Getting Along with the Neighbours
Jesus Christ gave us a commandment: that we must love one another (John 13:34) – and He does use the word “must”. He also says that our doing this will be a special sign that we are His followers; there will be an attraction about it that will draw people to us, and Him (v35). […]
Peter (John 21:1-19)
Almost right on the heels of Thomas, we have the story of Peter. Some scholars believe that the book of John originally ended with 20:30–31. If the gospel had ended there, Peter could have breathed a sigh of relief, dodging the bullet of having to face the One he had betrayed and look Him in […]
ANZAC DAY
As we come to celebrate ANZAC Day in 2022, tragically the reality of war is very much in our minds. The constant stream of images and reports from the war in Ukraine has affected us very deeply; we have a vivid impression of the horror of war. However, the current conflict has also shown us […]
Thomas (John 20: 19-30)
A week after Easter Sunday, Jesus came and stood among the disciples and said, “Peace be with you!” The disciples were overjoyed when they saw him. But, for some unknown reason, Thomas (or Didymus or Twin), was missing. When told of the Lord’s appearance, Thomas refused to believe. He wanted proof. A week later, Thomas […]
Life From the Ashes
We’ve been transfixed for the last six weeks by the images and reports of horror coming from the war being evilly inflicted on the people of Ukraine by Russia. These images can represent what people find most difficult about accepting faith in God – i.e., the fact of so much innocent suffering in the world. […]
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
The Apostles, Peter and Paul, had a famous argument regarding with whom you could sit down for dinner (Gal 2:11-14). The Christian Gospel says that all are equally accepted by God through faith in Christ, regardless of who they are, or what their ethnic and cultural (and subcultural) identity may be. However, on this occasion […]
Ash… What On Earth Are You Doing?
The nation was thunderstruck this week, when Ash Barty, favourite and golden girl of Australian sport, world’s No. 1 women’s tennis player, at the height of her powers at age 25, announced that she is quitting tennis! She said that she has achieved all she could have hoped for in tennis, and that’s where she […]
God is not up for re-election
My wife Kathryn tells of a Christian students’ camp she went on in university where the Bible Studies were on the theme, “God is not up for re-election”, and many were highly offended at this. Why?… well, because God is not up for re-election! There are many good things about democracy, and it certainly doesn’t have […]
Serious Joy
Lent, the name of the 40 day season prior to Easter, derives from the Old English word, lencten, meaning “Springtime” (northern hemisphere), and before that from the Germanic longitinaz, meaning “lengthening of days”. It anticipates Easter, following upon Good Friday, and the victory of the light and life of Christ over the darkness of sin and death. […]
History Repeating
History Repeating We – the West – are stunned at the moment by the arrogance and evil of Russia invading Ukraine. Since WWII and the Cold War, we like to think that humanity has “evolved” to be something “better and higher” than this, and moved “beyond” the evil of nationalistic aggression. However, the Bible affirms […]