Seasons of Waiting I’m sure you’ve noticed in the last few days (as I have) that the temperature is finally starting to drop. I love Autumn! The shorter days, the changing colours in my garden, the amazing sunsets. Autumn won’t be with us for long, though, before the cold of winter sets in. In my garden, winter seems to be a season of quiet, a season of waiting. The colour and fun of summer is over. The plant growth slows down. There’s less sunlight. Nature seems to be dormant, sleeping. All is still. You could be forgiven for thinking nothing is happening. But of course, as any gardener will tell you, this is not the case. Under the ground, root growth is in full swing, preparing to take up

The Bible and SOAP This Sunday we begin a new sermon series titled ‘The Bible: A Story that Makes Sense of Life’. Throughout Term 2, we will explore the big story of the Bible and how it all fits together to form the true story of the whole world. It should be a helpful and illuminating look at the plotline of the world’s bestseller. But of course, the Bible is much more than just the story of God’s interaction with the people he made and the world he loves. It is also the ongoing way that God continues to speak to us! This series, then, is a great opportunity for each of us to be encouraged and to build up the habit of reading God’s Word regularly. There are

True History and Real Christianity “Christianity has a problem. And before you say “only one?!” what I mean is that it has a problem that is a potential vulnerability intrinsic to the core claims of Christianity. It’s not like the problem of, say, bad behaviour in the church, because by definition the problem with hateful Christianity isn’t Christianity, but the lack of Christianity! Unlike other religions, Christianity bases its spiritual claims on real events that are meant to have happened in time and space. It claims to be grounded in actual history. And as a result, people feel free to double check, and to dispute Christianity in a way which isn’t true for other religious faiths.” These are the opening lines of the first video in the short course

What do you do when the church service ends? What do you do when the final song finishes at church? What we do after the service really matters, because even though the service has ended, church hasn’t. The New Testament word for church literally refers to people with a shared belief, church is a community. That’s why church isn’t a service to attend, it’s a community we belong to and gather with. I read a blog that reflected on how to use the time after the service well recently. I found it really helpful. I hope Andy’s thoughts help you to make the best use of your time with your church family after the service ends. BY ANDY HUETTE What do you usually do immediately after your Sunday morning

The Golden Chain of Salvation “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Romans 8:29-30 Romans 8:29-30 describes the sequence known as the ‘golden chain of salvation’, the unbreakable order in which God saves His people. Included in this significant passage is the stunning description of Jesus as ‘the firstborn among many brothers and sisters’ (v.29). Jesus as the only begotten Son of God is the ‘firstborn’ and rightly enjoys pre-eminence, but ‘among many brothers and sisters’! In other words, every believer in Jesus has the inestimable privilege of being adopted into his family and accorded the honour of being his

The Wisdom Pyramid Have you ever heard of the ‘Healthy Eating Pyramid’? I have vague memories of learning about it in primary school. Basically, it presents the five main food groups and how much we should be consuming from each of them. The bottom layer and foundation of a healthy diet is vegetables and fruit, followed by grains, then dairy, meat, eggs, and nuts, topped off by healthy fats. We need food from all groups, of course, but especially from the bottom layers. They are the most important and should be consumed more often. This is true not only for what we put in our mouths but also in our minds. In other words, we not only need a healthy, balanced diet of food, but also of information. It’s

Ridley Courses: Bible Training for Busy People Do you ever struggle to understand the Bible? Would you like to deepen your faith? Would you like to more confidently share Jesus with others? If that’s you, I’m excited to tell you about our upcoming Ridley Courses. Starting in Term 2, we are kicking off Ridley Courses to help busy people better understand and apply the Bible. Ridley Courses are short 6-week courses that will run for 2 hours on a Wednesday or Thursday evening. There is no cost, and it is open to people of all ages. It is the perfect option for those who would like to dig into content which goes beyond the detail of a Sunday sermon, but doesn’t carry the time or financial commitment of enrolling