Celebrate the birth of Jesus with us!

When was Jesus born? Nobody knows! However, we can remember the birth of Jesus and how that can have an impact on our lives.

We invite you to join us to remember why Jesus was born, in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Starting at 10:30am, our Christmas Day service (December 25) will include a mixture of songs, Bible readings, a short talk, and other activities. It will be suitable for a range of ages. The service will be for about an hour, and will be followed by light refreshments.

Summer trading hours

It is planned that the shop will close at 2pm on Friday December 23, and will re‐open at 10am on Monday January 16. The centre will still be open for our usual services on Sundays over the summer break.

Bible Explorers’ end of year BBQ & games

Join us at the Dandenong Park (corner of Foster St and Princes Highway) on Sunday December 11 at 1:00pm for a special end‐of‐year BBQ breakup for the Bible Explorers. All are welcome, especially if you have children up to around 12 years of age. After the BBQ there will be games, with plenty of fun in the open space of the park. There will be treats for the children too. It is expected that the activities will be finished by approximately 2:30pm. This is a great opportunity to meet some of the children and teachers for those who are considering bringing their children to Bible Explorers in 2012.

New Life Class topics

(11:30am–12:30pm)

Bible related topics for the coming weeks are as follows:

Dec 4: Current events lead to the return of Christ
Dec 11: Repentance
Dec 18: Does it matter what you believe?
Dec 25: Christmas Day service at 10:30am

Still time to buy gifts

A large variety of gifts is available at the Dandenong Bible Education Centre. Monday to Friday 10am–2pm.

What’s on?

• New Life Class: 11:30am, Sundays
• Bible Explorers: 11:30am, Sundays
• “What is your question?”: 10:30am-1pm, Mondays
• Learn English Class: 7pm, Tuesdays
• Happy Faces playgroup: 10:30am, Wednesdays
• Questions and Answers: 8pm, Wednesday Dec 7
• DVD “I once was blind”: 8pm, Wednesday Dec 21
• Ladies’ Bible study: 10:30am, Thursdays
• Intermediate course “God and you through Jesus”: 7:30pm, Thursdays
• Bible readings: 12:45pm, Monday to Friday
• Bible Explorers Picnic: 1:00pm, Sunday Dec 11
• Last day shop open for 2011: Friday December 23
• Christmas Day service: 10:30am, Sunday Dec 25
• Shop re‐opens: Monday January 16

All our plans are subject to God’s will

“I once was blind” DVD—8:00pm Wednesday December 21

“I Once Was Blind” explains the Bible’s message through a story of conversion. In this DVD Dwight Kindred explains how he grew up as a Christian, decided to be a minister, and attended a seminary while specializing in Hebrew and Greek studies. He tells how he eventually lost his sight due to a congenital cornea failure. His loss of vision prompted him to listen to the Bible in a new way. Through the course of this program, Dwight encourages the viewer to join him in looking at the Bible with new eyes and consider its real message.

Join us on Wednesday December 21 at 8:00pm to watch this compelling film. A light supper will follow.

Never the same again—a Christmas meditation

As every parent knows, the arrival of a child makes a huge difference to the things a family can do, the way they eat, sleep, rest and play. But it’s all very worthwhile when you think about what has happened. The new arrival gives the family a focus and real hope for the future.

It was every mother’s dream in Israel that her son would be the Messiah that God would send into the world. It was Mary who was chosen to be the mother of Jesus, when God’s Holy Spirit power overshadowed her (Luke 1:35) and for Mary life would never be the same again. At the time she had no husband, though she had a marriage arranged with Joseph. Imagine how difficult that would have been in a small town like Nazareth, when Mary was found to be pregnant before their marriage.

If Mary had to bear the burden of village gossip and spiteful innuendo for all her years at Nazareth, it would have been the same for Jesus. Have you ever thought that this unpleasantness was completely avoidable? If Jesus had been born in Herod’s palace, instead of in Bethlehem, nobody would have questioned the circumstances—they wouldn’t have dared. And if he had been reared in a palace his life would have been much more comfortable and far more protected. Instead he spent thirty years in a small out‐of‐the‐way town working as a carpenter. He would have been at everyone’s beck and call, working with his hands, struggling to make a living for his parents and their large family. When Joseph died, then the responsibility for the family would have fallen on him, as the eldest child in the family. And all of this happened as Jesus was waiting for the right time to begin his public ministry, in which he would invite men and women to follow him in the service of his heavenly Father.

God Always Knows

Of course it was no accident that resulted in the choice of Mary to be the mother of the Messiah. God knew exactly what was necessary to shape and mould His Son. He wanted him to identify completely with ordinary people: the very ones who would later be willing to follow him and lay down their lives in faithful service, if needs be. Jesus was not cushioned from the hardships of life: he knew them from inside the struggling working‐class family of which he was a key member.

Not for him kings’ palaces, or a sheltered upbringing. He has been where we have all been and has shown that it is possible to do a decent day’s hard work and to make it part of a dedicated life of service and satisfaction. Jesus could so easily have protested at being lumbered with the responsibilities of family life, when he had come to do a much greater service for humanity. But he did not. The apostle Paul summed up his position in just a few words when he wrote that Jesus “humbled himself and became obedient” (Philippians 2:8). It is a fine example for each of us to follow.

Never the Same

Since the birth, the life, the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ everything has changed. Things will never be the same again, for he has given us the perfect example of how to live and has shown us what humanity can achieve, with God’s help. It wasn’t that his birth just changed one family in Nazareth. It has changed family life itself.

For the work of Jesus was designed by God to make it possible for people like us to become adopted members of the family of God. We were not born in the same way that Jesus was born. But we can be reborn, by believers’ baptism, to become God’s children, because of what Jesus has done for us:

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. (Romans 8:16-17)

Taken from the “Glad Tidings” magazine (abridged).

Christmas sale—Saturday November 19

Many people like to give gifts to family and friends at Christmas time. We have a wide range of gifts for sale which are suitable for many people. Here are just some of the items available:

• English Bibles, various translations
• Bibles in a variety of other languages
• Mugs
• Magnets
• CDs suitable for all ages
• DVDs for adults and children
• Nativity ornaments
• Notepads
• Bible marking pencils
• Stocking fillers for children
• Soft toys
• Plaques
• Bowls
• Books on many Bible topics—big books, small books, devotional books, fiction and non-fiction, children’s books, activity books

We plan to be open on Saturday November 19, so that would be the ideal time to visit our shop for Christmas gifts, and buy Christmas cards, calendars and Bibles. Our range will be more extensive than usual for this special event.

Date: Saturday November 19
Time: 9:30am―2:00pm

“Learn English through the Bible” classes continue

Dandenong Bible Education Centre is pleased to continue running the 'Learn English through the Bible' course. This free course will support you to improve your vocabulary, pronunciation, reading comprehension and speaking skills with the Bible as our main text. We also provide homework exercises from an 'Everyday English' program which helps us focus on the specific learning needs of the attendees.

The course is run on Tuesday nights from 7pm and lasts approximately 1.25 hours.

What’s on?

• New Life Class (11:30am, Sundays)
• Bible Explorers (11:30am, Sundays)
• “What is your question?” (10:30am-1pm, Mondays)
• Learn English Class (7pm, Tuesdays)
• Happy Faces playgroup (10:30am, Wednesdays)
• “God’s Outlaw” DVD (8pm, Wednesday Nov 9)
• “Today’s events and Bible prophecy” (8pm, Wed Nov 23)
• Ladies’ Bible study (10:30am, Thursdays)
• Intermediate course (‘God and you through Jesus’, 7:30pm, Thurs)
• Bible readings (12:45pm, Mon to Fri)
• Bible Study Weekend (November 11-13)
• Christmas sale day (Saturday Nov 19)

All our plans are subject to God’s will

New Life Class topics

(11:30am—12:30pm each Sunday)

Bible related topics for the coming weeks are as follows:

November 6: Only Christianity saves
November 13: How to study the Bible (Study weekend)
November 20: The truth about demons
November 27: Does it matter what you believe?

2012 Bible message calendars—a great gift!

Bible message calendars—attractive and useful, with extra features!

There are many calendars for sale with beautiful pictures. There are many with space to write down appointments and reminders. These calendars have both of these things, but have a special extra feature—they have Bible readings for each day. If you read these Bible passages all year, you will find that you have read the whole of the Bible! Not only that, but you will have read the New Testament twice!

What a great new year’s resolution— to read the whole Bible in a year. From the Bible you can learn of God’s message for us. These calendars will help by providing 3 readings from different parts of the Bible for you to read each day!

Attractive, useful and at a good price! There are two different calendars for sale, with different pictures.

Now for sale at $5.95 each!

“God and you through Jesus” 7:00pm each Thursday evening

• Why did God create the world?
• What is God like?
• Where do we stand with God?
• How is Jesus a saviour?
• How and why can we be saved?
• What hope is there for the future?

These are some of the questions this intermediate-level course will explore. The intention is to build a picture of the relationship that God has with us through Jesus, and the hope that God offers for the future.

The topics covered in this course are vital for understanding other parts of the Bible and give essential background to a lot of Bible events and principles.

“God’s Outlaw” DVD—8:00pm Wednesday November 9

We take it for granted that we can read the Bible in our own language without fear, but this has not always been the case.

This year is the 400th anniversary of the King James’ Bible. Have you ever wondered who translated the Bible into English all those years ago? We can read the Bible in safety, but were the authorities happy to have the Bible translated into English hundreds of years ago?

The DVD “God’s Outlaw” is a dramatization of the life of William Tyndale, a man who translated much of the Bible into English, and who had to keep on the move to escape the authorities who were hunting for him throughout Europe—all the time continuing his work of translating and publishing God’s word so that even the simple ploughboy in England could read the Bible for himself.

This dramatic film about one of the most wanted men in England in the 16th century, is both informative, and an inspiration to those who want to follow God’s ways.

We plan to show this film on Wednesday November 9, at 8:00pm.

What is your question? Mondays between 10:30am and 1:00pm

Discussion Class on a range of Bible topics: submit your question one week, ready for careful consideration the next. The time frame of the class allows for you to arrive and depart as it suits you.