The Master's Academy International – Regional Summit

Visiting faculty members from TMAI institutes in Japan, India, Philippines, and other related ministries in Australia and Singapore attended a regional summit here in Hastings, New Zealand this week. It was our joy to host these two days of meetings in which the various representatives discussed ministry training concepts and shared ideas on how to improve our training institutes.

The Shepherd's Bible College is thankful for the relationships formed at such meetings through The Master's Academy International network. Out of these summits flow a wealth of information-sharing, new ideas, and encouragements.

Please continue to pray for TMAI institutes around the globe which have the same focus and heartbeat as The Shepherd's Bible College.

The Shepherd's Bible College – 2010 Graduation

What a joy to see the 2010 class graduate this past Saturday. Dave Deuel, Academic Director of The Master's Academy International, brought a charge to the students and faculty. The graduates are all either continuing in ministry training next year or are pursuing ministry opportunities. Some plan to continue with the new Level 6 programme at The Shepherd's Bible College in 2011.

TSBC Graduation Ceremony

Please come celebrate with all those TSBC students who will receive their 2010 certificates of completion on Saturday, 11 December at 4:30 pm. Your presence will be a special encouragement to the graduates who will be awarded a Diploma of Biblical Studies.

Guest speaker, Dave Deuel, TMAI Academic Director, is visiting from New York and will bring a charge to the student body, faculty, and church family.

A shared finger food dinner will follow the service.

Register Now for New 2011 Courses

Here at The Shepherd's Bible College, we've been busy designing new courses for 2011. We've added two new instructors to our teaching line-up. And we've added a new block course location in Epsom, Auckland. These are exciting developments which are the first step towards offering an advanced diploma in addition to our already established programme.

Our current Diploma of Biblical Studies programme is designed for those who are involved in lay ministry. Graduates are prepared for service in the local church. The programme has a focus on personal growth and students are given opportunity to discern their own gifts and abilities.

The new Level 6 advanced diploma programme will be designed for those who want to be involved in bi-vocational ministry. Graduates will be prepared for leadership in the local church. The programme will have a focus on ministry ability and students will be given opportunity to grow as a servant-leader.

The new Level 6 courses in 2011 are:

• Biblical Counselling
• Greek
• Advanced Theology
• Missions
• Cults and False Religions
• Historical Theology
• Christian Ethics

For more information on these and our normal array of Level 5 courses, click on the graphic below. Then go to the TSBC website which contains descriptions for each of the courses, dates, times, and registration details etc.

To register for courses, click on the following link to complete online registration: Register

Updated 2011 TSBC Year Planner

The Shepherd's Bible College has published an updated 2011 year planner. Click on the image below . . .

TSBC Preaching Students

One of The Shepherd's Bible College's goals is to train preachers. This past Sunday at TSBC we heard the final three men complete their last preaching lab for 2010. What a joy to hear them exposit the Word of God and call their listeners to obedience.

Josh Powell (Wellington), Zohar Gonen (Israel), and Reuben Pickering (Cambridge) have all completed this phase of TSBC's homiletics training in expository preaching. They received very helpful feedback after each of their preaching labs and have worked on weaknesses throughout the process.

Thanks for praying for these and other TSBC students throughout the year.

Fellowship Group Leadership

This week the Cornerstone fellowship group leaders meet at our home for an end-of-year breakfast. This has been our tradition for a number of years now.

These are wonderful men to serve with! My appreciation for them has only grown as we have sought to serve the Lord together each week.


In recent months, we have spent some time to identify each other's strengths, weaknesses, and spiritual gifts. I will leave the weaknesses off this summary, but look below at how God has provided for Cornerstone and Riverbend Bible Church in these men! . . .

• Nigel: Passion and love for the Word of God, ability to teach with clarity, administration, commitment to discipleship, leadership, work ethic, self-discipline, perseverance with people.
• Denys: Gift of encouragement and exhortation, wise counsellor, one-on-one teacher, welcoming, gentle towards people, faithfulness in discipleship, committed to prayer.
• Gavin: Leadership, encouragement, teaching, worship leading, humility, gentleness, unassuming, ability to draw out people, faithful in ministry, quick to serve, team-builder.
• Grant: Teaching, encouragement, strength of conviction, humble, willing to listen, hospitality, asks great questions, effective home group leader, love for Word of God, commitment to leading family, calm in pressure situations.
• Mike: Reliable, loyal, keeps commitments, servant heart, teaching (boys rally), teaching (one on one).
• Jeremy: Evangelist, encourager, motivator, leader, proactive initiator, great faith.
• James: Generous, encourager, reliable servant, commitment to prayer, leader with a shepherding heart, integrity, teachable, humble.
• Reuben: Purposeful encourager, servant, insightful questions, teaching, sober-minded.

How can we not rejoice in the composition of Christ's church? The Lord designs people to serve in the church just as He wills and He provides the necessary strengths and abilities to do that (1 Corinthians 12:11, 18). In the end, God gets the praise.

TSBC Preaching Labs

TSBC's preachers-in-training undertake their third round of preaching labs this Sunday afternoon (14 November) in New Testament Epistle passages. Here is the schedule:

• Josh Powell - 3:00pm
• Zohar Gonen - 3:50pm
• Reuben Pickering - 4:40pm

If you're local, please come join us at The Shepherd's Bible College in Hastings. You'll be ministered to, and you'll have an opportunity to offer constructive feedback to the students.

Visiting RBC Home Groups

The elders at Riverbend Bible Church are endeavouring to conduct Q&A sessions with each of the RBC small group Bible studies. The idea is to let people ask about the church, future plans, philosophy of ministry, and also give people an opportunity to provide feedback to the church leaders.

So this past Wednesday night, a fellow elder and I went to our first home group. When we arrived, we found a desk set up with four folders positioned on it. Here's a photo of the four folders . . .


The folder entitled "Complaints" was the thickest. The "Gossip to Clear Up" folder was the next thickest and then "Questions". When we opened the "Compliments" folder, it was empty :)

Of course this was all in fun and the evening proved to be very encouraging.

Gracebooks NZ - Christian Resources

Today, the board of Gracebooks NZ met in Hastings to discuss the ministry of Gracebooks NZ. This is a Christian book, DVD, and CD distributing ministry that supplies sound biblical resources to New Zealand and Australia. Gracebooks has a bookstore in Hastings and a website on which all its resources are available to browse and purchase.

Periodically, Gracebooks makes selected titles available to its mailing list members at reduced prices. To get onto the mailing list, please e-mail Denys Tomaselli.

Gracebooks is a non-profit ministry which depends upon donations to ensure its continuance. If you'd like to support his vital ministry, again please contact the Director, Denys Tomaselli.

If you click on the icon above, you'll be taken to the Gracebooks NZ website. You'll find that Gracebooks sells its resources at affordable prices (often below normal retail prices), and if you are buying within New Zealand, SHIPPING IS FREE.

Here's a picture of today's meeting with board members and volunteer staff. . .


Please pray for the Gracebooks staff as they endeavour to serve the Christian community.

Sports Camp Ends

The Riverbend Bible Church 'Sports Camp' is all done and dusted for 2010. On Monday, the eight teams went home sunburned, tired from nonstop sport, sore with injuries, challenged about their walk with the Lord, invigorated by new friendships, and rejoicing in Christ. Mike Penberthy presented the gospel over the course of the weekend and spent a lot of time between sessions on the sports field talking with people about Christ. We are thanking the Lord for a very beneficial weekend.

Here are some photos of the various events. . .



Mike returned to the US yesterday and will be reunited with his family by now. Here is a photo of us with Sereena standing on a step :)

Sports Camp Begins

Former LA Laker, Mike Penberthy, kicked off our annual Sports Camp today with a stirring testimony of God's grace in his life. He reflected on what it meant to climb to the top of the basketball world, winning an NBA title alongside Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neil, only to discover that earthly achievement did not satisfy. Only Christ has brought meaning and significance to Mike's life. Only walking with the Lord has brought him true joy and peace.


Please pray for the remainder of the weekend. Sports Camp is designed to bring the gospel to young athletes who gather from all around the North Island of New Zealand. As I write, the teams are playing all manner of sports, outside my window, in the Hawkes Bay sun. Later, they gather again to hear more from God's Word concerning sin and salvation. We are asking the Lord to save many this weekend.

If you want to watch Mike's teaching sessions online, you can catch the video at: http://www.livestream.com/rbcnz

Oh, and here is a video clip of Mike Penberthy's LA Laker days. . .

Impact Bible Conference - June 2011

Plans are coming together for Impact 2011. The theme is "Stepping into Eternity". Two keynote speakers are planning to preach on the following topics/passages. What do you think? . . .

Bill Barrick's General Sessions:

• How Does Our Future State Impact Our Current Living? (2 Corinthians 5:6-10)
• What Is the Purpose of the Doctrine of Last Things? (2 Peter 3:10-18)
• How Does the Doctrine of Last Things Complete the Doctrine of First Things?
• Why Is Christ’s Coming the Focal Point of the Lord’s Table?
• How Does the Judgment Seat of Christ Relate to Our Glorification?

Jack Hughes' General Sessions:

• Present and Future Ministry of Angels to Believers and Unbelievers (Hebrews 1:14)
• A Trip to Hell – Exploring the Realities of Future Punishment (Luke 12:4-9)
• Investing in Eternity Now (Luke 12:33-34)
• What Will There Be for Us? – Heaven, an Unspeakable Reward (Luke 18:28-30)
• A Glimpse at the Resurrected Lord of Glory (Revelation 1:9-18)

We'll keep you updated with seminar options as they come together.

TSBC Preaching Labs

TSBC's preachers-in-training undertake their second round of preaching labs this Sunday afternoon (17 October) in New Testament Narrative passages. Here is the schedule:

• Mark 10:17-27 - Zohar Gonen @ 3:30 pm
• Luke 13: 1-9 - Reuben Pickering @ 4:20 pm
• Luke 14:25-35 - Josh Powell @ 5:10 pm
  

If you're local, please come join us at The Shepherd's Bible College in Hastings. You'll be ministered to, and you'll have an opportunity to offer constructive feedback to the students.

Sermon Series Finished

This past Sunday at Riverbend Bible Church, I finished preaching a four-week sermon series entitled "God's Gracious Hand Towards Sinners".

The four passages we covered were;

1. David's Sin (2 Samuel 11)
2. David's Rebuke (2 Samuel 12)
3. David's Confession (Psalm 51) - Seven signs of genuine confession
4. David's Lessons Learned (Psalm 32) - Six reasons to confess sin

If you interested in listening to the sermons you can get them here: RBC Sermon Audio

Also, if you want copies of the handouts and/or PowerPoint presentations that went with these messages, please contact me at my e-mail address, and I'll get those to you.