Good, Good Father
Ever feel like you’ve been handed “the rough end of the stick” in life?… Let’s be honest, we’ve all felt that way at some point or another! And unless people are going to trivialise human experience, we have to admit that it’s quite understandable for us to feel that way at times, given the very […]
In The Doldrums
The origin of the form of the word doldrum is thought to lie in the Old English word dol, meaning ?dull?. As for the meaning, there are two schools of thought. Early in the 19th century, in the doldrums was used as a synonym for ?in the dumps, depressed?. Later sailors borrowed the phrase to […]
Climate + Change
Many are claiming that we are seeing significant and unique changes in the global climate. There seems to be quite a bit of evidence for this, with the number of extreme weather events on our news reports ? the terrible fires in Queensland at the moment are a case in point. Or maybe this is […]
What’s So Good About Heaven?
There are two things about our glorious future that the Gospel assures us is coming. First, we are going to enjoy God forever?. None of us, even the strongest Christians today, has ever experienced what that joy is ? perfect, cosmic, infinite, endlessly growing ? because all of us worship and adore other things. But […]
Ah… to breathe
Lk 13:10-17 tells of Jesus entering a church, and then how He heals a woman who has been crippled for 18 years. Then one of the leaders of the church tells Him off, saying, ?We don?t do that sort of thing in our church services?!? Jesus says, ?If church isn?t to bring God?s healing to […]
I’m Not Dead Yet
The famous chapter of Hebrews 11 tells us that ?faith is the assurance of things unseen?. Do you ever find it easy to believe in the things that you can?t see?? Most often it?s the stuff that we can see that has the biggest influence on our lives – the kids, school, the mortgage, illness, […]
Swept Away
PSALM 90: 5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death ? they are like the new grass of the morning: 6 In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered. 7 We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. 8 You have set […]
Grace
?Lord, it belongs not to my care Whether I die or live; To love and serve Thee is my share And this Thy grace must give.? William Blake (1757-1827) ?Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and gladly sell all that he has. It […]
Holy Communion On The Moon
Did you know that when ?the Eagle landed? on the moon?s surface 50 years ago, before he ventured to do anything else, Astronaut Buzz Aldrin first paused and celebrated the Christian Sacrament of Holy Communion? There is no doubt that the moon landing in 1969 represented one of the greatest accomplishments of human history,in terms […]
Wild Plants
There are many plants that no-one planted. Some of them we call wildflowers. Some we cultivate for our garden. But those that creep into our gardens unbidden are labelled as weeds. Weeds (from the Old English word weod, meaning ?unwanted? or ?small?) are also the hardy survivors, growing between paving bricks, along paths, and beside […]