Turkey’s president has declared the Hagia Sophia a mosque once again, after Turkey’s highest court stripped it of museum status, with reporting on the event talking about Muslim crowds celebrating outside, and shouting “God is Great”. The Hagia Sophia (which means Holy Wisdom) is often seen as a bit of a symbol of the clash … [Read more…]
There are lessons that preachers point out in situations like we face today. The Bible has lots to say about how we cope when things are difficult, where our hope lies, what Jesus saves us from and to, and the like. But sometimes there are more ‘ordinary’ lessons that God teaches us in situations such … [Read more…]
How many things that you used to take for granted are now gone? The freedom to just go out when you want, or visit your friends when it suits? The ability to buy anything you want from the shops and have it available? Lack of limits on purchases? The list could go on and on. … [Read more…]
There have been a number of comparisons that I have seen over the last couple of weeks about the response of churches during the plagues of the Middles Ages and churches today. It is true that there are some major differences, but there are also some very different contexts that I think it is helpful … [Read more…]
“Trust God and Wash Your Hands” Have you heard or seen that sort of expression lately? Different people react to that sort of expression in different ways – some love it, some hate it. And at the heart of your response is what you understand about trusting God. Is washing your hands (or any other … [Read more…]
I’m sure that you have noticed that after many years of drought in the eastern states and a few years of reduced rainfall in the southwest here we had a summer plagued by huge bushfires around the nation, including here in the west. Then when rain came, it resulted in significant flooding in some areas … [Read more…]
I wonder whether, like me, you have been spending time in prayer asking God to send rain. To fill dams and water tanks, to put out fires, to spark re-growth, to provide for the future. If you have, have you been spending as much time in prayer giving thanks for the rain that God has … [Read more…]
For people in our part of the world, January is a bit of a pause period. Harvest is finished, and you are catching up on other jobs to tide things over for going away for a few weeks break. It’s the time when you begin counting down the weeks until school starts back (3 weeks … [Read more…]
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…]