NEWS
This Week:
- Posted:
- 22nd Feb.
- Next Sunday 1 st March:
- 9 am Smeaton & 11 am Scots
Advance Notice:
- Posted:
- 22nd Feb.
Our next Combined Service 29 th March will be 11 am at Scots.
ABOUT US
We are a parish made up of 2 congregations - Scots in Ballarat North and Smeaton Presbyterian.
- Our Mission:
-
- To share our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, with others, so that we all grow in the wisdom, knowledge and love of Christ.
- To live godly lives, bound together into a family by His love.
- To teach Biblical truth.
- Our Vision:
-
- To be a place where people seeking a more purposeful and fulfilling way of life may find peace, joy and rest.
- To be a place of welcome and nurture for people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities who wish to follow Christ, the Son of God.
FROM THE MINISTER
Festivals of Praise [Part 1] Every 7 Years
- | Posted:
- 22nd Feb. '26
This chapter reinforces the truth that, although God had chosen 'a people' to be His own, He was concerned for the well-being of each individual. God has special compassion for the needy. Christians who honour God readily accept His priorities, so they care for the needy also.
This chapter singles out 3 classes of people:
- The debtors
- The poor
- The servants
These people were to benefit from the 'year of release', which was every seven years.
- A poor harvest in any year could result in debt. At the close of every 7 th year, debts were cancelled. This was not an appeal; it was an order. Creditors had to be generous to their fellow Israelites.
-
Human sin is such that some people will habitually be
greedy and/or selfish to the detriment of others. Such
people in the Hebrew community are told to avoid 4
dangers:
- A hard heart
- A closed hand
- An evil thought
- A grudging spirit
It's a serious offence against God if the needs of the poor are deliberately ignored. God is concerned about our motivation as well as our obedience. He does not want us to help others grudgingly, but with generosity.
IN OUR PRAYERS
PRAYER AND PRAISE POINTS
- | Posted:
- 15th Feb '26
We praise the Lord that we are now able to worship in the Scots Church. We thank the Lord for His mercy and His faithfulness.
The Parish also thanks:
- The Scots Board, Federal Board and Ballarat North Session, together with Toby as Moderator, for their diligence and decision-making over the past 18 months.
- The Scots congregation, with Helen as Elder, for their commitment, faithfulness and unfailing support of one another over these past 18 months.
- The Smeaton congregation who hosted the Scots folk so capably, altering their Service time to accommodate the people coming up from Ballarat. We are very grateful for their support.
- We express our sincere gratitude to Leigh, who oversaw all the Scots repairs, liaising with engineers, builders, etc.. This entailed numerous phone-calls, meetings on-site, and many hours of waiting. Thank you, Leigh, from all of us.
- We thank Stephen so much for all his dedicated work in providing our sound system and also our live-streaming from Smeaton, Kelvin House, and now back at Scots. Well done, Stephen.
- We thank Simi, Mary and family for their hard work over many days in cleaning Scots to get it ready for our Service today. Having the church closed for 18 months meant, not only dust, but droppings and other nasties. We are so thankful for your help, Simi and Mary.