The Bible Education Centre will be moving...

Walking in the streets near the Dandenong Bible Education Centre shows that something is going on! Most of the shops are shut. In fact VicUrban has acquired them as part of the Dandenong redevelopment plans. So the Bible Centre has found a new “home”. Watch what happens at 118-120 Foster Street in the coming weeks. A new and expanded Bible Education Centre is being developed and you'll want to visit once we move to the new premises! Plans are underway for a larger bookshop and library, as well as a course room for learning more of the message of the Bible. We will let you know when it will open, but in the meantime you can watch for signs in the window. Activities will continue in our current shop, so keep coming in. In fact you may want to come in for a ‘progress report’!

Term 2 courses go ahead

Yes, we are planning to move, but that doesn’t stop us from running term 2 courses in the old shop to help you learn more about God’s message of salvation. See the course brochure with this newsletter and join us for the course(s) of your choice. Activities are available for young and old, male and female, beginners and advanced Bible students. Come along.

Think about it!

Most people would never dream of intentionally running down other people with their cars. Have you ever thought about the times when you run down others with your tongue? God gave us two ears and one mouth. We should listen more and speak less, especially if what we say runs others down. Here is the advice of James:

“Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger...”
 – James 1:19

Let’s use our speech to build others up, not to run others down!

Easter service shows Jesus Christ died for you!

Jesus Christ died on the cross for you – that is the message of hope that we particularly think of at Easter. As it says in the popular Bible verse John 3:16,

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Come to an Easter service on Good Friday. Listen to a message of hope. Hear some singing and join in with the songs if you like!

Date: Friday April 10
Time: 10am
Place: Dandenong Bible Education Centre

Do you have the right map?

Here is a ridiculous story that teaches us a lesson we would all do well to remember: A man from Los Angeles is invited to fly to Chicago to call on an important business contact. The man in Chicago mails him a street map, as he will be renting a car at the airport and travelling into downtown Chicago to make the call.

Unfortunately, the map company made a mistake and some maps of the City of Detroit were mistakenly labelled City of Chicago. It was one of these maps that the man in Los Angeles received.

The traveller picks up his rented car and proceeds to travel toward the city with his map on the seat beside him. As he nears the heart of downtown, he pulls over to consult the map. He is totally confused and cannot tell where he is or where he is supposed to go. Since he is parked near an outside pay telephone, he quickly dials the man he is trying to find and informs him that he is lost and cannot find his way.

The man in Chicago proceeds to give him a lecture on self-determination, on persistence, and the attitude of never giving up. The bewildered man gets back into his rented car and begins to drive twice as fast and proceeds to get lost twice as fast.

Finally, in desperation, he makes another phone call. He is a little agitated as he speaks once again to his Chicago contact. This time he gets a lecture on having a negative attitude. He is asked what he can see from his vantage point at the phone booth. He describes the four corners explaining that there is a bank on one corner, two gas stations on opposite corners and a book store on the other. He is told to go into the book store and buy a book on positive mental attitude and see if that won’t change his negative and frustrated feelings. He is more than a little upset, but he proceeds to read some of the power-of-positive-thinking from the book that he was told to buy.

Now he is so charged up, he jumps in the car and takes off at break-neck speed. He is still lost but now he is so full of positive thinking that he doesn’t even care.

Obviously the lesson we learn from this silly story is that all the positive thinking in the world will not help if we do not have the right road map.

Think how many people go through life reading the wrong road map or ignoring the only road map that will lead them to a place in the kingdom of God. They may be filled with positive thoughts but they are still lost. The faster they go, the further they get from the goal of the kingdom.

It is good to have a positive mental attitude but it must be coupled with a proper understanding of where we are going and how to get there.

Solomon tells us that “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12, ESV)

Let’s begin our journey by consulting the correct road map, the Bible, and then let us follow it step by step as we journey on the path of life to the kingdom.

David says, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge... You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16, ESV)

Taken from “Minute Meditations” by Robert Lloyd

New Life: 11.30-12.30 every Sunday

The coming topics for the New Life Class are:

April 5 What does the Bible mean by “The last days”?
April 12 Easter - what is it really about?
April 19 The commands of Jesus Christ
April 26 Bible truths about: sin and satan
May 3 Why should I get baptized?
May 10 Bible truths about: The purpose of Bible prophecy
May 17 Does God exist
May 24 Bible truths about: The kingdom of God
May 31 How to win the battle between good and evil

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