Try-Hard
We either try hard to serve God and others and do the right thing, or we don’t serve God or others, because we find being a try-hard impossible, and so give up. But the true basis for serving has nothing to do with being a try-hard. God serves us before we ever think of serving […]
No Strings Attached
Has the government been regulating the airways to provide extra ‘smooth flying’ for Qantas? Has Qantas provided complimentary business class passage for government politicians?… Will we ever know? We get a little heated and cynical about this sort of thing. After all, we citizens try and do the right thing. However, when we do something […]
For – Giving
Crows supporters are going to take quite a while to forgive the goal that was stolen from them in the dying minutes of the round 23 AFL match against Sydney. Playing finals in 2023 was so near… yet so far (…violin music)! Generosity – the theme of our current sermon and Bible study series – is also all about […]
God’s Generosity – Our Poverty
We have nothing to offer to God. The Pharisee in the parable (Luke 18:9-14) – both wealthy and very religious – thought he had much to offer to God, which he gave. Yet, Jesus points out that this was worthless and not accepted by God (v14a). The tax collector – an obvious sinner – knew […]
Life’s Uncertainties
The feeling that life is not always fair starts early in life. You can hear the com- plaint among kindergarten children while they are at play. When did you last hear a child say, “But, why? That is not fair!”? Winston Churchill is widely regarded as one of the greatest leaders in the Second World […]
Do You Follow Jesus this Close?
Rarely does a bumper sticker attract my attention – but this one did. As I inched closer to the vehicle in front of me at the traffic lights, the sticker, conveniently placed in the back window, caught my immediate attention. The question (opposite) has led me to reflect on my own relationship with Jesus. Certainly, […]
Carbohydrate
Bread is a food group shunned by many in the West today. We may find it a little hard then to embrace the Bible’s claim that ‘bread’ is the most precious thing in the universe – i.e., “the bread of life”: Jesus Christ! (John 6: 22-59) In Jesus’ day things were different (better?). People who […]
Love God & His World: from Uganda to Golden Grove
Visiting Uganda was rewarding in ways I didn’t expect. I knew it would be culturally very different and that I would be challenged in my thinking. But I was changed in ways I couldn’t have anticipated. I was warmed by the generous hospitality of Ugandan people who had little in the way of material resources […]
Showdown
Don’t you just love it when Clint Eastwood rides into town and cleans everything up with his big gun?! Sometimes we feel that’s how God ought to operate. We can find that all the stuff that’s ‘crook’ in society gets ‘a bit much’ for us; we want to strike out at it, and we reckon […]
Testing
Well, it happened… the Aussies managed to go and lose the third test at Headingly!… And despite the prophecy from the Prime Minister – “Just like the Aussies… always winning”. There are not a few bleary-eyed Australian supporters feeling a little ‘stumped’ at the moment! I had a test myself the other day that didn’t go […]