The Downs News

1. “…you are all one in Christ Jesus” Gal 3:28 The Downs News April 2011 Web Site: www.ddcc.net.au A newsletter of the Darling Downs Christian Conventions Inc. “All the prophets testify about Him that whoever believes in Him receives forgiveness through His Name” Acts 10:43

2. Look and Live "And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shalt come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live"   (Numbers 21:8). This is a glorious gospel type. Jesus, numbered with the transgressors, hangs before us on the cross. A look to Him will heal us of the serpent-bite of sin; will heal us at once -- "When he looks upon it, he shall live." Let the reader who is mourning his sinfulness note the words -- "Everyone that looks upon it shall live." Every looker will find this true. I have found it so. I looked to Jesus and lived at once, I know I did. Reader, if you look to Jesus you will live, too. True, you are swelling with the venom, and you see no hope, True, also there is no hope but this one. But this is no doubtful cure -- "Everyone that is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live."The brazen serpent was not lifted up as a curiosity to be gazed upon by the healthy; but its special purpose was for those who were "bitten." Jesus died as a real Savior for real sinners. Whether the bite has made you a drunkard, or a thief, or an unchaste or a profane person, a look at the great Savior will heal you of these diseases and make you live in holiness and communion with God. Look and live. Spurgeon

3. Moses spoke of a fiery serpent being the healer. I couldn’t understand how that could represent Christ till I understood where Paul told us that Christ became sin for us. Christ the sin bearer. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor 5:21 With that in mind don’t go past this slide till you listen to: “It Is Finished” (Gaither) more on the “mature” side Same idea different words, different music It Is Finished (Petra) more on the youth side.

4. Warwick Easter Convention 22nd – 25th April 2011 • Secretary: Geoff Bullock (email) HERE • Treasurer: Annette Eland (email) HERE (If you are finding the costs these days are a considerable burden please contact our treasurer and discuss it. We would prefer it if you didn’t miss out on the great blessings. We are sure the Lord will provide all round).

5. Greetings in Jesus Name I do trust that you are having an enjoyable beginning to the Easter celebrations. The days sure go by quickly. It only seems such a short time ago when we were enjoying the Bible teaching given by John North. In a couple of weeks we will be meeting together at Warwick for another time of Christian refreshment in fellowship and in the Word of God. I am really looking forward to the teaching on the parables as the Lord gave so much in-depth teaching in them that often passes us by these days. Please pray for Ken as he brings us the Word of God and also the youth/children’s leader David Donnett and the different missionary speakers. All Bible teachers need to be surrounded by a team of prayer warriors. Will you join that team? We now have the web site working and the links in this newsletter will take you there for more information. (If you find any broken links please let me know. Thanks. Dave) All the heavy files will be located on the web site and not in this newsletter. The Web site address is www.ddcc.net.au. If you click on the address it will take you to the site. There are more features planned for the site that will be rolled out over time, but for now it is restricted just to information needed to “get the job done”. In future we will utilise the site much more for the dissemination of information and other ministry ideas. This newsletter should not reach 1mg in size (at least in the near future). This year Trevor and Maxine Schrader from Warwick have come on board and have been doing a great job organising different aspects of the gathering at the local level. Thanks heaps to all who have been working so hard organising this coming event. Rev Dave Powell (President)

6. A Special Welcome To Our Bible Teacher And Youth Speaker for 2011 David Donnett Ken & Marianne Legg It is our pleasure to welcome Ken to the teaching roll this year. Ken is well known for supplying Bible Studies to small groups and resource material to Christian Ministries. Small-Groups-Ministry exists to equip and support Christian ministries – especially those that operate in small groups. Ken is a regular Bible teacher with Capernwray Torchbears Australia, so when you come to this years gathering you may like to ask him about the various studies he has that might be applicable to your group or Church. Small-Groups-Ministry is sponsored by Set Free Ministries (not related to any church bearing the same name). David is our youth and children’s leader. He put a lot of effort into his involvement last year and was much appreciated and we are looking forward to his return this year. David has a great passion for teaching the Bible stories through the method of story telling. He also loves to spend time with young people simply listening and talking with them. There is more in the Speaker Profiles on the web site.

7. Missions Keynote Speakers The Bazal’s are with SIM International and have a passion for youth ministry. They will be sharing with us on their ministry with SIM. Steve is the Qld Ministry Director for SIM. Michelle Taylor works, through OMS International, with orphans in Russia. Her work takes her to a number of orphanages and she has a desire to set up a transition programme helping graduates returning to the city to integrate back into society.

8. We have introduced a new segment this year where past missionaries, if available, are able to bring a 10-15 min update since they were with us last. They can bring it in person or maybe send a Power Point display. For extras where meeting time does not permit we can set up a PP display looping through the different displays in the missionary tables area. (about 5 min display please) This year we will have an update from Geoff Bullock from Family Voice Australia, Vincent Devasahayam and Karen Gilland. Thank you to all for your input.

9. Above is screen shot of a page on our web site. For Speaker profiles please click HERE For Daily Details please click HERE To Register please click HERE Web site address www.ddcc.net.au

10. There are new email addresses: • president@ddcc.net.au Dave Powell • secretary@ddcc.net.au Geoff Bullock • treasurer@ddcc.net.au Annette Eland • Web Site address www.ddcc.net.au • See you there.

11. This is not an automated procedure yet. Please bare with us as we gradually roll out new ways of doing things. If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe please click the appropriate link and email your details. We wish you God’s blessings. Thanks.