The two criminals also being crucified at the same time, the bored soldiers loitering around the execution site, and the crowds who swung by to see the spectacle, had no idea that anything of importance had been accomplished.

It looked very much like another dead Jew on a Roman cross. Nothing to write home about. But God was at work preparing for a new era, unlike anything the world had seen before. The resurrection of Jesus Christ began a new era when all people can meet God, one-on-one!

It doesn’t matter if this Easter feels spectacular or fairly uninspiring, be assured that every moment you give thought to Jesus Christ, every time you honour Him and seek Him, every day you turn your heart again towards Him, He is accomplishing His purpose in you.

You are the reason He became a man, suffered and died on a cross. He loves you that much, even if it doesn’t feel that way to you.

Perhaps the greatest words in history, “It is finished,” were spoken by Jesus Christ as He was dying on the cross. What He finished enables you to have the opportunity to know God and His mercy, forgiveness and love. Forever.

This Easter, I invite you to explore what Jesus finished and how it can be the start of something that will change your life forever.

Rev. Mark Wilson
National Ministries Director
Australian Baptist Ministries

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We welcome the intention of the Commonwealth Government to hold a referendum on the Voice to Parliament. This represents a historic occasion for our nation in the creation of a more just future. It is our hope that it will be very widely supported across our Parliament, across our churches and across our nation.

In the Baptist way of being church it is the responsibility of every local church to seek the mind of Christ for its life and mission. Consequently, we speak as leaders of State Baptist Associations and Baptist National Ministries, meeting together as the National Council of Australian Baptist Ministries, not on behalf of our churches but to our churches. We urge every local Baptist church and affiliated Baptist agencies across Australia to engage with the Uluru Statement from the Heart and take up its generous invitation.

In view of the impending referendum, we urge Baptist churches and affiliated Baptist agencies to make space in their 2023 calendar to familiarize themselves with the Uluru Statement, to be prayerful about the issues it raises, to facilitate informed discussion on the proposal for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and to map out how they will take up the invitation from First Nations sisters and brothers to walk together towards a just future.

To assist churches and affiliated agencies in this we have established a webpage at ajustcause.org.au/first-nations that links to resources they may find helpful.

Statement issued 1st September 2022

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It is often in these tough times when true friends reveal themselves. They stay connected through the tough times and the good times. They are dependable. They are with you to support you, inspire you and sometimes they are there to pick up the pieces. You can’t put a value on friends like these.

Christmas is the time we remember that God sent Jesus into our world to be a friend to people … but what sort of friend? One of the names given to Jesus is Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’. Jesus is a friend who doesn’t desert you. He doesn’t force himself upon you. His presence makes a real difference.

About 650 years before Jesus, a prophet called Zephaniah wrote about the type of friend Jesus would be. “He will take great delight in you,” he wrote. “He will quieten you with his love. He will sing over you for joy.” Jesus can bring calm to your life. He derives joy from being your friend and his joy has no cap on it. When God sent Jesus, it was an open invitation to share in His friendship and limitless capacity for joy.

Jesus, God’s Christmas gift, makes friendship with God possible. A genuine heart response to Jesus brings you into a joy-filled friendship with God, who is the happiest being in the whole universe.

Rev. Mark Wilson

National Ministries Director

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Easter Saturday is the ‘in between’ day. It sits awkwardly between Good Friday, the day Jesus died on the cross, and Easter Sunday, the day He rose to life again.

For the original followers of Jesus it was a day of uncertainty and grief. On the first Easter Saturday they didn’t know how events would resolve. They had to live in the uncertain space ‘in between’.

I am glad that Jesus didn’t die one hour and rise the next, even though He could have. Yes, a quick death and rapid resurrection would satisfy today’s need for a storyline that could be resolved before the next ad break.

Depending on your view, the ‘in between’ Saturday might see you focusing on the death of Jesus, that it was a horrible, but necessary way to overcome the power of death once and for all. Or, you might be one of the optimistic and positive people who look forward to Sunday and celebrating that Jesus rose from the dead and delivered on the promise of eternal life. Another possibility is that you don’t care if some guy died a long time ago and you just want to enjoy the holidays.

No matter which way you look at it, Easter Saturday is filled with contrasts. It’s the ‘in between’ day that stares you in the face and says, “God is not finished yet!”

So how has your Easter been so far? Has it lived up to your expectations or crashed and burned? The good news is that God isn’t finished with you yet and, frankly, it doesn’t matter what your expectations are of this or any other Easter. His death and resurrection has drawn every storyline – including yours – to a conclusion.

Our feelings about Easter do not and cannot alter God’s plan for you in Jesus’ resurrection. He has paid the price for your life and bought eternity with Him as a gift. He has created a storyline with the ultimate finale. The only part left to be resolved is whether you will accept the gift. What will your response be this Easter Saturday?

Reverend Mark Wilson

National Ministries Director

Australian Baptist Ministries

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They approached BWA Women Interim Executive Director Moreen Sharp with their ideas. A group of passionate and qualified women coordinated by Elissa Macpherson, President of the Baptist Women of the Pacific, and endorsed by the Baptist World Alliance and BWA Women, worked together to develop the Stand Against Domestic Violence global resource hub.

It brings together high quality resources to support individuals, congregations, and communities to stand against domestic violence and bring about the change required for women, children, and families to thrive.

Check it out at standagainstdv.net

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Picture this, God in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirt – the creator of our planet earth, which sits just the right distance from the sun to sustain life, where water, land, plants, fish, birds and animals can live. Then came the creation of humanity, the pinnacle of all creation. That same creating God, even though the Son was God, did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position and was born as a human being.

This Christmas we desperately need a Saviour by acknowledging sin and anticipating the greatest declaration possible. Born is King Jesus, the wait is over, the Kingdom of God is among us. His birth; our birth. We were “helpless and dead in our sin” (Romans 5:6; 12), “without hope and without God in this world” (Ephesians 2:12), but the birth of Christ changes everything.

We typically wait until New Year’s Day to make resolutions, to start new habits, and to seek a fresh start but these often get tied purely to our own willpower, determination and effort. Perhaps that’s why so many of our resolutions fail. But Christmas invites us to new birth, because of the one birth that changed the world.

The babe of Bethlehem assures, enables and empowers our own re-birth… over and over. That’s something to celebrate. I am overwhelmed with the love of God to do this for humanity. That’s the Christmas message!

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Yet take another, longer look at Jesus on the Cross and you will also see a very powerful victory. Jesus was innocent of the crimes he was executed for. In fact, he was innocent full stop. Being nailed to a cross outside Jerusalem was not a mistake … it was the plan. God’s plan to pay the price and make a way for you and me to have a personal relationship with God. Forever.

And so, we see the power in the seemingly powerless circumstances of a truly innocent man

— innocent of everything — being executed on my behalf and your behalf.

God has done the work. He has made the way. The gift of eternal relationship with God is being offered with out-stretched arms. The choice is yours.

You do not have to earn it … it is not for sale. You do not have to get prepared … he wants to meet you just as you are. There is nothing between you and God except your willingness to accept His gift.

But all this could not have happened if Jesus — the truly innocent man — did not die on a cross and then rise to life again three days later.

That is why we celebrate Easter.

Reverend Mark Wilson

National Ministries Director Australian Baptist Ministries

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