-
Jan 13 2024 
Keeping The Faith
Reading Time: 9 minutesIt’s been nearly five years since the religious community I grew up in ‘regretfully accepted my withdrawal from fellowship’. In reality, I did no such thing, their statement was simply an awkward and disingenuous way to excommunicate me because I could no longer affirm, without reservation, particular tenets they held to be watertight and immutable.
I feel that had the Bible genuinely been our mutually agreed authority, there would have been no good cause to excommunicate… -
Jun 05 2023 
New Beginnings
Reading Time: 6 minutesGod is all about new beginnings. We see the story of humanity starting out in Genesis with a new beginning; light and order being formed out of darkness and chaos.
And we see this theme of light and order echoed in the new beginning that Christians find in Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul the Apostle confirms that “if anyone is in Christ, they have become a new person, a ‘new creation’. The old life is… -
Nov 09 2022 
Ruth: The Inconsequential Outsider
Reading Time: 4 minutesThe Weft And Warp Of Scripture
The word of God is like a vast tapestry, its main theme interwoven with many sub-plots and side stories that run like golden threads through an intricate design. Each of these threads complements the complete telling of God’s story and narrates again and again to us the way in which God views our world and us, the people who inhabit it.
The story of Ruth, a seemingly inconsequential outsider, is one… -
Jun 07 2021 
Radical Social Change: A Letter To Philemon
Reading Time: 4 minutes“Injustice: unfairness, unjust act, Unfair: not equitable or honest, not impartial or according to rules, society: organised and interdependent community, system and organisation of this” – The Australian Oxford Dictionary, Third Edition
The issue of social injustice* has always been one that is close to my heart. It’s something that I like to talk to my kids about often, to try to impress upon them just how fortunate they are in many aspects of their life.… -
Oct 21 2019 
Jesus: King Of The World
Reading Time: 7 minutesThe final pages of the Old Testament come to a close with the prophetic words of Malachi, written around 460-430 BC. We find the people of Israel have returned from nearly 130 years of exile and are back in the land of their ancestors. Yet the nation is vastly diminished. The temple has been restored under the leadership of Nehemiah but it is a much smaller building than the previous, gloriously constructed temple of King…
-
Aug 26 2019 
What Is A Disciple?
Reading Time: 6 minutesThe word disciple occurs frequently throughout the Bible and ‘discipleship’ is something that the Bible references often. But what does the word disciple actually mean? And what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?
What Is A Disciple?
Our English language Bibles were translated from manuscripts written primarily in two languages; Hebrew (in the Old Testament) and Greek (in the New Testament). The translative history of the Bible is a fascinating journey, from an academic… -
Mar 26 2019 
Saved
Reading Time: 8 minutesEveryone wants something to believe in. From aliens to political conspiracies, from the supernatural to the meaning of life, flat earth theory (yep, it really is a thing) to climate change; we’re all looking to take a position on something. We’re all looking for a belief or an opinion to call our own.
Often, our beliefs are not even rooted in fact or reason, they’re simply how we define the world, as we see it, and… -
Feb 19 2019 
Only A Suitable Redeemer Will Do
Reading Time: 5 minutesOne of the most startling pieces of information that we are given in relation to Jesus is the fact that he was made like us. Jesus’ redemptive work on behalf of humanity was deeply connected to his own humanity. Although he was born “the Son of God”, and radiant with His Father’s glory, he participated in every way in all the experiences of what it means to be human. His ability to sympathise with us and…
-
Aug 06 2018 
Grasping Hold Of Grace: Repentance
Reading Time: 5 minutesImagine a man lost the middle of the Atlantic ocean. He doesn’t remember how he got there or where he’s going, all he knows is this endless swimming in circles. No ships in sight, he’s been treading water for hours and now he’s beginning to tire. There’s a very real danger that he will actually drown – that’s if the hypothermia doesn’t get to him first. He doesn’t realise this, however. He thinks he’ll be…
-
Jul 30 2018 
The White Flag Of Grace
Reading Time: 5 minutesThe subject of God’s grace permeates every aspect of the Gospel, giving it weight and power. The saving acts of God, due to the work of Jesus on the cross and Jesus’ resurrection from the dead bring reconciliation (“atonement”) between people and God. This is why the Gospel is described as a message of hope for the whole world (Luke 14:15-24).
The word ‘grace’ itself is described by one author as “the last, best word” in English, remaining…
- 1
- 2