Today marks a new beginning! The new logo, tagline, name & revamped Bulletin are signs of this. Today, for the first time in 3 months, all our ‘faith communities’ are gathering once again for the Divine Service. As we begin again, I want to encourage you to 1) also to make a new beginning, if your devotional life has been a bit poor, or 2) to recommitment to continue with your regular (daily) hearing the Word of God & Prayer.
To help us do this, I have reshaped the Bulletin to make the outside double-sided page a… “Guide for Daily Meditation & Prayer.” Our Christian faith is centred on Jesus Christ. His person and work, is to be the centre of our devotional life. The Small Catechism provides a “pattern of sound words” (2 Timothy 1:13) that helps us nurture such a Christ centred faith.(This is very important, because quite a few devotional books put the emphasis too much on us humans and what we do, rather than Jesus.)
So, we begin our journey with the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are God’s law They preach repentance & death to sinners. God’s Law smashes the self-righteousness of man and exposes his mistrust of God, condemns us sinners and convicts us of the need for Christ. The Ten Commandments show us our sin and how much we need a Saviour.
Mark Hampel is an enthusiastic communicator of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was ordained in 1988 and has served in churches and schools in 3 states. He currently lives in Chinchilla, Qld. His passion is building up the faith of God’s people and working with them so that all will come to know Christ as their joy and salvation.
Mark is happily married to Veronica and they have 4 children and 4 grandsons. He is also a farmer of sorts, having spent the last decade establishing a date plantation in Western Queensland. Other hobbies include Australian history, travel, film & literature and of course, family.
St John’s Downfall Creek, has been a centre of Christian faith and life in the area for over 100 years. They operated a Christian school for twenty-two years (1940 – 62).
This faith community is a warm-hearted bunch, who love to share their hospitality with the district. They enjoy many a pot luck dinner and host ‘Easter Dawn Service & Breakfast’, ‘Christmas Eve’ & ‘Advent Tea’’ and ‘Games Nights’ for the community.
Home Groups are an important part of life in the Downfall. Discussion and exploration of the faith are encouraged.
Religious Education at the nearby Guluguba Primary School is provided by St John’s.
Redeemer Miles, is a dedicated group who know the love of Christ and are keen to share it. They meet regularly in various homes throughout the district for intergenerational worship and home groups.
Religious Education at nearby Drillham State Primary School is provided by Redeemer.
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