Dear family, brethren, and friends,

After finishing the last lesson at Auckland on Tuesday, December 20, I went to the Holiday Inn near the airport where I slept for 3 ½ hours before catching an early flight to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.  As far as I know it was a good flight because I fell asleep before we took off.  After about four hours we landed in Brisbane Wednesday morning.

It was good to spend the day with Jamie, Deborah, Timothy, and Seth Williams at a hotel near the hospital where Deborah expects to deliver a daughter by about January 1. They came here early as a precaution after Deborah had some complications though she seems to be doing well at the moment.  Donna got here a few days ahead of me – it was definitely good to see her again!

Some very old neighborhoods are near the hotel where they are staying, so I took the boys for a long walk down some of these streets.  We observed the differences in design and materials between old and modern houses.

We attended the Wednesday evening Bible study at the Rochedale Church of Christ in Brisbane.  A brother Peter taught a good lesson from Proverbs 6 to four ladies and the six of us.  He asked me to preach on January 1 since I will be back in Brisbane at that time.

Thursday I flew to Rockhampton to labor in the gospel with the saints here for the next several days for the third time (2013, 2014, and now 2016).  Daryl Johnson met me at the airport and got me settled in at a motel just a few minutes from the church building.  After lunch I had time to rest, study, eat some fruit, and prepare for the service.  There were 14 of us gathered as we studied “God Made Us Male and Female” (Gen. 1:27) and “The Prison of Sin” (1 Pet. 3:19) followed by an open forum.

There were several questions about how Christians should meet the challenge of the holiday season.  I stressed that we should not participate in religious ceremonies to celebrate the birthday of Jesus because Jesus did not authorize such practices in the New Testament.  Also we should be very careful when participating in secular holiday activities not to send mixed signals as by sending greeting cards which picture religious symbols such as the typical manger scene.

Our session started at 6:30 and ended at 10:00 P.M. with good attention and participation.  Carol Zussino drove from Gladstone to join our studies and it was an unexpected surprise to see her.  I commended the brethren here for their hard work in preparing for these meetings and inviting people to attend which included the distribution of 800 handbills and the use of print and social media announcing the sessions. Regardless of the response, the people of Rockhampton will know the church of Christ is concerned for their souls!

Friday turned into a beautiful summer day with temperature at about 90.  I studied and worked on some email, then Daryl Johnson stopped by to take me to make photocopies of the tonight’s outlines and to have lunch.  I learned Rockhampton has a population of 70,000 and if we include outlying areas 100,000.  The church numbers about 30.  Much work remains to be done in spreading the gospel in this area, but Australia is very secular and it is a challenge to find people who are interested in salvation from sin.  Many believe that when a person dies, “the lights go out” and there is no more consciousness or existence.  The saints here are to be commended for continuing to make efforts to send the gospel light to souls sinking in the darkness of sin.

Twenty attended tonight’s service as the Bible answered the question, “When Am I Ready to Be Baptized?” (Acts 8:36).  We are ready when we know the seriousness of sin, the basis of salvation in the perfect work of Christ, the conditions of pardon, the necessary commitment which must be made to Christ, and the new life we must live in Christ.

Our second lesson focused on Christ as “The Bread of Life” (Jn. 6:35).  Many people want a religion which offers food, financial prosperity, and fun, but Jesus came to die for our sins and to teach us to obey his word in order to receive everlasting life with God in heaven.  Only few souls understand that Jesus is the bread of eternal life because they are obsessed with feeding their bellies not saving their souls.

In the open forum I was asked to clarify the meaning of Revelation 3:14-15 which warns about Christians becoming lukewarm.  The church at Sardis viewed themselves as very strong, but Christ said they were blind to the fact that their commitment to him was growing weaker and weaker.  If they did not repent, he would vomit them out of his presence and fellowship.  This warning should lead us to examine our commitment to Christ today as well.  Weak watered-down teaching, a compromising spirit toward the world, and members who give as little time and effort as possible to the work are symptoms of a lukewarm church.

I commuted by plane back to Brisbane early Saturday morning to spend the day with Donna and the Williams family.  It was a busy day with shopping and wrapping presents for Timothy and Seth.

An 11:00 A.M. flight on Sunday took me back to Brisbane in order for me to attend the 4:00 P.M. Bible study and worship period.  My first lesson discussed “Dangers of the Holiday Season” (1 Pet. 5:8-9) and the next one “Preserving Unity in Christ” (Jn. 17:17-21).  Some families that had been out of town for the holidays were back, though a couple of members were still away.  After a short open forum, I again commended these saints for their persistent efforts to proclaim the gospel of Christ in Rockhampton.  Though the series of six special lessons was finished, their work will continue day in and day out, and I hope to labor with them again in the future also, God willing.

I flew back to Brisbane on Monday, the 26th.  Donna and I celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary with the Williams by sharing supper at a Thai restaurant named The Phat Elephant.  This was the “hottest” anniversary I have had because my fried oyster salad quickly created beads of sweat rolling down my head and smoke coming out of my ears.  Afterward we walked in the huge Queen’s Street Mall area and found a restaurant where I could “cool down” by Donna and I sharing a Pavlov dessert with ice cream.

After returning to the hotel, we all engaged in a Bible lesson I prepared for Timothy and Seth on 1 Kings 17 where the miracles of Elijah confirmed his message that the God of Israel is the one true God and Baal was a false god.

As we await the birth of Jamie’s and Deborah’s new daughter, they have announced her name: Arrabelle Rei.  We prayerfully await her arrival.  The due date is January 1, but Arrabelle may not know that!

On Tuesday we drove to a city named Surfers Paradise to spend the day at The Sea World theme park.  Creatures of God such as porpoises and sea lions entertained us and the children enjoyed several rides.  Tonight we shared in a Bible study via Skype with Carol Zussino at Gladstone and Jojo and Bong Tacbad in the Philippines.  Jamie did an excellent job in leading the study.  Tuesday evening is the normal midweek Bible study for the Gladstone church (Bong had worshiped with these saints while working in Gladstone).

I pray that all of you reading this update are enjoying the holidays with your families and loved ones, and making precious memories for years to come.  May God bless us all as we prepare to begin a New Year in His service.

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

To see good Bible study material, go to:
http://www.HebronChurchOfChrist.com
http://www.biblework.com
http://www.truthmagazine.com
http://www.CEIbooks.com