We’d love you to join us in praying together as a church. It is an important time to encourage one another and show our dependence on God. This is a time when we can look back – giving praise to God, and look forward – committing our plans to Him. During this time prayer points will be given out which are designed to encourage you to pray on a regular basis for God’s work through Campus Church.

A light dinner of soup will be provided first. Please RSVP on Facebook if you’re able.

5pm Sunday 18th July       3 Rountree St

I was attending a lecture by a famous, dare I say it, notorious church leader from the United States last night at the University.  It’s always good to hear people first hand rather than interpreted and distorted through the grape vine.

One of the university staff was invited to respond – and denouncing the simplicity and narrowness of her youth group upbringing, she said it was manuscripts that were the clincher for her.  They were the beginning of the end for her youthful acceptance of the Bible.  What did she mean?

She explained (as if it was the first time it had been raised) that she learnt in manuscript studies that we do not have access to the original manuscripts for the New Testament.  So which manuscript was it that represented the Word of God?  She seemed delighted by this insight and many of the group present seemed to think that this was all that needed to be said on the matter.

If you haven’t thought about it recently it would be good to consider Peter Bolt’s recent blog on the topic over at Sola Panel.

Perhaps a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing!  

Rev Peter Adam will be speaking on “Hearing God’s Word: Exploring Biblical Spirituality“.

Rev Dr Peter Adam is Principal of Ridley College, Melbourne, and was ordained in 1970.

His Passions are forming and training men and women for effective ministry, equipping preachers, renewing Anglicanism, and good quality classical music.

He has published four theological books, and various booklets. He regularly speaks at conferences for preachers throughout Australis and internationally.

This is a great opportunity to hear a first rate speaker on a crucial topic! Come along to deepen your understanding and strengthen your faith. All welcome!

7.30pm     ::     Monday 21st & Tuesday 22nd June

St Saviour’s,  200 Colombo St,  Beckenham

Not to be outdone by the female members of Campus Church, all men are invited to rally together for a spectacular buffet brunch. Come get some real food and chill out with before exams hit. Bring along a friend or two if you can.

A small cost will be involved but it will be worth it! Please RSVP on Facebook to help with logistics.

10.30am Saturday 12 June, 14 Inglewood Pl

Come and relax with pancakes and waffles after term 2! Campus Church girls are invited to hang out and share some great food THIS Saturday. If you can, please bring some for of topping (fruit, chocolate, bacon etc.). Please RSVP to Agnetha or via the Facebook event so we have enough to feed you! or if you need help with transport.

Look forward to seeing you there!

11am Saturday 5th June, 237 Waimairi Rd

(‘Wiki’ says: A bratwurst is a sausage usually composed of veal, pork or beef. The name is German, derived from Old High German brätwurst, from brät-, which is finely chopped meat and -wurst, or sausage.)

How would you like a little taste of German culture? Join us for a social night full of festive folk dancing and hilarity! If game, come dressed in German attire! Not only will it be bucket-loads of fun, it will also be a fantastic opportunity to meet new people.

It’s less than a week away, so start inviting your friends, flatmates and family to come with you! Everyone is most welcome – the more, the merrier!

7.30pm Saturday 22nd May
66 Ilam Rd (Ilam School Hall, same location as Campus Church)

Don’t miss our Campus Church Camp (12-14th March)!

For more details and to register, click here.

We understand what a daunting time starting university can be, and all the changes which come with that. One thing we believe should be top of the priority list when you’re settling in is finding a local church to become part of.

We’d love to welcome and meet you, and the sooner the better!

Please join us this Sunday for a barbecue on the Ilam school field (66 Ilam Rd) from 6pm. Dinner will be provided by the Campus Church regulars, so all you need to bring is yourself.

The Campus Church service will be as normal, in the school hall at 7pm. Supper will also be provided following the service, a time where you will be able to continue conversations and meet new people.

We’re looking forward to welcoming you

6pm, Sunday 21 February, 66 Ilam Rd (Ilam Primary School)

Campus Church is eager to pray as a group on a regular basis, as a whole church. At present, that means once a term. Please take this opportunity to join with us to pray for the year ahead. This is a particularly crucial time as we look forward to the arrival of many new students.

Dinner will be provided and we will pray for an hour together – finished by 6:30pm.
RSVP would be GREATLY appreciated, so that we can make sure you’re all feed!

Please bring $5 to cover dinner.

Sunday 14th February, 5pm

Costa writes:

On Sunday we began to think about how God desires some things but wills other things.  I would like to amplify what I said to try to bring some biblical clarity to this, and in particular to show that God is totally sovereign and wonderfully compassionate but does not suffer from divine schizophrenia.

It is clear from the Scriptures that “God does not desire the death of the wicked but that they turn from their ways and live” (Ezek 33:11).  In some sense – that of His desire – we may therefore say that God wills all people be saved.

But it is also clear – from the unconditional election of only some  (Eph 1:4) and the destruction of the ungodly (Rev 14:9-11) – that not all will be saved.

This implies that God decrees one state of affairs (‘what He wants’) while also willing and teaching that a different state of affairs should actually come to pass (‘what He wills’).

Let us note some illustrations of the two wills in God:

a)   the death of Christ.  The most compelling example of God’s willing for sin to come to pass while at the same time disapproving the sin is His willing the death of His perfect Son.  Herod’s contempt for Jesus (Luke 23:11), Pilate’s spineless expediency (Luke 23:24), the Jews’ baying for his blood (Luke 23:21) the Gentiles’ mockery (Luke 23:36) and Satan’s inspiration behind it (Luke 22:3) were all sinful attitudes and deeds.

But in Acts 2:23 Luke says “this Jesus was delivered up according to the divine plan and foreknowledge of God”, and in Acts 4:27-28 Luke records the prayer of the Christians who knew that what had been done had been done because “your power and will had decided beforehand what should happen.”  It was both sinful (and therefore against God’s will) and decreed by God to take place.

b)   Other examples of the same might include the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus 5-11, or the war against the lamb in Rev 17:16-17, or the raising up of the Assyrian army to crush the disobedient Israelites in Isaiah 10:5.

In each case it is God who is stated as having caused it to happen while being against it happening for other reasons.  This means that God brings about events that involve things he forbids.

Regarding our original example, we know that God does not delight in the death of the wicked; yet in Dt 28:63 Moses warns that “the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you.”  Therefore in some sense he does not, and in some sense he does!  The question is – how are we to relate these two different aspects of God’s will?

Let us note the things of which we can be sure because Scripture explicitly affirms them:

i)   God does not sin.  Never.  Not remotely or nearly.  He is Holy, Holy, Holy.

ii)  God is sovereign.  Totally.  Always.  Over everything.  All the details of life (ours and everyone else’s).  But not in such a way that makes him culpable for sin.

iii) God is love.  It is His nature.  Shown ultimately in the giving of His Son.  More loving than we can grasp.

How does it fit together that God desires to save all but wills that not all be saved?  It seems (as best we can understand) that He does so by considering the two situations and in His divine wisdom allowing one view to override the other.  It is as if viewing events through a narrow lens He has compassion and will; but viewing the same events through a wide angle lens He knows it is better not to do it for the sake of greater principles.

We can imagine a judge who takes pity on a criminal, and has compassion upon him – yet because of greater principles, say those of duty, wisdom, moral indignation, chooses to sign the sentencing document.  God loves all people and longs for each to turn from sin and live – yet has not decreed it be so.

The illustration makes a point – there can, in a noble and great heart, sincere compassion for a criminal who is nevertheless not set free.  In the end “we may rest that His infinite wisdom regulates his whole will and guides and harmonises (not suppresses) all its active principles.” (RA Dabney).

Therefore we may say that God loves the world with a deep compassion that desires the salvation of all men, but that God has chosen whom he will save.  Since not all are saved we must choose whether we believe that God’s will to save all people is restrained by his commitment to human self-determination (as Arminians believe) or whether God’s will is restrained by his commitment to glorifying his sovereign grace (Eph 1:6, 12,14).

This means:

-       we are in awe of God’s sovereign election of us to believe – praise Him!

-       we take comfort in his sovereign ruling of all things for our good – praise Him!

-       we rejoice in his sovereign and infinite wisdom to glorify His grace – praise Him!