Testimonies
Encountering Jesus has changed our lives. Members of Church by the Bridge share how they came to know Jesus, and the difference this relationship has made to their lives.
“I remember quite vividly the night I became a Christian. I was lying on my uncomfortable bed in my Sydney University dorm room apartment next to a dim bedside table lamp and a tattered old Bible in my lap. I was in my second year at university. Up to this point, life was very hard. Moving from Canberra to Sydney had been a very scary and shattering experience. I asked the big questions of life, with no meaningful answers within myself. A Christian friend at work several months earlier told me about the confidence and hope he had in Jesus. He said I could come to know him by reading the Bible and so that is what I did. Much of it did not make sense, and I was troubled by some parts of it. When I reached the story of Jesus’ execution it all changed…
On that night I read about Jesus being sentenced to death. The words on the pages leapt out at me. He was humiliated, forsaken, flogged publicly and then hung on a cross. He stayed there right to the end – until he died. I was upset this was happening to him yet convicted that I was also to blame for it. Then something wonderful also dawned. Jesus gave his life so that I may receive new life – a new start with my maker, forgiveness for the many terrible things, hope of a good future with him and purpose and fulfillment in this life. God ceased to be an impersonal and distant being at that point. In Jesus dying, He showed he loved me and this turned my heart from living for myself to living under Him. It has been a wonderful journey since then, not without its challenges and hardships. Surpassing those is the incredible joy in knowing God as my Father and all the good things that come from my relationship with Him.”
- Ron
“Saved by Grace. For many of my adult years my intellect knew this statement but not my heart. I grew up going to church and attending Sunday school. Attending church was the norm, a tradition in my family. Back then, I thought that by doing good works or what I defined as good works was a quid pro quo for God’s provision of earthly wealth, success, fame and relationships for me; a kind of points scoring system between God and I. Ignorance and total arrogance led me to think that by going to church, singing a few songs, hanging out with Christians, being a goody-two-shoes one or two days a week, I was doing God a favour; He should be so grateful that I want to be in His presence! To me, receiving God’s love was based upon how good or holy I thought I had been that season. If I did things that I knew displeased God, He would then withdraw His love from me. I would then strive to be good and holy the next season to regain His love and blessings. I saw God as a kill-joy who was all about rules and regulations and punishment for disobedience. After years of trying to obtain God’s approval and love through good works, I eventually gave up in my early twenties trying to please Him. I would be what you call the prodigal daughter who went and made the world her friend but came home broken and battered.
After years in the wilderness, God in His mercy and grace, called me home and into His loving arms through a series of events. It started 5 years ago when a very close family friend died in a car crash on new year’s day leaving behind her son and husband. At her funeral, I saw how much her church loved her. Her death was a real jolt for me to assess my life and to think about my afterlife. I did not have assurance then that I would be accepted into heaven when I die. A month after the funeral, I was sailing around the harbour with a Christian outdoor group (for want of Christians’ company once more) and during the sail, I was asked by someone which church I belonged to. I told her I had not been to church for years and was looking for a church on the north shore. She recommended both St Thomas, North Sydney and Church by the Bridge and God led me to St Thomas a week after the sail. I remember walking apprehensively into the 7pm service at St Thomas alone and was so warmly welcomed by Nicole (who today remains a good friend to me) who sat with me the entire service and after the service, introduced me to other church members. I felt welcomed and settled, from that very first visit, at St Thomas where I remained for three odd years before joining Church by the Bridge.
Back to the subject of God’s saving grace, I recall well this one particular sermon at St Thomas. The preacher was telling us that God’s saving grace means when God looks at us, He sees the perfection of Jesus, that is, for those of us who believe and accept that Jesus is God’s Son who came to die for us (take on Himself the judgement of God for our sins), was resurrected from death and is now reigning in glory with God the Father in heaven. Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” It blew my mind and opened my heart to the true meaning of God’s saving grace for me. It was then that I realised the truth that not by my own merit am I restored in my relationship with God but by putting on Jesus, His righteousness, His blood which covers over all my wrongdoings/sins past, present and future. Romans 4:6-8 “[King] David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” and Romans 5:9 “Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” That was the beginning of my blessed continuing journey with God, the Lover of my soul, growing in knowledge of and intimacy with Him. Now, when I am charitable to others, when I do good works, I do them with pleasure knowing that they please my God, my King, my All. He is my Reward, my Blessing. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound indeed.
Return, O wanderer, now return
And seek thy Father’s face
Those new desires which in thee burn
Were kindled by His grace.
Return, O wanderer, now return
And wipe the falling tear
Thy Father calls, no longer mourn
Tis love invites thee near.
by William Collyer
- Jacqueline
“A few months ago I moved to Sydney, it being not the first time I had moved somewhere away from my home of Melbourne to live. In fact, in the 8 years that have passed since finishing high school I’ve moved a lot – whether it be job, country, house or state.
What has continually been evident throughout these transitory years however, is that although I personally might have been on various different journeys of new starts, self-discovery and those other cliché kinds of escapism we humans pursue, God’s love and faithfulness have abounded consistently. Through difficult financial times, lonely times, and situations that have seemed overwhelming, it has been great to be able to rely on and give thanks to a dependable God who loves his Creation.
And His love continues to abound in my life today, here in Sydney. Having left most of my friends and family behind in Melbourne, it has been tough moving up here to the ‘big smoke.’ I’ve really been able to trust in God and He’s blessed me not only with friendship through people, but I’ve really felt that He is present with me at all times – even those of solitude.
Discovering CBTB is also a great example of seeing God’s faithfulness to provide. When I came along after having been in Sydney for a month or so and trying out a few different churches, CBTB really felt like a place that I wanted to get to know more of.
I love the words in Isaiah 43:1-7, that remind us we are created by God and are called by His name for his glory, that we need not be afraid no matter where we are or what we encounter. Remembering that the opposite of love is fear, it is a great source of hope in my life knowing that no matter how I might feel sometimes, I can give thanks that God loves me and has shown this most evidently through the sacrifice of His son Jesus on the cross, that I might have eternal life with God in heaven.”
- Glen
“You could say that I have ‘always’ been a Christian. I grew up in a Christian household, went to a Christian prep school, and attended Sunday school. It was handed to me on a platter. Despite being ‘forced’ to go to these things though, even from a very young age, I knew deep down inside that it was the truth.
It wasn’t until I was in my mid-teens that it all came together in a very real way. Up until that point I had a childish belief and had only really been encouraged by answered prayer. It was a bus trip on the way to school one Monday morning when I realised I was living for God. It had been one of those weekends when all of my school friends had been out binge drinking and smoking. I hadn’t partaken because I thought it wasn’t the right thing to do. It wasn’t until a moment of clarity on the bus that morning though that I realised my choices over the weekend had been influenced by a desire to please God.
My faith matured further throughout high school and by university I was attending church because I wanted to be there and I was getting excited about sharing my faith. I was still very much a self-righteous, judgemental Christian though - eager to please but with little real world experience. It wasn’t until a few personal traumas came my way in my early twenties that I really discovered and embraced concepts like grace, empathy, compassion, trust, dependence and hope.
Every year that passes I continue to grow in my love and knowledge of Him. It’s a walk that can be difficult at times, but without it, life in meaningless. God loves us, and that makes all the difference.”
- Dave
“I was anti-Christianity, often fervently, for a long time. Six years ago, at the age of 32, that all changed and I asked Jesus to forgive me, change me and rule over me for the rest of my days.
What led to this great reversal? It’s a long story. The short version includes realising that no matter how clever or good or hard-working I tried to be, I was not in control of my life. Realising that I was praying and wondering who on earth I thought I was speaking to (and asking him to show me). And, finally, finally looking into the claims of Christianity (and other religions) for myself. It became utterly clear to me how trustworthy the Bible accounts of Jesus life are, and how profoundly they reveal that God is real, and active and came to earth as Jesus.
It had become clear that God was God, and I was not, and that to continue to live ignoring this was foolish. Looking back I can see how easily I was influenced to dismiss that God existed and in fact wanted to have a relationship with me. I was getting my information from newspapers and people who were anti-God rather than going to the source and really checking out. I am so relieved I did. If you’ve kept the God issue on the sidelines of your life, I can testify that really trying to understand who he is (or if he is) will revolutionise your life.”
- Sam
“One horrendous Adelaide summer, I was confronted by my first murder scene. An elderly lady had been strangled to death by a teenager, and as a young police reporter sent to cover the story, a homicide was front page news. But as we journalists door-knocked the neighbours’ houses, the victim’s daughter arrived unaware of the awful crime and was steered away by a thickset police detective. Her wail ripped apart the quiet suburban street.
Until that moment, the elderly woman had been just words for tomorrow’s paper. I hadn’t thought of her as a mother with memories, dreams and a family. Why wasn’t the whole world incensed at this crime? Why wasn’t I? Hadn’t Jesus said, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’?
Seeing the fingerprints of evil firsthand was a factor in my spiritual reawakening. I’d always believed in God. Aged 11, while camping in a backyard, a mate turned to me and asked if I thought God existed. I said yes – thinking that everyone believed in Him. But I soon realised that believing in God was different to living for God.
My conversion to Christ came at 15 when a young American evangelist touring Sydney schools challenged me to receive the Holy Spirit and pick up a Bible. Gladly, I did both. There were no sunbeams from heaven. No choirs of angels trumpeting in my ears. Just a sense of being right. It started a long spiritual journey searching for truth in a wikipedia world where press-release science was the new opiate of the masses.
Sometimes life’s pressures have overwhelmed my faith, but I’ve kept coming back to those unescapable facts: history changed 2000 years ago. Jesus, a real historical person, was crucified for claiming to be God. His disciples were tortured, and, except one, also killed, for no gain here on Earth.
I’m not naïve. I question. I doubt. I still remember the unfairness of the elderly lady’s death. But through trials, loneliness and joy, I’ve came to trust Him, His word, His love and His fatherhood. And that’s the truth.”
- Scott
