Thank You for Your Feedback  “Listen to advice and accept discipline,     and at the end you will be counted among the wise.” — Proverbs 19:20  We recently carried out our annual church-wide survey, which is something we’ve done for the last few years. We do it to gather feedback from as many people connected to our church as possible; to help us identify where we are going well and where we could grow. While the survey is not the only factor we consider when determining priorities and goals for the upcoming year, it does influence our decision-making. We greatly appreciate all those who took the time to complete the survey and to share any feedback.  I’m thankful to report that we had almost 200 people from a diverse range

Putting People in Their Place  ‘They really put them in their place’. Have you ever heard someone use that phrase or something similar? To ‘put someone in their place’ means to tell them or show them that they are less important than they thought. They placed themselves in a position they didn’t deserve or hadn’t earned, so they needed to be taken down a peg or two. They needed to be reminded of their rightful place.  The Bible, too, talks about putting people in their place. But not as you might expect.  Philippians 2, which is surely one of the most sublime passages in all of Scripture, describes the mindset we are to have in our relationships with others. To put it simply, we are to emulate the example

A Gospel Course for Your Friends  Do you want people to experience the love and freedom of Jesus like you have? Maybe there’s someone in your life that you desperately want to share the gospel with but they live too far away to come to our Alpha Course… or they’re not ready to come to something on a church campus… or you’re not confident you have the right words to say yourself. While we should all strive to learn the gospel so that we can share it clearly with others (1 Peter 3:15), we’re also blessed with access to wonderful courses and content in our digital age. One such course is the brilliant 321 Course by Speak Life and Glen Scrivener. Glen Scrivener is an Aussie who lives in

Is Your Faith Intentional or Incidental?  Last Thursday night, during Stephen McAlpine’s seminar on “How to live for Jesus in a culture that keeps changing”, in response to a question, Stephen talked about the need for parents to live out an intentional faith as they seek to disciple their children in following Jesus amidst an ever hostile world. He talked about intentionally setting aside time in the week to gather with other families to go deep in the Word of God, setting an example and creating space for intentionally doing life together, sharpening one another “as iron sharpens iron”.  This reminded me of Proverbs 22:6, which says:  “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”  Another

What Can Wash Away My Sin?  I remember as a young adult, the accomplishment I felt in being able to cook and clean, and basically keep myself alive, all by myself. I had moved to the other end of the state to attend university and didn’t even consider that I should call my mother to let her know I got there alive and well. I reveled in my self-sufficiency and quickly I spiraled into a lifestyle where the more I searched, the more I got lost.  I remember one time where the consequences of my life choices had left a drink stain on my favourite nightclubbing dress. A soak in some pre-wash detergent, pop that little number in the wash and it turned out looking as good as new!

Finding rest I shared a devotion with a group of girls a while back that has really stuck with me. We began by talking about all the different life circumstances that can cause us anxiety or worry. Some examples were going to the dentist, performing in a concert or taking a test. The girls were asked to think about each one and rank on a scale of 1 to 10 how much anxiety it caused them. Of course, each scenario received quite a spread of responses. Perhaps not too surprising, was the number of girls who indicated they would rather go to the dentist than talk in front of a group of people. Maybe you can relate. As adults, we too have life circumstances that cause us to worry

What Should I Think About During the Lord’s Supper? Every month (on the second Sunday of the month) we participate in the Lord’s Supper. In fact, we will be doing it this Sunday. I remember observing the Lord’s Supper as a child. I would watch my parents move to the front of the church to eat the bread and drink the cup. It always struck me as a somewhat sombre affair, which, of course, at one level, it is. But as I’ve since discovered, there’s more to it. I wonder what you think of the Lord’s Supper? More to the point, I wonder what you think about during Lord’s Supper? Does your mind wander? Do you focus only on your sinfulness? Or mainly on your gratitude to God for