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My Year in Books
My Year in Books Desiderius Erasmus, the Dutch priest and theologian from the 1400 and 1500s, famously said, “When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.” I’m sure he was exaggerating (I hope), but I agree with his sentiment. Good books are a valuable investment. They stimulate our thinking, deepen our understanding, broaden our perspective and strengthen our discernment. Christians especially should be people who are devoted to the life of the mind. After all, Jesus commanded us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). Below you will find a list of books I read this year which I found stimulating, enjoyable, and
Praising God at Christmas with Psalm 117
Praising God at Christmas with Psalm 117 It’s Christmas time again, one of my favourite times of year. I love the carols, the festivities, the food, and over the past few years I have grown to love the time of advent. I’ve been reflecting on the sermon series on 2 Kings and how often these sermons have been pointing us to Jesus. They’ve been reminding us Jesus was the only sinless person who could save us from our sins. It helps us remember the significance of Christmas, that this joyous time of year is to celebrate a joyous moment in history, the birth of our Saviour. As I reflect on this, I turn to Psalm 117, a fitting celebration of praise to God for what he did in sending
Christmas at Oasis
Christmas at Oasis We put our Christmas tree up on the weekend! Our tradition used to be the 1st of December, but it didn’t feel like we enjoyed it for long enough. What about you, when did you set up your tree? What about listening to Carols? The radio station I listen to has snuck a few in already. In the lead up to December I’m often asked when we’re going to start singing Carols. For those asking, we’re starting this week the 1st of December! It seems like there isn’t enough time to fit all the great songs into one month, but we’ll sure do our best. As a Church this Christmas season, we will explore the wonderful message behind some of our most well-known Christmas Carols in
Thank You for Your Feedback
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
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
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?
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?
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!
