Ben Morris will be taking on a huge personal challenge and at the same time combining it with a loving act of service for those in need.  Ben will be running the Sydney Marathon and in doing so, he is seeking to raise funds and awareness about Cystic Fibrosis (CF).

You can add check out what Ben is doing and add your support Ben here : http://www.gofundraise.com.au/MorrisB (until Sunday 7th November 2010).

Rowan Butler visited our church and told us about the exciting work he is doing in Nepal.

“God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

Ephesians 2:4-5 (ESV)

We celebrate God’s amazing love to us in giving us life.  There is a lot of death in our world – real physical death, but also a sense of one’s own spiritual deadness.  One pop singer penned the line “I die a thousand times each day”.  God’s word make clear that in our natural state, human beings are spiritually dead – cut off from God, the only source of life and all things good.  This dead state is a result of human rebellion against God, the just and fair consequence of our rebellion, ‘trespasses’ and ‘sin’, our rejection of God.

It’s bad news for us all – none of us can save ourselves from death.  But there is good news: Jesus can!  On the cross, Jesus died the death we deserved, then rose from death.  Because Jesus has defeated death, and proven that he has power over death, He can set us free from death and give us new life.

This new spiritual life is a free gift.  We do not deserve it – it’s only because of God’s love, mercy and grace.  We cannot get it for ourselves – it’s only by trusting in Jesus.  We cannot see it on the outside, but we can know it in our hearts.  Have you been brought from death to life?  Have you accepted God’s gift of life?