improve the plight of the
disabled in India.
EARS AND TEDDIES
I have the amazing opportunity to write to you
again! This time though I’m writing to you
about my massive stuffed bear collection and
the money I raised for EARS. With my stuffed
bear collection I was told by Mum to find new
homes for them while I was cleaning my room.
After doing a BIG clean out we had a garage
sale. Also wanting to help raise money for
EARS we made some posters, put the teddies
in a cot and ask people to please make a
donation and take a teddy with them. We
didn’t raise much, only $25.25. Not much but
still something! In fact that is 6296.49 in
Malawian Kwacha. The soft toys that were not
sold at the garage sale Nathan Grills is taking
to an orphanage in
Mussoorie, India. What
better homes than an
orphanage in India!
Please pray for the safe
delivery of the teddies to
India.
Smile,
Izzy Jackson
19

Missionnext
Please note the Francis Family will
be commissioned during the
10.30am service on Sunday June 24.
York Street
Overseas
Missions Committee
Hi all,
It's on again!! Missionnext is all set to go for the
16th June.
Same great format!
Same great food!
Same great company!
We are so excited to be hearing from the team
who will have recently returned from Africa as well
as hopefully from Ben and Jules back from
Bolivia.
And of course, we will be farewelling Andy and
Rach Francis as they head off long term to India.
It is such a great chance to be encouraged,
challenged and inspired. So, lock it in to your diary
and hope to see you there.
Henry Deutscher
Andy Francis
Aaron Luttrell
Eunice Clay
Blessings,
The missionnext team
(6pm, 106 Eureka St, $5 gets you dinner and
desert)
Overseas Mission offering for
June (placed in the Missions
envelopes) will go towards the
work of MAF unless otherwise
stated. Thank you for your
valuable contribution to the
work of MAF and for partnering
with those from York Street
Church of Christ serving
overseas.
Henry Deutscher
Renata Dempsey
Aaron Luttrell
Betty Veal
Interested? Andy Francis Why not talk with
one Eunice Clay of the Overseas
Missions Committee today
Renata Dempsey
and Betty find Veal out how you can
help spread hope.
Some are called to go and
some are called to send.
Who will go and who will
send? Those called to go
cannot go unless they are
sent and those called to
send cannot send if no one
will go.
21

A temporary cleaning
position has become
available at York
Street Church of
Christ on Wednesdays
(9am-3pm).
If you are interested
please contact Robert
at the Church Office
on 5331 1079 or on
mobile 0402 127
100.
23

EUREKA MEN
Saturday 16 June
Come and join us!
A unique morning for men of all ages.
We will have food, fellowship, challenge and fun.
WHERE: York St Church of Christ TIME: 7am to 9am
Breakfast cost is $5 per person
Wild At Heart DVD Session 3
24

Food Sunday
Food Sunday will be held
Sunday 17th June
Donations of non-perishable
food items are gratefully
received.
Just drop them into the
shopping trolley in the foyer.
Country Speakers
Please pray for those
from our church who
are supporting our
sister churches in the
country through
preaching this month.
Thank you.
Directory Updates
Please advise the church
office of any changes to
your contact details.
Thanks.
Material for The
Vine
Do you have something
you would like to include
in the July edition of The
Vine? Please send it to
the church office no later
than Friday 17th June
2012.
We ask that material for
the June Vine Update be
at the church office by
Wednesday June 8th.
Please note that while we
do our best, we cannot
guarantee all material
submitted will be
included.
25

IMAGE BEARERS
Salt & Pepper Article
By Ray Veal
Sherlock Holmes had arrived in heaven and was
asked by Peter to pick out Adam from a line-up
of men, and without hesitation he pointed to
him. A surprised Dr Watson asked him, “How
did you pick him so quickly?” Homes replied,
“Elementary dear Watson, he is the only one
without a belly button.” Although I am joking,
there is a fundamental theological truth in this
story. Adam was not born of a woman but
created in the image and likeness of God. God
looked at everything that he had made, and
pronounced it all as “good”. But there was
nothing that had been created in his own image,
therefore he decided to create man. When
Michelangelo created his magnificent work on
the Sistine Chapel ceiling, he chose to place the
creation of man right in the centre. Adam’s
muscular body is seen reclining on the ground
with a finger outstretched toward heaven
where God is reaching down – their fingers not
quite touching. But he was not able to express
in the medium of paint how that human body
became a living soul when God breathed into
him. Adam became much more than flesh and
blood – he became a repository of the image of
God. God being a spirit would remain invisible
to the planet, relying on this first man to give
flesh to his spirit and to bear his image. “Among
all God’s creatures, only humanity receives the
image of God, and that quality that separates us
from all else.”
Being “image bearers” does not mean that
Adam and Eve looked like God, but rather that
they were like him in their moral, spiritual, and
intellectual nature. They were to mirror God's
divinity in their ability to use these unique
qualities with which they have been endowed,
and which made them different from all other
creatures. “What a piece of work is a man! How
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noble in reason! How infinite in faculties! In form
and moving how express and admirable! In
action how like an angel, in apprehension how
like a god.” - William Shakespeare. But
something went wrong. Adam and Eve were not
satisfied to be created in the image and likeness
of God, they wanted to be God! They rebelled,
forever marring the image God had given them
– their unity with him was destroyed and from
that moment the world began to spiral down
out of moral control.
How then can we have our God-image restored?
From the time of Plato there has been the belief
that human value equates with physical
appearance and is determined by mathematical
proportions. During medieval times, God was
seen as a sort of divine mathematician who
created everything on divine proportions. (Also
known as the Golden Ratio.) In his drawing of
the Vitruvian Man, the so called perfect man,
Leonardo drew him with extended hands and
feet that fit perfectly into a circle and a square.
Artists, philosophers and theologians through
the ages have speculated about what it means
to be image bearers, and have never reached a
consensus. In the Enlightenment age we were
assured that “the image of God is the ability to
reason. The Pietists identify it as the spiritual
faculty, Victorians claim it as the capacity to
make moral judgements, and Renaissance
thinkers regard the image of God as creative
activity.” I wonder whether in our modern
psychology-dominated society we now define
image as our capacity to help ourselves to
become the persons that we want to be! Like
Adam, we don’t want to be like God, we want
to be god! Today politicians might hire an image
-maker, “a job applicant dresses for image, and
a corporation seeks the right image.” Hence the

inordinate use of the human body’s image in
advertising beauty products. In the British
Journal of Plastic Surgery, two physicians
examined 11,000 prison inmates and found that
60 percent of these criminals had minor facial
deformities! They called this the “Quasimodo
Complex”. Although by no means conclusive,
the increased overall incidence of disfigurement
among the criminals evaluated gives some
objective credence to the belief that rejection
based on physical shortcomings or defects can
lead to social isolation, low self esteem and
ultimately criminal activity. Our world values
success, popularity, strength, intelligence,
wealth and beauty. But what does God value?
The “Bible warns us against reducing the image
of God to the level of physical matter.” God is a
spirit and cannot be captured in physical matter.
To make this truth clear to us he sent Jesus as
the second Adam to give us a new image, and to
show us what he is like. He placed his own son
in a human body just like us! God, “the divine,
lived in matter as a microcosm, like the sun in a
drop of water.” Jesus, knowing that the world
would not receive him made it clear that his visit
to earth was temporary. His goal was to restore
the broken image of God, and to have this
image continue in a new body which is called
the Church. In today’s society God is able to live
out his image in millions of ordinary people like
you and me. Individually, there is no way that
we can adequately show the real Christ to the
world, because any one of us will only give an
incomplete image of him, therefore we must do
it collectively, as his Body. As his Church our
goal is to reproduce his humility, his servanthood
and his love. Paul nails this in Philippians 3
when he talks about reaching for the goal of
being like Christ. Admitting that he is not
perfect, he says that we must keep going in the
direction of becoming more and more like him.
Napoleon Hill, a Guru of leadership, once said
that "a goal is a dream with a deadline." Paul
had a dream with a deadline that he knew
would come true.
Dr Brand talks about his mum in the book, and
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how a once beautiful woman had lost all
physical beauty in a face and body savaged by
age, accidents and wear and tear. But he
explains how people in the hills of India saw God
in her, and revered her almost like a god. “Her
worn-out physical image did nothing but
enhance the image of God beaming through her
like a beacon.” Beauty, he explains, is not in the
outer casing but in that inner quality that can
only be there, when the earth ‘tabernacle’ is
indwelt by the spirit of a loving living God who is
expressing himself to us through Christ in his
body the Church.
In a little town of Pittenweem in Scotland an old
‘travel worn’ Pastor – a bit like Granny Brand –
was preaching on the 23 rd Psalm. Noticing a
professor of elocution in the congregation he
asked him to read the Psalm, which he did
magnificently. Then at the end of the message
the old Pastor recited the Psalm in his broad
Scot accent. When he finished the congregation
was weeping. After the service the professor’s
daughter said to her dad, “Daddy, why did the
people cry when the pastor recited the Psalm
and not when you read it?” He said to his
daughter, “My Dear, it’s because I know the
Psalm but he knows the shepherd.” This is what
being an image bearer is about: when people
look at or listen to us, they will see the Son of
God being formed in us.
Ray Veal.
Reference: “In the Likeness of God” by Dr Paul
Brand and Philip Yancey.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New
International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973,
1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by
permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved
worldwide. www.zondervan.com

JUNE
S O A P
S is for Scripture
O is for Observation
A is for Application
P is for Prayer
1 Song of Songs 5-6; Prov 4; Luke 1:1-38
2 Song of Songs 7-8; Prov 5; Luke 1:39-80
3 1 Kings 5-6; Proverbs 6; Luke 2:1-40
4
1 Kings 7-8; Proverbs 7; Luke2:41-52
5 1 Kings 9-10; Proverbs 8; Luke 3
6 1 Kings 11; Proverbs 9; Luke 4:1-30
7 Ecclesiastes1-2; Prov 10; Luke 4:31-44
8 Ecclesiastes 3-4; Prov 11; Luke 5
9 Ecclesiastes 5-6; Prov 12; Luke 6:1-36
10 Ecclesiastes 7-8; Prov 13; Luke 6:37-49
11 Ecclesiastes 9-10; Prov 14; Luke 7
12 Ecclesiastes 11-12; Prov 15; Luke 8:1-25
13 Proverbs 16; Luke 8: 26-56
14 1 Kings12-13; Proverbs 17; Luke 9:1-36
15 1 Kings14-15; Proverbs 18; Luke 9:37-62
16 1 Kings16,17; Proverbs19; Luke 10
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1 Kings18,19; Proverbs 20; Luke11
18 1 Kings 20; Proverbs 21; Luke 12
19 1 Kings 21; Proverbs 22; Luke 13
20 1 Kings22; Proverbs 23; Luke 14
21 2 Kings 1-2; Proverbs 24; Luke 15
22 2 Kings 3; Proverbs 25; Luke 16
23 2 Kings 4; Proverbs 26; Luke 17
24 2 Kings 5; Proverbs 27; Luke 18
25 2 Kings 6; Proverbs 28; Luke 19
26 2 Kings 7; Proverbs 29; Luke 20
27 2 Kings 8; Proverbs 30; Luke 21
28 2 Kings 9; Proverbs 31; Luke 22:1-38
29 2 Kings 10-11; Luke 22:39-71
30 2 Kings 12-13; Luke 23: 1-25
If you miss a day, don’t attempt to "catch up" the reading.
Jump forward to the current one.
Remember, it's not about "achieving a devotion", it's about
developing a healthy habit of spending regular time with
the Lord.
Having said that, if you commit yourself to using SOAP on
a daily basis there is no doubt that your life will be
revolutionised.
Regular Service Times
Traditional Service
Senior Pastor
Tim Clark (Clark.Tim@yorkst.com.au)
Associate Pastor
Blake Moore (Moore.Blake@yorkst.com.au)
Children’s Director
C/- office@yorkst.com.au
Worship Coordinator
C/- office@yorkst.com.au
Co-ordinator of Kids Hope
Chris Barlow (Barlow.Christine@yorkst.com.au)
Student Minister
Ben Dainton (Dainton.Ben@yorkst.com.au)
Ministry Support
Rob Petty (Petty.Rob@yorkst.com.au)
Church Operations Manager
Robert Ling (Ling.Robert@yorkst.com.au)
Church Office Administrator
Kristin O’Brien (O’Brien.Kristin@yorkst.com.au)
PHONE 03 5331 1079
FAX 03 5331 9756
EMAIL office@yorkst.com.au
WEBSITE www.yorkst.com.au
ADDRESS 410 York Street Ballarat 3350
OFFICE HOURS 9am-3pm Monday-Friday
Kindergarten Director
Cath Zala
PHONE (03) 5333 4116
EMAIL kinda@yorkst.com.au
8.45am
Family Service 10.30am
(including Yorkie Kids)
Worship
6pm
helping people meet Jesus, become like Him
and be equipped to impact the local and
global community
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