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

Who can apply to join an Internship?  Anyone who is seeking to grow closer to Jesus and who is keen to explore serving their church family in different ministry areas! [Provided you’re over 18 and have (or can successfully apply for) a current Blue Card.]  Maybe you are a school leaver looking to take a gap year or wanting to explore serving more at church? Maybe you are someone who works part-time? Maybe you work full-time, but still want to invest more time into growing in your faith and serving your church family? Maybe you are retired and want to invest your time in church ministry?  Our entry-level internship focuses primarily on serving on Sundays, with the training component able to also be held on Sundays. This means that

A Reflection on Psalm 8   The words of Psalm 8 roll through my head playing over and over. I’m on holidays in the Whitsundays. I had spent the past few days relaxing in God’s creation. A much-needed break and time to rest and unwind.  Psalm 8   1 Lord, our Lord,     how majestic is your name in all the earth!  You have set your glory     in the heavens. 2 Through the praise of children and infants     you have established a stronghold against your enemies,     to silence the foe and the avenger.  It’s the version I learnt as a child that plays on repeat and the beauty of the creation here that continuously triggers the memory of those words.  The aqua blue water with darker patches of reef, the islands rising out of

Reverse Conquest Revelation 15:2 And I saw… standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name… I googled the meaning of the word ‘conquer’ and the answer it spat out was, “the subjugation and assumption of control of a place or people by military force”. It’s not a very positive picture, is it? Russia’s invasion of Ukraine comes to mind. And yet, ‘conquest’ is one of the major themes of the Book of Revelation. One of the dominant meanings of the Greek word nikao is ‘to conquer, to overcome, to triumph’.[1] Below is a little chart that shows how often it comes up in the Books of the New Testament. At a glance you can see