The Lord’s Prayer
A member of the congregation recently asked me why there are different versions of the Lord’s Prayer. Of course, the words of the Lord’s Prayer are Jesus’ words from the Bible, found in Matthew 6:9-13, and Luke 11:2-4. This means that the traditional version of the Lord’s Prayer is the Aramaic (the language Jesus spoke), […]
Linus: Jesus is the answer!… Snoopy: What was the question?
We have many questions. For example: “Am I going to pass my exams?”; “Can my family really afford this mortgage?”; “Will I survive this breast cancer?”; “How can I cope with my marriage breakdown?”; “What does my life mean now that my wife has passed away?”; “Will our society ever be free of COVID-19?”; or – on the more positive side – “How did […]
Reaping the Whirlwind
Decisions are increasingly made by governments in our Western society that move further and further from God’s good will for humanity. These developments are promoted in the name of “choice”, “progress” and “freedom, but they are actually without substance (like ‘empty breath’, ‘wind’). This year in South Australia, new legislation on abortion and euthanasia have […]
So, Who’s Crazy Then?
Have you had moments in this COVID-19 era when you’ve felt a little crazy?…. If you have, you’ve got plenty of company. The Bible, and Jesus, tell us that a certain kind of craziness is actually a sign of the greatest wellbeing! Jesus is accused by people, and even His own family(!), of being insane, […]
Bringing Them Home
E.T., with aching longing written all over his alien face, and his elongated finger pointing to outer space, says, sonorously, “E.T. home phone”!… These words automatically struck an emotional chord with every human being who heard them. We always remain in the grip of heart-breaking longing for our true, ultimate ‘home’. If we are ‘sheep’, […]
On the Inside of God
A grandmother nurses her baby granddaughter. She is overwhelmed by the love that she feels for her. Delight and tenderness radiate from her face, as she hopes and dreams for the best for this child that is so precious to her. Her tiny granddaughter, however infantile, senses, soaks up and responds to the adoring attention. […]
God On the Inside
We can grow up learning about the good news of Jesus Christ in the Bible and have read and heard it many times. Yet it can still seem distant from us, like it’s out of reach, “floating above our heads”, or somehow unreal and separate from our experience. Or it may once have been very […]
Upward, & Onward
The Tudor period in England was of course dominated by the colourful figure of King Henry the Eighth. This was when the concept and practice of the “the divine right of kings” was at its height, where the king determined the workings of government, society, and the courses of individual lives, absolutely. There’s no doubt […]
Under The Knife
We will all have those unpleasant experiences at one time or another in our lives when we have to go “under the knife”. Thankfully in most instances when we have appointments with a surgeon, we get to be asleep at the time. That helps… a bit! Jesus said that God our Father is the Vinedresser, […]
All Things Bright & Beautiful… Forever!
Louis Armstrong sang, “It’s a beautiful world”. It’s true, it is. Even in face of all the horror, injustice, pollution, disaster, evil and death! There is an irrepressible beauty that can still be seen following, and even in the midst of, all of these things. God originally declared of His whole creation, “It is very good” […]