Welcome to Worship this Sunday
Welcome to Box Hill Baptist this Sunday, 1 November 2026, at 10am. It is a Communion Service, and also All Saints Day.
- Worship Leader: Shueh Wah Kennedy
- Preacher: Geoff Pound
- Scripture: Matthew 23:1-12
- Offering: As part of our offering on Communion Sunday we will receive non-perishable food items to be given to needy people in our suburb.
- Theme: At our 125th Church Anniversary Service we were looking up into the Box Hill Baptist ‘cloud of witnesses’, but this Sunday gives us a chance to think more generally of the ones who have gone before who still inspire us and speak into our lives. Who are the saints that inspire you? During the service there will be an opportunity to light a candle for a saint who still speaks into your life.
Order of Service
- Call to Worship
- Welcome and Community News
- Song: For all the Saints
- Offering
- Reading: Matthew 23:1-12
- Song: Act Justly
- Sermon: Transparent to God
- Song: Jesus calls us
- Communion
- Prayers for the Community
- Song: Now Thank We All Our God
- Benediction
Community News
- Keep Jean Trevarthen in your heart and prayers. Jean’s stay in the Box Hill Hospital concluded on Thursday, but her gradual recuperation from pneumonia continues at home.
- Pray for Kath Timewell as she adjusts to her new life in the Karana Aged Care Community in Kew.
- Annual General Meeting: 18 November.
- This year we are taking a different approach to the AGM, and asking everyone to contribute what they have valued, want recognised, or even found challenging in the last year – This is to recognise that much of the important work that happens in and around our church is often not contained to ‘formal’ programs. More info will be provided on Sunday.
- The Letter to the Church at Box Hill will be posted along with our Annual Reports and will be open for discussion at the AGM. It will be good to hear from people about what issues they think are important or urgent, and how and when we might discuss these matters as a church.
- The biannual Baptist Union of Victoria Gathering was held recently. Here’s a report of the day.
Upcoming Events
Some questions about Christmas feel like they’re off-limits. Did the Virgin Birth really happen? What was God’s part – and Joseph’s part – in the conception of Jesus? And what does it mean to sing that “little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes” – when every baby who has ever lived has cried?
These aren’t trick questions. They’re the ones that sit quietly in the back of your mind, the ones you might not feel comfortable raising in most settings.
This November, before Advent and Christmas arrive, we’re making space to ask them.
Over three Tuesday evenings, Keith will be opening the Bible and talking honestly about Christmas: the stories, the questions, the things we’ve always sung without quite knowing what we meant.
Each session includes a segment called You Can’t Ask That! – which is, of course, an invitation to do exactly that.
Keith has spent 26 years at Whitley helping students ask hard questions of the Bible and be surprised by what they find. These evenings are a chance to bring your own.
The details
Tuesday 10, 17 and 24 November
The Gallery
7.15pm for a cuppa – 7.30pm start – approximate 8.45pm finish
Drop in for one evening or come to all three.
- Our Community Shed is having a special Saturday bike session on Saturday the 14th of November (9am-midday). A great chance to pop in, and maybe even pick up a bike (or some handy skills in maintenance and repair!)
This Week
Monday
- 4:30pm-8:30pm – Social Table Tennis (upstairs, 5 Ellingworth Pde)
- 7.30pm – Our Deacons have their monthly meeting.
Tuesday
- This being a Public Holiday, there is no Community Choir rehearsal and the Bible & Chats Group is not meeting.
Thursday
- 11am-1pm – The Social Chat Group (Village Well upstairs): English language learning, table tennis and socialising
- 1:30pm-2:30pm – Bakehouse in the Barn: our food rescue program
Friday
- 4:30pm-8:30pm – Social Table Tennis
Saturday
- 7:30am-8:30am – Bakehouse in the Barn
Food for Thought, Prayer and Action
Please pray! It is election season, with elections (and their aftermath) in Brazil (25 October), Bulgaria (25 October), Serbia (25 October), Israel (27 October), Vanuatu (31 October), USA Midterms (3 November), South Africa Municipal (4 November), Aotearoa-New Zealand (7 November), Victorian State Election (28 November) and Spain (29 November). Pray:
- For wisdom and discernment – that voters will look beyond slogans and personalities to consider policies, evidence and the common good.
- For truth and integrity – that public debate will be marked by honesty, respect and freedom from misinformation.
- For candidates and political leaders – that they will act with humility, courage and a genuine desire to serve rather than simply gain power.
- For the vulnerable – that the needs of people experiencing poverty, homelessness, illness, discrimination and disadvantage will be heard and addressed.
- For a respectful community – that political differences will not destroy friendships, families or neighbourhood relationships.
- For the media – that journalists will ask searching questions, report fairly and hold those in power accountable.
- For peaceful elections – that the processes will be fair, safe and accepted, whatever the outcome.
- For those elected – that they will govern wisely, listen to those who disagree with them, and work for the wellbeing of all, including those who did not vote for them.
- For ourselves – that we will pray for our leaders, participate thoughtfully, resist contempt and remember that our deepest allegiance is to God’s kingdom (realm).
- For hope beyond politics – that we will neither place ultimate trust in political leaders nor retreat into cynicism, but continue to work for justice, compassion and peace.
Check out Brian Zahnd’s Christian Voter Guide.
Shop with care: Baptist World Aid has released its latest Ethical Fashion Guide so we can see which brands are working towards protecting workers and the environment.
Reading: Three years after the Voice Referendum, Frank Brennan asks, “What Went Wrong?” (19 October 2026), Eureka Street.
Next Sunday, 8 November 2026, 10am
- Worship Leader: Keith Dyer; Preacher: Geoff Pound
- Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13
