This past Sunday was fantastic. I heard there was a rousing sermon in the morning when Blake touched on some hard issues regarding Justice – another one of our core values. I haven’t heard the sermon yet, but I heard it was great. In fact, there was a standing ovation at the end! The Archdeacon of Ballarat happened to attend the service and sent this email to say,“The main reason for this message is to thank you for yours, about justice. It was excellent: hard hitting, honest, and Godly! I imagine it must have taken a lot of courage…you said things that I probably would not dare. We Christians become so comfortable in our ways of doing things, that we no longer see what is going on around us, and the expectations that God has for us. I am sure that is why the prophets had such a bad time; telling people things, made life difficult”
The evening service was a grand celebration honouring our year 12 graduates. It was also our “Youth Takeover Service” - And the youth did a fantastic job. We had a strong band that excellently led others into worship.
We got to hear a beautiful item by Sarah and Hannah Westaway who sang the Brooke Fraser song “Lifeline”. A youth band led by Justin Gray, jumped up and did a great job of singing “Amazing Because It Is” for the church (with a back up youth choir too). 
The sermon was split into two parts. The first part was done by our year 12 student Ben Dainton sharing his thoughts on 1 Tim 4:12-16 - encouraging the youth to “blaze a trail” on their own as Jesus did by setting an example for others, devoting yourself to scripture, and not neglecting your gift(s). 
The second sermon was by Blake who wished to impart 3 spiritual hints to the graduates:
1 – Know what you believe, and why you believe it
2 – Build habits into your life
3 – Live a life upward and beyond you!
Pam McKee made a beautiful video tribute to the year 12’s –growing up thru the years. The service ended with a gift from the church for the graduates and a time of prayer and blessing.
Here are some thoughts Michael Fraser put forward regarding the evening service:
"Even with the impending stress of the upcoming exams looming, the guys were still keen to serve in their respective ministries - with Justin, Sharlene, Simon, Josh and Sarah on the music team (and various items!), and Ben Dainton bringing the message. It was great to hear the energetic worship that only a group of young adults in the prime of their life can bring. You guys are all so very talented, and the church as a whole is extremely blessed to have such the depth of talent that you all bring to the team. Ben's message on blazing a trail was right on the money, and well ahead of his time - to see so much maturity and instinct for teaching in someone fresh out of high school is extremely encouraging, and I think we all learnt something from what you had to say...
There is access to the podcasts on our website under the sermons/messages section if you are interested in an audio version of any of these services.
The sermon was split into two parts. The first part was done by our year 12 student Ben Dainton sharing his thoughts on 1 Tim 4:12-16 - encouraging the youth to “blaze a trail” on their own as Jesus did by setting an example for others, devoting yourself to scripture, and not neglecting your gift(s). The second sermon was by Blake who wished to impart 3 spiritual hints to the graduates:1 – Know what you believe, and why you believe it
2 – Build habits into your life
3 – Live a life upward and beyond you!
Pam McKee made a beautiful video tribute to the year 12’s –growing up thru the years. The service ended with a gift from the church for the graduates and a time of prayer and blessing.
Here are some thoughts Michael Fraser put forward regarding the evening service:
"Even with the impending stress of the upcoming exams looming, the guys were still keen to serve in their respective ministries - with Justin, Sharlene, Simon, Josh and Sarah on the music team (and various items!), and Ben Dainton bringing the message. It was great to hear the energetic worship that only a group of young adults in the prime of their life can bring. You guys are all so very talented, and the church as a whole is extremely blessed to have such the depth of talent that you all bring to the team. Ben's message on blazing a trail was right on the money, and well ahead of his time - to see so much maturity and instinct for teaching in someone fresh out of high school is extremely encouraging, and I think we all learnt something from what you had to say...
...Just as University life is a transition of responsibility academically, I'm sure you'll all be challenged spiritually along the way also. The difference this time, as Blake mentioned in his sermon, is that you've got to stand on your own two feet and be responsible for your own faith. So I'd encourage any young adult coming out of VCE to really have a good think about what they believe and more importantly why they believe it.
There's a lot of Generation Y bagging that goes on these days, but I would defy anyone to say that the up and coming York St young adults are a lost generation. You're talented, energetic, eager and willing to serve. I'm personally very excited for the future of the church because I'm certain it's in very capable hands. Congratulations on all you've achieved through the past 13 years at school, it's a hard slog - but it's only just the first steps to more exciting things that God has in store for your life. We all wish you all the very best for your future endeavours, and hope that a piece of you stays at York St wherever the future may take you!"
There is access to the podcasts on our website under the sermons/messages section if you are interested in an audio version of any of these services.
The bit I was really amazed by was that every year 12 was serving in the service. They have been a great group to watch grow up. They can teach us a lot about how to minister to each other and the wider church.
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