WELCOME

Moderator
Rev. Toby McIntosh
0428 862 962
Minister
Rev. John Brennan
(03) 5334 2199

MORE ABOUT US

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

Honouring God [Part 1]

|   Posted:
25th Jan. '26

Chapter 12 of Deuteronomy is a sermon preached by Moses giving the application of the Law. The people were about to enter the Promised Land, a new environment, and they needed to follow carefully God's decrees.

Moses tells the people that, if they genuinely put God first, then their worship will be acceptable to God. Their obedience to God will be expressed in their:

  • Corporate worship
  • Daily conduct
  • Generous giving.

Double standards are unacceptable to God, so their conduct must be in accord with their worship.

Their worship must not be like that of the Canaanites, whose worship was socially destructive and morally depraved.

Today, many people in our ‘enlightened’ society practise a form of Canaanite worship without knowing it:

  • Worship of nature but not its Creator – neo-paganism.
  • Meditation and New Age cults - in reality self-worship.
  • The occult - worship of Satan.

Only Biblical worship is acceptable to God, as it reflects the character of God. Our worship must be likewise, reflecting purity, truth, righteousness and love. Further, our conduct must be in accord with our worship. Double standards are unacceptable to God. His people must honour God by their conduct in everyday life as well as in their worship.

NEWS

After considerable investigation and planning, maintenance work to repair the spire of Scots Presbyterian Church in Lydiard St North has recently been carried out. Over time (Scots Church is now 134 years old) the gutter at the base of the spire and the top of the brick tower, which collects rainwater from the spire, has deteriorated. This has led to water damaging the timbers at the base of the spire and the spire developing a lean to the north.

The repairs have involved:

  • fitting a reinforcing ring near the base of the spire.
  • jacking the spire back to vertical and replacing any deteriorated timbers.
  • installing a new copper gutter.
  • checking the whole spire and carrying out repairs where necessary.

A remaining task is to reinstate the cross on the top of the spire.

These works should ensure that the Scots Church spire will continue to be a prominent feature on the Ballarat skyline for many years.

Scots Church has been fortunate to have obtained the professional services of Gestalt Engineers of Ballarat and Spire Australia of Melbourne to plan and carry out these works.

Funding is being provided by Scots Church and the Presbytery of Western Victoria.

A plan for ongoing maintenance and refurbishment is being developed.

IN OUR PRAYERS

A Prayer for our Country

|   Posted:
25th Jan '26

We thank You, Lord, that most of us grew up in an Australia that was self-sufficient, had very little crime, had excellent educational and medical facilities, and was indeed a land of opportunity and freedom for all.

The Australia of today is very different. We repent on behalf of this country, Lord, as it has, for the most part, turned its back on You. We pray, Lord, that Australia may again live by the light You have given, and would honour and obey Your laws.

Most of the people who emigrate to Australia, come here with the expectation of a better life. Many come from war-torn or impoverished places. We pray that they would appreciate the freedoms of this country, and respect our country’s traditional values.

In our dealings with other countries, may we be neither self-righteous nor timid, as far as possible living at peace with all.

We ask these things in Jesus’ Name,

Amen.