Praising God in Hard Times I’ve recently had a few conversations with people following on from my sermon on Psalm 134. The conversations mostly centre on the question “When I’m in the middle of _________, I find it really hard to praise God, or thank God, or even be grateful to God. How am I … [Read more…]
I’d like to talk about Israel Folau, and yet not really talk about Israel Folau. Rugby Australia yesterday determined that he had committed a high level breach of their code of conduct, so that has put him back into the news. For those who haven’t followed (or even noticed), Izzy quoted a Bible passage on … [Read more…]
For those who were wondering why yesterday’s sermon was an old one – its because I’m showing my advancing age and got files mixed up. It has been updated now.
Easter is only a few weeks away now, but if you look for cultural clues as to its arrival, the first hot cross buns and easter eggs started filling the shelves of the supermarkets in late January. It can be easy to get upset at the commercialisation of Easter, even if the extent of that … [Read more…]
Coming home after a long break, the first news I was greeted with stepping off the plane was that there was an horrific massacre in New Zealand, perpetrated by an Australian. He has killed 50 people at two mosques. This is nothing but a terrible disaster, and one we should all mourn. Even from a … [Read more…]
The latest kerfuffle in the social landscape is the new Gillette ad which is aimed against ‘toxic masculinity’. Leaving aside the questions of how much masculinity it takes to be toxic, whether there is such a thing as toxic femininity, or even what masculinity actually is, we need to understand what is happening in our … [Read more…]
Once again, the news web-sites have stories of the oppression of Christianity in China. These appear fairly regularly, and in secular sources, not religious ones. The latest is here- https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/christmas/chinas-communist-party-in-brutal-crackdown-on-christianity/news-story/f3d9475480d3d79db0a93279bae9cd7f The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is determined to ensure that there are no competing ways of thinking or existing, no competition for people’s affections and loyalty, … [Read more…]
This story appeared in the newspaper today. Apparently some churches and Christians have been involved in re-writing carols to highlight global warming (sorry, climate change) and protest the burning of coal. Regardless of what you think about the particular issue, the thing I find disturbing is the watering down of the news about Jesus in … [Read more…]
One of my good friends fell off a ladder while doing some building work at our church. In doing so, he fractured one of the vertebrae in his neck, which also affected the nerves, causing severe pain (and difficulty moving) in other parts of his body. He had scans in hospital down here in the … [Read more…]
I was listening to a science program on the ABC this last weekend, and there was a discussion about researching coming out of Oxford with respect to friendship. Apparently the greatest predictor of a speedy recovery after surgery (or other significant or traumatic events) is the number and quality of friendships a person has. More … [Read more…]