blog
Will God Always Protect Us from Harm?
Will God Always Protect Us from Harm? 7 The LORD will protect you from all harm; he will protect your life. 8 The LORD will protect your coming and going both now and forever. (Psalm 121:7-8) It’s a beautiful promise! But… some might wonder whether we are supposed to take this promise seriously…. I mean, can we expect to avoid all harm and pain in this life because we are God’s people? Is that what this verse is promising? We only need to take a look at our social media feeds to see that our world is full of pain and anger, and Christians aren’t excluded from it. In fact, Open Doors Australia estimates that ‘in the top 50 countries alone, 260 million Christians face intimidation, prison, or even
Story Behind the Song: ‘Your Will Be Done’
Story Behind the Song: ‘Your Will Be Done’ There are times when we find ourselves lost for words. It could be that a loved one tells us they are terminally ill, or we learn about a horrific crime or injustice. Perhaps it is just the overwhelming feeling of anxiety or stress. Can you think of a time when you’ve been lost for words? I certainly can. Sometimes we even feel lost for words when we pray. But rather than give up on prayer in that moment, we can look to prayers from the past. Prayers our brothers and sisters spoke before us and prayers our Saviour taught us and modelled for us. Last week we introduced the song ‘Your Will be Done’ which was written after its writers found
Does trust in God remove anxiety?
Does trust in God remove anxiety? “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8 Have you ever felt bad for feeling bad? Have you ever felt ungodly for feeling uncertain about the future? For feeling anxious or depressed? Have you ever thought to yourself: “If only I trusted God more, I wouldn’t be feeling this way”? If you have, you’re certainly not alone, but you’re also not entirely correct. Of course, our fears and anxieties can be, and often are, driven by a lack of trust in God; by our failure to properly and deeply apply the promises of God to our hearts. But it’s not exclusively or always the case. And the assumption that if
Let The Children Come
Let the Children Come It’s fair to say that COVID-19 has impacted all of our lives in some way. I don’t know about you but this is certainly not how I imagined 2020 would unfold. And yet, in a lot of ways, we’ve adapted quite well to our new kind of ‘normal’, even as we miss aspects of our pre-COVD-19 life. Technology and lots of hard work has allowed us to continue to engage in our weekly worship service via Church Online. What a blessing to be able to gather across our homes on a Sunday, to sing to God, to pray to Him and to hear from His Word. I trust that you and your family have leaned into God and the truth of His unfailing love, as
Musings from the Middle East: Bethlehem
Musings from the Middle East: Bethlehem Modern day Bethlehem is not a particularly pleasant place to be. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of fascinating history to see there. But the town is an overcrowded, bustling, unattractive tourist magnet. On every corner are the same overpriced souvenirs, and the town itself is poorly maintained and built on top of itself. It is nothing like the nativity postcard pictures of Bethlehem. Even the Church of the Nativity, possibly the most famous church in the world, built over the traditional site of Jesus’ birth, is a bit underwhelming. It is a series of structures built on top of each other, covering some rock caves with carvings and shrines created over the last 2,000 years. Perhaps the most spiritually attractive part
Jesus Building His Church
Jesus is Building His Church Jesus once said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18). I don’t know about you but I used to think ‘the gates of hell’ represented Satan’s kingdom. I thought that Jesus was saying that he would build his church and that Satan’s kingdom could not stop it. I can remember hearing preachers talk about how gates weren’t weapons – and getting excited about how that meant Satan was on the defence! However, I don’t think that is what this verse is actually saying. The Greek phrase behind ‘gates of hell’ literally reads ‘gates of Hades’. Actually, this is how many other English versions translate it (NIV, NASB, CSB). Basically, ‘Hades’ represents the realm or
Story Behind the Song: Because He Lives
Story Behind the Song: Because He Lives With Mother’s Day this weekend, it seems fitting to share the story behind the well-known song ‘Because He Lives’. You might be wondering; how does this song relate to Mother’s Day? It’s the lyrics in the second verse and the story behind the song that reveal the connection. The second verse is not usually sung during corporate worship because the lyrics are so specific to motherhood that the context of the lyrics can seem confusing without explanation. The song was written by Bill and Gloria Gaither in the late 1960’s. Gloria wrote the lyrics when she was heavily pregnant with their third child. Like many beautiful and powerful songs, the lyrics were written through personal hardship and difficulty. At the end of
Where Do We Go Now?
Where Do We Go Now? Earlier this year (on Sunday the 26th of January to be precise), I preached a sermon titled ‘Where Do We Go from Here?’. We looked at Jesus’ challenging words in John 6 about the necessity of “eating” his flesh and “drinking” his blood to receive and enjoy true and lasting life (v.53-69), and we talked about where we believe God is leading us as a church into the future. It seems an odd combination, I know, but the point, I hope, was obvious. Wherever we go, whatever plans we make, whatever steps we take, the point of it all, and the hope through it all, is to bring us all closer to Jesus. This is why the church exists, after all; to glorify God
