Sovereign Grace Bible Church in Australia Sydney

Welcome to Sovereign Grace Bible Church in Australia

 
Sovereign Grace Bible Church (SGBC) is a small church located within the Sydney metropolitan area in the suburb of Ryde. We are a unique body of believers who come together from all over Sydney. The attraction being a Christ centred, uncompromising Bible-based ministry of the Word of Life, together with the warmth of true Christian fellowship. Following in the Congregational way, yet we are an independent church. We also have inter-denominational relationships with other Reformed, Bible-believing churches and ministers in Sydney as well as other parts of the world.

Sovereign Grace Bible Church is a mainstream evangelical, reformed and puritan church with a sense of history and with a vision for the future.
SGBC embraces the five main expressions of Reformation theology:
  • Scripture alone
  • Christ alone
  • Grace alone
  • Faith alone
  • To God alone be all the glory
We are a registered Covid safe church - see detailed arrangements
       Weekly Sunday morning service at 10:00am AEDT

   Weekly Sunday evening service at 6:00pm AEDT 

               Weekly Wednesday evening Bible Study at 7:30pm AEDT

The services will be live streamed online here

We preach Christ


The essence of Sovereign Grace Bible Church is the honour of Christ.

The Passing of Time Rhyme

Time waits for no man to concede the errors he has made

As circumstances mar the path of arrogance displayed

The unsuspected fallout of a life of careless ease

Will camouflage the heartache and unveil the things that tease.

All may appear as pleasing to unaccustomed eyes

Though surface indications mask virtue in demise

All feelings for the Almighty absorbed in worthless gain

Anticipating greatness when everything is vain.

The tantalising energies of welcoming pursuits

Distort the combination of subtle weeds and fruits

At last the day is over and night approaches fast

Too late do we remember then that worldliness won’t last

The castles we have built will fall and every dream will fade

For summoned to the judgement we account for every folly made

Eternity cannot be squeezed into a normal span

For God has set the boundaries just because He can

Worthwhile pursuits of holiness will elevate the heart

Absorbing all the blessings God’s purposes impart

As now in time and then until eternity is seen

The escalating weariness of things which might have been

Give way to unrestrained and uncurtailed immeasurable delights

A future world of untold bliss with Jesus in the heights

Eternity rolls onward and with each passing year

The things of time forgotten like the falling of a tear

The storms may roar around me my heart may low be laid

With Jesus round about me how can I be dismayed.

Robert


Message from Pastor Rev. Robert Aiken

Bulletin March 2024

The missing jewel in modern worship is reverence. While degenerative representations mimic a lost reality even well intentioned sincere believers are being sucked into the vortex of a decaying and diminishing substitute. Music and free expression are elevated while the ministry of the word is regulated to a supporting role and often presents as an adjustable commodity to be applied or discarded at the discretion of the hearer. As the night closes in upon us and the evening shadows lengthen he true light must surely shine more brightly than ever. The overwhelming call of scripture is to hear the word of God and to take heed to its instruction but how shall the people hear without a preacher (not a story teller). As a wayward and somewhat confused nation the children of Israel under the shepherding of their faithful prophet asked for a rediscovery of “the old paths” as they discovered that often the way forward is the way back. Have we slipped so far away from the standards of scripture that we have reduced our appreciation for the strivings of the Holy Spirit in the application of scripture to our lives. We attend the place of worship more interested in social interaction and the challenge of real intimacy with God in reverent worship has sadly lost its appeal. Surely our prayer should be “Wilt Thou not revive us again that Thy people may rejoice in Thee”

Robert & Fiona

The w

Our minister, Reverend Robert Aiken, is a native-born Northern Irishman and husband to his loving wife Fiona. The church is directed by elected male deacons.

We have wheelchair access and other amenities for mobility access.
 
Parents attending our church services with infants or babies can use a separate room adjoining the main church hall if they wish to. The church service may still be heard live over audio speakers in the adjoining rooms. Sunday school - All children are welcome to join. Children will start in the main service with their parents until before the message, and will then leave to participate in the Sunday School programme.
Sunday Worship Services

Our Sunday morning service is at 10.00am AEDT and Sunday evening service is at 6.00pm AEDT. Services are live streamed online; There is a short prayer time at 9:15am before the morning service.

Midweek Bible Study & Prayer Meeting

Wednesday 7:30pm AEDT and online

*Recommended Additional Christian Resources. If you'd like to suggest inclusion of other Christian resources, please, let us know

Our History & Present

Sovereign Grace Bible Church has a rich and noble heritage with it's roots firmly planted in the foundation, function and faith of the New Testament church.

Historically modern Congregationalism began in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Just after Easter 1559 the English queen introduced a bill known as The Act of Uniformity, which was designed to unify the church in what had become a very troubled period of compromise in areas of doctrine and practice. The Church of England in the Middle Ages was almost wholly Roman in its theology and worship. The land was overrun with monks and friars, while churches were full of relics of martyrs and saints. Transubstantiation; adoration of Mary and the Saints were now all part of the English church scene. Parishes of the Church of England were to be found all over the land, but the truth of the gospel was virtually unknown. Parliament had previously adopted another Act known as the Act of Supremacy in which the Monarch was made Head of the Church, giving Queen Elizabeth the authority to govern the disciplines and direction of the Church.

The Act of Uniformity majored on three areas:

  • Orderly Worship “Only the Prayer Book was to be used, including prayers.
  • Proper location “Services could only be held in the Parish Church.
  • Full Attendance “A fine was imposed upon absentees.

This Act was designed to secure the future and ensure the stability of the Church under the complete control of the supervising authorities. The term Puritan was first used during the 1560s as a term of abuse, and represented the purists who refused to submit to the Act and refused its every demand. The Puritan age lasted from about 1560 to the end of the seventeenth century, and was characterized by an intense struggle as Puritans and Crown disagreed, often vehemently, over issues of doctrine and administration.

As many within the church capitulated to the demands of the Act of Uniformity the Puritan movement saw preaching centers established outside the perimeters of the Act, and these though increasing in popularity provoked the ire of the authorities charged with the responsibility of policing the Act's demands, and soon under direction from the Queen these gatherings were declared illegal. Those who refused to conform were ejected from their pulpits and parishes with many thrown into prison; and here they continued to affirm Biblical principles and disciplines. John Bunyan wrote his classical work Pilgrim's Progress while in prison.

The following years brought a series of Acts of Parliament designed to curtail the growth of the Puritan Movement and if possible stamp it out all together. For example, the Conventicle Acts 1664, 1670, made it a punishable offence for anyone over sixteen years of age, except for members of the same family, to meet for any religious service without full and proper use of the Book of Common Prayer. Goods and chattels could be sold to pay the fine and one third of the fine would go to the informer. Houses could be broken into on suspicion and any magistrate, or officer, who did not apply the law would themselves be fined.

In 1665 the Five Mile Act was passed in Parliament confirming it was unlawful for anyone who had been a Parson, Vicar, Curate, or who had been in holy orders; and who did not subscribe to everything in the Prayer Book, to approach within five miles of any city, town, or borough, or within five miles of any parish in which he had ministered. All who broke the law were liable to a fine of forty pounds. This Act seems to have been designed to cut off all support and starve these dissenters into submission. The nonconformists however were determined to keep their witness alive, and their churches intact. It was around this period two great statements were drawn up to clearly identify the doctrinal position of these separatists.

In 1658 one hundred and twenty Congregational churches sent a total of two hundred delegates to the Savoy Palace for the purpose of agreeing upon a Confession that would embody the theological position and ecclesiastical order of Congregational churches. They took as their model the Westminster Confession of Faith recently completed by an Assembly of that name. After two weeks of intense and sustained prayer and dialogue the Savoy Declaration was drawn up, and became the subordinate standard for those who adopted the Congregational position. The Savoy Declaration is Reformed in theology.

Our foundation is built on four principles:

  • Christ alone is the head of the church.
  • The visible church must properly represent the true church therefore it can be comprised only of Christians.
  • The real presence of Christ is present in His church His people, and not ornaments or rituals.
  • Each member is accountable and responsible to Christ.
So in essence it is the honour of Christ which is predominant in our church.

For more than four centuries godly men have pursued the way, which is Independent, Reformed, Puritan, and Evangelical. SGBC is part of that way. As such she is a mainstream church with a sense of history, she is also an evangelical church with a vision for the future. SGBC continues to embrace the Doctrines of Grace and the Five Solas of Reformation theology:

  • Sola Scriptura Scripture alone.
  • Sola Christo Christ alone.
  • Sola Gratia Grace alone.
  • Sola Fide Faith alone.
  • Soli Deo Gloria To God alone be all the glory.

Statement of Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.
(Hebrews 11:1)

1. We believe the Bible is the Divinely inspired and infallible Word of God as written and is the sole authority in all matters of Christian faith and practice.

2. We believe God is one, existing through all eternity in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; co-eternal; co-equal; exercising sovereign power in creation, providence, and redemption.

3. We believe Satan is a fallen angel, a malignant spirit, the enemy of Jesus Christ and of the saints, deceiving mankind. He has been condemned to eternal damnation as a defeated foe.

4. We believe God created man perfect, but after being tempted by Satan, man disobeyed God's law and thereby all mankind became sinners, falling under the curse and condemnation of a broken law. Man's whole nature is totally corrupted by sin and his fellowship with God is broken, therefore no-one has the will or the ability to come to God in his own strength.

5. We believe God alone can deal with the problem of man's sin. God must initiate and confirm a work of sovereign grace in the heart in order for man to be delivered from sin's bondage and condemnation, and to be restored to a right relationship with God.

6. We believe the holy Scriptures affirm that the sinner is justified by faith alone in the finished work of Christ, that is, His substitutionary death upon the cross and his resurrection from the dead. The works of men and the traditions of the visible church are of no avail in the salvation and justification of the lost. Saving faith is a gift from God.

7. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ was shown to be the Son of God by: His birth; teaching ; works ; death and resurrection from the dead. He has ascended in power and glory to the presence of God, where He now pleads on behalf of those who call upon Him in truth.

8. We believe God is bringing all human history to a climax which will be marked by the personal bodily return to the earth of the Lord Jesus Christ in power and glory.

9. We believe God has appointed Jesus as Judge and there will be a final judgement. Those who are saved will be raised in a glorified body and enjoy, eternally and to the full, the presence of their Lord in heaven. Those who have rejected Christ will also be raised and banished from God for ever in Hell.

10. We believe all belong to Christ who have been personally redeemed with the precious blood of Christ and upon whom God has bestowed His righteousness as a free gift. They alone are members of the one universal and eternal Church - which is the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ. Those who are Christ's are sealed with the Holy Spirit and will never again be irretrievably lost.

11. We believe the Church consists of all who are chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and born again by the Holy Spirit. The Church finds its visible expression in a local assembly of believers, gathered by Christ and under His sole, sufficient and supreme authority, and under the guidance and control of the Holy Spirit are appointed to glorify Christ by promoting His worship, teaching His word to believers and proclaiming His gospel to the lost.

12. We believe the Holy Spirit gives many different gifts to equip all God's people for various forms of ministry in order to build up the Body of Christ, and that He distributes those gifts according to His sovereign will. A gift is to be valued in the Church according to its contribution to the common good.

13. We believe every Christian is called to love God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love his neighbour as himself. All are called to be conformed to the likeness of Christ doing all things to the glory of God. The indwelling Holy Spirit makes this new life a reality as God's children yield themselves to Him.

14. We believe Christ has instituted two ordinances in and through which His person and benefits are represented. In Baptism and the Lord's Supper, believers identify with the Death, Burial, Resurrection, and Second Coming of Christ, in acknowledgement of His covenant promises to His people.

15. We believe we are under obligation to fulfil the Great Commission given to the Church by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples of all nations.

Contact SGBC

Christian Ministries Coordinator:
Elaine Bovis
Minister: Rev. Robert Aiken
    Phone: +61 2 9807 1493
    Email: tjrobertaiken@yahoo.com.au
 
Pastoral Care: Mrs. Fiona Aiken
    Phone: +61 2 9807 1493
 
Deacon: Mr. Paul Finney
    Phone: 0400 561 031

Treasurer: Mr. Puskaran Tharmalingam
    Phone:0416 620 348

Deacon:Ted Vartanesian
    Phone: 0403 258 446

Secretary:Richard Tan
    Phone:0478 588 564

Sovereign Grace Bible Church is a registered COVID SAFE church!

Sovereign Grace Bible Church cares for the health of the community, in particular its congregants and visitors. We prioritise your health and wellbeing when you attend our services amidst the concerns about COVID-19.

We are taking appropriate precautions to manage the risks associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic as places of public worship are deemed high-contact premises. Our registered COVID-19 Safety Plan will be implemented at all services and meetings, including encouragement to wear face masks, hand hygiene, cleaning of frequently touched surfaces, attendee record keeping, and exclusion of anyone who is unwell. We are responding and adapting to the situation as it evolves as we take guidance from the NSW Department of Health on their recommended key preventative measures.

Sovereign Grace Bible Church is opened to all members of the public. We will also be live streaming the Sunday services.

Please note (from 25 February):

  • Registration of your attendance using the Service NSW QR code is no longer required;
  • Wearing face masks is strongly encouraged while you are in the church. Disposable face masks are available if you do not have one;
  • Practise the physical distancing where practical and possible; and
  • Observe all hand hygiene and cough etiquette protocols.

However, please refrain from going to church if any of the following applies to you:
  • you have developed a fever, cough and other flu-like symptoms including shortness of breaths;
  • you are under self-isolation or quarantine in accordance to the Public Health Order;
  • you are a close contact to someone who is under self-isolation / quarantine;
  • you have been in close proximity with someone you know to have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Thank you for helping us to keep the church community safe by observing our COVID-19 Safety Plan.

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