By Bronwyn BalderstonI found the talks by Ruth Schroeter on The Will of God to be godly, clear, logically structured, thoroughly Biblically based and very moving.
God uses everything in our lives we learned from Matthew, Proverbs and Deuteronomy. God’s will is irresistible, often hidden but he uses our poor decisions as well as the better ones to carry out his will. Ruth reminded us of the good and bad decisions made by and about OT characters, Ruth, Joseph, David and Moses and also considered Judas, whose betrayal of Jesus was not coerced but actually referred to centuries earlier. God did not manipulate these people but they were not acting outside of his will. He is the “redeemer who turns the broken into the beautiful”. It is only through His Spirit that we can make “good decisions for our good and his glory”, as the Spirit sanctifies us. God cares about the process of our decision-making, he is concerned with our holiness. So we should pray for courage, to walk like Jesus, whatever the outcome. Through trusting him we are being ”rewired” to be more like him. This we saw in Romans 12 and 2 Peter. We may only see the tiny circle of light on the dark path ahead of us until we reach the summit of the walk, when all the hazards of the previous night are revealed in the sunlight. This is akin to our trust in our faithful Lord and his perfect will for our lives. Psalm 23 presented a very personal assurance for Ruth in her time of bleakness and potential despair and was also a very significant Psalm for me as a child who learnt it by heart and could quote it to others. From this talk I found it was especially powerful as I was reminded that our shepherd can take us into the darkest valley but he leads us through, therefore we need not fear. He fills our cup again and again and his care is ongoing. The intimacy between the ‘sheep’ and the shepherd is like that between the Son and Father. Jesus body is the difference between life and death for us – he is ‘the gate’ for the sheep, and although for an OT shepherd, the sheep are his livelihood, Jesus, the good shepherd, chose to lay down his life for us. “I have come that they might have life and have it to the full.” Dear friends, We write to let you know that the TGC Australia Wollongong Women’s Conference planned for August 22, 2020, will be postponed until next year. While this announcement will not be a surprise, it is one that we are very sad to make, and it is a decision we have not taken lightly. But it is now clear that while restrictions have eased, physical distancing and limitations to gathering size mean that the conference will not be able to be held in the way that we had planned. One of the great blessings of the conference is the bringing together of women from all over the Illawarra and beyond, and this is simply not possible with an alternative format. Join us at Wollongong Women's Conference 2021! We are pleased to announce Wollongong Women's Conference 2021: Greater, to be held on August 21, 2021 at the University Hall of the University of Wollongong. Clare Deeves, Assistant Minister (Women) at Kallaroo Anglican Church, and part time lecturer at Trinity Theological College, will speak at the conference on the book of Hebrews. The University Hall is a large venue which will allow for greater numbers than we have been able to accommodate in previous years (although of course we do not know what restrictions on gathering might be in place then - so stay tuned for updates!). More information about Wollongong Women's Conference 2021 will be available in the coming months. Save the date and stay in touch via our website or follow us on Facebook or Instagram. Pre-purchased tickets If you have already purchased a ticket for the 2020 conference, you may hold your ticket over for the 2021 conference, or have your ticket price refunded. If you would like a refund, please let us know by replying to this email. Suggested resources for your church Having set aside the 22nd August this year in your calendar, you may still like to get together with women from your church, or those you would normally come to the conference with. We would love you still to gather around God’s word and encourage each other! There is a plethora of resources available on the internet, and to help you we have selected some below that we like, or think you may find helpful (each of these, we think is especially pertinent to the time in which we find ourselves). You may like to gather some women and listen/ watch together, or give them to people to listen to at home, and then gather to discuss and reflect. Resources:
This year we have seen great uncertainty in our world and for the future. But we trust in a sovereign God who loves his people, who holds us safe in him, and in whom we have a certain hope for the future. Our prayer for you in this difficult season and this messy world, is that you will truly know our mighty God.
Your sisters in Christ, TGCA-I Wollongong Women's Conference Committee (Christine Bayley, Jenny Shannon, Beth Shaw, Morwenna Baird, Ali Shannon & Stacey Chapman) |
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