Talks from the book of Numbers
Saturday September 20, 2025
Keynote Speaker
Jess Sheely
Jess serves Jesus in Sydney’s CBD as an Assistant Pastor at Scots Church Sydney. She loves seeing her church family grow in maturity in Christ and sending many of them to other major cities worldwide, more equipped to love Jesus and love others.
Jess studied at Moore Theological College and completed a ministry apprenticeship at Hunter Bible Church in Newcastle. At Scots, she oversees the Bible study network and Exploring Jesus courses. She has a particular love for the Old Testament—seeing how it provides a deep foundation for understanding the Lord Jesus and assurance of God’s ongoing faithfulness.
Jess is married to Alex, who is studying at Sydney Missionary & Bible College, and enjoys catching up with friends over a long run or a good craft project.
Choose from one of our inspiring electives. Please note, some electives have a limited number of seats available due to room restrictions. Register early so you don’t miss out!
The Joy of Reading the Old Testament
Meagan Bartlett
Many people struggle to see the relevance of reading the Old Testament today, but if we want to know Jesus better, then we need to know the Old Testament! Jesus read it, quoted it and fulfilled it.
This elective will equip you to understand the whole Bible, by showing why reading the Old Testament is not just important but is also for our good and is an absolute joy and comfort. It will help us to better understand how God reveals his good purposes in and through Jesus Christ – right from Creation and through to the New Creation.
We will see how the Old Testament is integrated and unified with the New Testament and ultimately all about Jesus, and hopefully, you will be inspired and equipped to read the Old Testament more!
Meagan serves on the ministry team at Lane Cove and Mowbray Anglican Church on Sydney’s north shore and is thankful to God for ten years of ministering there! She enjoys meeting with women to read the Bible, overseeing the connect and kids ministries and loves that every day brings new opportunities to point people to Jesus. On her day off, she loves spending time with her five nieces and nephews, watching the cricket or reading the next book for her book club!
Tash serves on the staff team with Campus Bible Study at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. She is so thankful to God for helping her understand his generous grace back when she was in high school when she turned to trust Jesus.
One of the most energising things in her week is opening the Bible with students on campus and seeing the truth of God’s word teach, train and challenge us to live for Jesus.
When she’s not around campus, she loves spending time with friends and family – especially hanging out with her two nieces and reading the latest picture books they’ve borrowed from the library together.
Joyful Living in a Challenging World
Katie Marquez
We live in an age of complaining and grumbling. When things don’t go our way, often our first thought is to grumble. The ancient Israelites weren’t so different to us. It’s so easy to grumble about our exhaustion, our never-ending to-do list, the challenges of parenting, even our churches. Yet in the midst of all this grumbling, we are called to rejoice. How do we find joy in the grumbling and groaning culture in which we live? We will explore what things can steal our joy, and how we can find joy in the Lord when we feel weighed down by the demands and difficulties of life.
Katie is a ministry wife and mother of four, based in North Epping in Sydney. She is actively involved in ministry to women at her church, and plenty of ministry at home with her four daughters. She is thankful for the blessing of having known Jesus since she was a young child, and the way God’s goodness has shaped her over the years. Katie is (very slowly) studying a Masters of Theological Studies at SMBC, and doing some high school teaching on the side.
People pleasing, pleasing God
Alli Muscat
In Galatians 1:10 the apostle Paul calls us to be ‘God pleasers’ instead of ‘people pleasers’, but so many Bible passages call us to love and serve others sacrificially and to actively seek to do good, which sounds a lot like pleasing people! Add to this the growing research and awareness of the detrimental psychological effects of ‘people pleasing’ to our mental health and relationships, and it’s no wonder many of us are feeling a little confused. In this interactive elective, we will tackle these issues as we delve into God’s word to see how pleasing God and loving others works together. We’ll be challenged to examine our hearts and reflect on helpful and unhelpful motivations for serving people and explore together what being a God pleaser might look like in our relationships.
Alli became a Christian at age 20 and is continually reminded how thankful she is to God for the way he has transformed her life over the many years since, and for his unfailing faithfulness through the ups and downs of this journey. She works as a chaplain in residential aged care and runs a private practice providing pastoral supervision and counselling services to people in Christian ministry. Alli is passionate to see people thrive in their ministry roles and grow in resilience and joy as they serve God and his people. She enjoys living in Sydney’s Inner West and attending All Saints Anglican Church in Petersham.
Alli became a Christian at age 20 and is continually reminded how thankful she is to God for the way he has transformed her life over the many years since, and for his unfailing faithfulness through the ups and downs of this journey. She works as a chaplain in residential aged care and runs a private practice providing pastoral supervision and counselling services to people in Christian ministry. Alli is passionate to see people thrive in their ministry roles and grow in resilience and joy as they serve God and his people. She enjoys living in Sydney’s Inner West and attending All Saints Anglican Church in Petersham.
Speaking The Truth in a sea of truths
Becky Lui
In every age, God has granted His people new ways and opportunities to testify to his glory. In the midst of the current challenges we face as a society and the particular struggles we face as individuals, there is a rising awareness that when it comes to mission in the West, we need a shift from programs and rallies to personal evangelism. In this elective, we will consider the Biblical frameworks that release us into joyful everyday evangelism and introduce practical tools to keep growing and encouraging each other in mission.
Becky Lui is a ministry wife, mother of 3 boisterous boys and Dean of Residents at Robert Menzies College (other mother to ~300 boisterous university students from over 40 different countries). She is passionate about cross-cultural evangelism and ministry to see the Revelation 7 picture in action, of people from every nation and tribe worshipping the Lord Jesus. She loves walking alongside uni students as they figure out the meaning of life and their place in society. Her latest hobby is crocheting custom Pokémon and Minecraft amigurumi items for her sons.
Becky Lui is a ministry wife, mother of 3 boisterous boys and Dean of Residents at Robert Menzies College (other mother to ~300 boisterous university students from over 40 different countries). She is passionate about cross-cultural evangelism and ministry to see the Revelation 7 picture in action, of people from every nation and tribe worshipping the Lord Jesus. She loves walking alongside uni students as they figure out the meaning of life and their place in society. Her latest hobby is crocheting custom Pokémon and Minecraft amigurumi items for her sons.