Mt Evelyn

June 21, 2009 (click on pics for larger view)

What a beautiful little settlement, nestled underneath the Maroondah and Warburton Highways, just off the east end of Canterbury Road. It is a glorious drive through Kilsyth, Mooralbark and Lilydale, places that have the feel of a small and intimate country town, yet they sit on the edge of urban sprawl of greater Melbourne. Some would say it's the best of both worlds, the peace and intimacy of country life, but accessible to all the facilities and resources of the city.

One thing that struck me driving through outer suburbia was the number of churches that are prominent. Several of them appear to be relatively new buildings, of a decent size, and they give a good impression of being active and interesting, judging by their appearance and their signage. In Mooralbark, just beyond the Baptist Church, with its Alpha Course signs on the main road, the Anglican and Uniting Churches are almost directly opposite each other; in Lilydale the Australian Christian Churches and SDAs appear to share a building, with the Baptists just round the corner; and there are frequent signs to other churches or Christian facilities (eg a conference centre) that are tucked back a bit from the main road.

The Presbyterian Church building is a quaint little weatherboard affair that looks like it has been lovingly cared for through the generations. The congregation is small without being tiny, but as I have found so many other places, the people are spiritually alive in Christ, theologically literate and passionate about evangelism / mission / outreach.

They speak very highly of their former minister, Mark Crabb, who led them through some very difficult days in relation to "the Fellowship" but was willing to stand up for his people and for the gospel under immense pressure. Mark faithfully preached the Scriptures and nurtured the people of God.

But now they are vacant, like so many other congregations. It won't be easy to find a minister but they remain optimistic and in the meantime they are led by a very able body of elders. I didn't meet the Session Clerk Peter, who had to be elsewhere that morning, but John led us in the music and David conducted the service, both of them exhibiting great skill and spiritual sensitiviity. It is a joy to see the way that God has not left his church without the leadership and all the gifts that they need in order to continue to be fed and built up in Christ.

I preached from Hebrews 2:3, "How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" (ESV)

This is a verse that we often assume applies to unbelievers, but in the text the author very clearly uses the first person plural - we - not once but frequently, suggesting that this is really a warning for believers, one that I think is especially necessary in our day and age because so many who profess faith in Christ are drifting away from it, neglecting it.

I'm not about to recite the whole sermon, but really the main point was just to keep us on our toes, aware of the pitfalls and temptations that might lead us to neglect the salvation that we have in Jesus Christ, by our failure to think about him regularly, to act as is we have been saved, or to speak up for Christ and his church.