An Attractive Lifestyle Let each of us please his neighbour for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself… (Romans 15:2-3) God’s call for us in these verses is very counter-cultural. Think about it. Advertisers are always telling us to please ourselves, to treat ourselves to something nice and enjoyable. Why? Well, in the famous words of L’Oréal Paris, ‘Because you’re worth it’! The basic message is, ‘You’re most important. You deserve to maximise your enjoyment. Make sure to take care of number one – YOU!'. Yet Jesus, the only person we could ever say is actually worth it all, rejected the L’Oréal philosophy. He embraced an other-centred life, a life of self-sacrificial love that went even to the point of death for the sake

Looking Back and Looking Forward This Sunday after our 9am service we will hold our Annual General Meeting (AGM) for 2019. If you’re a member, let me encourage you to make sure you attend. It will be a wonderful opportunity to review the past twelve months, to cast our eye forward, and to give thanks to God for his goodness to us. In fact, as I’ve done that very thing this week—looked back and looked forward—I have been so encouraged and excited. As I look back over the last 12 months, it’s obvious we have much to be thankful for, including: The smoothness of the leadership A dedicated staff team, a devoted team of deacons, and a unified Church Council The successful launch of ‘The Park’, including the fundraising

How Should You Respond? On Friday, the day before the federal election, I asked the question: How should you vote? Today, the day after the election, I’d like to ask: How should you respond? What should you do now? You may be upset that your preferred party fell short (or looks like it will) or elated that yours will be in power for the next three years. Whatever your reaction to the result of the election, I believe, as a Christian, the right and required response is the same: to pray (1 Tim. 2:1-4). Andrew Moody is an adjunct lecturer at various Bible colleges around Australia, and he offers the following list to guide our prayers in the wake of the election[1]: Thank God for our stable and lawful

How Should You Vote? Who should you vote for in the federal election this Saturday? If your experience has been anything like mine, suggested answers to this question have filled your letterbox, social media feed, and television screen for the last few weeks. People have towed trailers, sat by the side of the road, and set up signs to tell you how to answer this question. And campaign volunteers will seek to answer it for you as you run the gauntlet of pamphlets and outreached hands to make it to the polling booth tomorrow. And for good reason, it is an incredibly important question. Good government matters. It matters to God (Rom. 13:1-7), and it should matter to us. But let me be clear right up front, I have

Wrestling with Mother’s Guilt This weekend we celebrate Mother’s Day. It’s a day when women experience a plethora of feelings and emotions. Many Mum’s are looking forward to spending time with their children. Some Mum’s are experiencing grief over the loss of their own mothers or children, or perhaps heartbreak from wayward children. Some Mum’s are feeling forgotten by children who are busy with their own lives, or have moved away. Some Mum’s are feeling exhausted and didn’t even realise Mother’s Day was approaching! Then there are women, we might call them spiritual mothers, who have never had the opportunity to have their own children who feel a certain sting on this day. Talking with Mum’s from all walks of life, I know one thing to be true for

Sharing Jesus in Our Turbulent Times “For the times they are a-changin’”. Bob Dylan famously wrote and sang these words in 1964. He could have written them in 2019. Today we live, work, and play in a culture and among people who believe very differently to us. Of course, this is not new and it should not be surprising; we have not been called by God to fit in but to stand out (Matt. 5:14). Neither should it scare us; God is on the throne and history is moving towards His glorious end (Rev. 21:1-4). But it does present us with particular opportunities and challenges as we seek to reach out and to share Jesus with others. So, let me suggest three simple ways we can be a faithful