Recent articles from the Witness – the monthly magazine of the BUV

The Witness is a Victorian Baptist Churches Magazine that voices discussions of the life and culture of Baptist churches in Victoria.

The Witness maintains a partnership with the Victorian Baptist churches through the communication of local church news and stories which illuminate the positive, meaningful moments and events within the Baptist community in Victoria.

The Witness also threads together stories from the wider body of churches and global issues within Victoria and the international church. It is a vehicle that facilitates the Baptist Union of Victoria’s objectives to "share the love of Jesus with everyone".

Each edition of the Witness is themed, and the June edition is 'Worship'. You can read snippets from a few sample articles below. For Witness subscription information, contact Rhonda Shaw on (03) 9880 6100 or rhonda.shaw@buv.com.au

1. "What Stops Us Worshipping?" by Matthew J Bevis:  I frequently find myself being distracted from worship. The worship in question might be traditional: Singing songs at the start of a church service when my attention is caught by a misspelt word on the screen or a piece of fluff on the back of the preson standing in front of me. Or it might be how I choose to live my life and where I place my priorities. Somehow there's always something to catch my eye or get my mind wandering. I wonder how many of us are easily distracted when we should be worshipping God?

2. "Worship in a Healthy Church" by Rev Andrew Woff:  A quick user's guide! How does a healthy church worship? Here's my suggested "Top Six" attributes of a healthy church at worship.

3. "Sermon Series: A Call To Worship - Part 1" by Rev Chris Danes:  Chris Danes begins his Sermon Series "A Call To Worship" by looking at how things often doing turn out the way we expect in worship services - by looking at a service David held with King Saul. Like many worship services before and since, it went pear-shaped. This worship service features prophesy, music, an evil spirit and an attempted murder. It's a fabulous opportunity to examine the idea of worship and see if we can view God in a new light.

4. "Profile: Derek Bradshaw" by Matthew J Bevis. Derek Bradshaw, Worship Pastor at Templestowe Baptist church, talks about his view on what worship is, what different forms of worship that churches could incorporate into their services, and how Templestowe incorporated photography, artwork play dough and textas into a worship service.

THE FULL ARTICLES AND MUCH MORE ARE AVAILABLE IN THE JUNE EDITION OF THE WITNESS!

This month we explore worship in all its many forms. From hymns and praise songs in  church services to living each day of our lives as a full act of worship to our Lord - and everything in between.

In putting this edition together, we've spoken to Baptist all across Victoria and heard many different stories of how  we can worship God in many varied creative ways.