Recommended links and books

Can we find comfort in being known by God?

As always, it’s good to remember that our God is in control and that he knows what’s going on in our lives. In fact, why not check out this ABC article by Brian Rosner (principal of Ridley College and a guest for one of our Bigger Questions church services last year)?

Tim Keller, The Centrality of the Gospel

The gospel is the central element in the Christian life and continually renews the believer and the Church. Outlined in this article are fifteen ways in which the gospel impacts the believer and eight ways it nurtures the Church.

Read the article here.

Bible Reading

Personal Bible Reading

Often it can be helpful to have a particular plan or strategy to help you read the Bible more regularly and fruitfully.  You might find some of the resources listed below helpful.  

Swedish Method Bible Study

COMA Bible Study 

5x5x5 Bible Reading Plan

Check out these helpful videos produced by The Bible Project that give overviews of different books of the Bible.  

Bible Reading Plans

The Bible provides the clearest and most certain revelation of God’s character and will.  If you want to enjoy the deep satisfaction of knowing and serving his son, Jesus, then reading the Bible is essential for you!  Using a reading plan can be helpful to keep you on track. You could read the whole Bible in a year (or two) or just read a section of the Bible (the New Testament, the Psalms, Paul’s letters).

Here are some recommended resources that can help you:

• Bible Project has a massive library of videos that teach the Bible and equip people to read it. The reading plans incorporate videos (covering book and theme overviews) alongside Bible passages for each day.

  • Visit www.thebibleproject.com for a PDF checklist or subscribe to the email newsletter

  • Get the “Read Scripture” app on your mobile device (has the ESV and a great interface)

  • Subscribe to the plan through YouVersion (can listen to readings via the audio Bible)

    • Whole Bible (includes a Psalm each day)

    • Old Testament

    • New Testament

    • One Story that Leads to Jesus (Includes 150 videos that teach you to read the Bible well)

• Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s classic plan (1842) ambitiously takes you through the whole Bible in a year (twice through the New Testament and Psalms) and moves you across different parts of the Bible in parallel. In 2020, the Gospel Coalition developed resources to go alongside this plan (devotional reflections, articles and a podcast). Check out the relaunch for 2021 at https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/read-bible-2021-insanely-normal-times.

• Stephen Witmer has a two year Bible reading plan that takes a slower (and perhaps more achievable) approach, including catch-up days. He goes through a book of the Bible at a time but often breaks them up into literary units where the chapter divisions are unhelpful. Download a PDF at www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/two-year-bible-reading-plan/

• Alternatively, simply search for partial Bible reading plans in YouVersion and read the New Testament or the Gospels of Paul’s letters or the Minor Prophets!

• There is a great list here of 18 Bible reading plans.

• Finally, make sure you check out the Dwell Bible app which is a wonderful resource with loads of reading plans. It is a little pricey but you won't regret it! And lifetime subscriptions often go on sale so if you start with a trial, you might be able to get a bargain later.

Prayer

Downloads

The below links might be useful for regulars and members

Easter Resources

Easter can be a hard season to prepare for spiritually. Many people observe Lent, which typically involves giving up something for 40 days. However, this can easily lead to self-reliance, pride or faith in traditions. Or it can lead to shame and frustration because, let’s face it, Lent goes for a long time! In this file you will find some recommended resources to help you in preparing for Easter. Some follow the timeframe of Lent (starting on March 2nd in 2022) and others can be used over the 2-3 weeks prior to Easter (which is Sunday April 17th in 2022) but they are all thoroughly biblical and are designed to strengthen faith by focusing us on Jesus.

Link to Easter Resources 2022

Sermons

Links to past sermons can be found here. Some weeks we have had technical difficulties where the recording has been lost, or we are unable to upload it. We apologize in advance and are trying to reduce how often this occurs. 

Link to sermons.

Safe Church

The Presbyterian Church is committed to ensuring that all our churches are safe places for everyone to learn about Jesus - especially children.

The Safe Church Policy summarises our commitments. For more information, please visit the Safe Church Unit website (www.safechurchpcv.org.au).

For DPC attendees wishing to volunteer in a Children’s Ministry or leadership role, please speak to our Safe Church Representative, Zoë Sum (safechurch@darebinpc.com.au), to determine the approval processes and training you may need to fulfil.

For all other Safe Church queries or concerns, please contact the Safe Church Unit (safechurch@pcv.org.au). If you would like assistance with this, please speak to Zoë Sum.