blog
From the lips of children
From the lips of children If you have school age children, you’ll know that holidays are here again. And that means on a Sunday our kids ministries are also on holidays so kids are in the service with us (adults). As a parent your reaction to this may be pure joy or absolute dread or maybe a bit of both. These feelings could stem from a number of different factors including the age of your kids and their ability to sit still for any length of time, your beliefs as a parent about whether kids should be in the service or not, and perhaps even your own feelings about worship and church. Whatever your views on the issue, here’s a couple of things to consider. Kids are often referred
A Place of Safety, Truth and Healing
A Place of Safety, Truth and Healing This coming Sunday, as part of the National Child Protection Week (8–13 September), we will join with other CRCA churches across Australia to observe ‘Abuse Awareness Sunday’. This is a dedicated opportunity for us to stand with survivors, raise awareness, and equip our church to be a place of safety, truth and healing. Abuse is a painful and difficult topic, but as God’s people we want to speak into it with love, truth, and sensitivity. As followers of Christ, we are called to be a light in the darkness and a refuge for the vulnerable. Psalm 34:18 says, ‘The LORD is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in sprit.’ God cares deeply for those who are mistreated,
Drinking, Success, and Singles
Drinking, Success, and Singles You may be wondering what these three things have in common (and, no, it’s not tennis). In short, the way we approach and address these topics speaks volumes to the culture that we live in AND the culture that we’re creating. I have had a number of experiences and conversations over the past 12 months that have highlighted an unhelpful culture within certain churches, including ours, regarding these topics. In many cases, each of us acts and behaves in a particular way because that’s what we have been taught. It’s what we have learned from those around us. It’s what we’ve heard about our parents’ upbringing, and/or what we’ve seen them and their friends do. It’s what OUR friends do. Effectively, it’s how we’ve been
Who Do You Need to Forgive Today?
Who Do You Need to Forgive Today? Justine writes: Imagine you can’t eat gluten—no cakes, no bread, no pasta. Then one day, you discover a bakery that makes scrumptious gluten-free treats that taste almost as good as the real thing. You even find a lamington that’s dense, chocolatey, and fluffy. Yummy! But just as you're about to enjoy it, a very cute two-year-old toddles over and eats half of it! That kind of situation is easy to forgive—after all, it was just an innocent accident. But what about the times when forgiveness doesn’t come so easily? What about when the hurt runs deep? What if you need to forgive someone for causing deep emotional pain? First, dear brothers and sisters, remember this: you are fearfully and wonderfully made, created
Let Singleness be Honoured Among All
Let Singleness be Honoured Among All “I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.” (1 Corinthians 7:7) In this verse, the Apostle Paul admits that he wishes all the Corinthian Christians were as he is. What did he mean by this? Did he wish they were all Jewish like he was? No. Did he wish that they had received the same Biblical training? Maybe, but that’s not what he’s saying here. In this verse, Paul is saying that he wishes they were all single. Why would he say this? Was Paul against marriage? Paul is clearly not anti-marriage (1 Timothy 4:3), he teaches that it is a
How to Help When Life Hurts
How to Help When Life Hurts Have you ever felt helpless when faced with someone else’s hurt? Have you ever been lost for words or unsure what to do when someone close to you is experiencing deep pain and sorrow. As a pastor, I have sat with people during some of their worst moments. I have often felt inadequate and unhelpful. And yet the awkwardness and uncertainty must not stop us from entering into the pain of others. To minister to those who are walking through sorrow is a clear and sacred calling in Scripture. Paul writes in Galatians 6:2: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.” When someone is being crushed under the weight of life’s varied sorrows, it
I So Hate Consquences
Don’t you? Have you ever asked yourself, “Why did I do that?” Have you ever had moments of regret? At the time, it might seem like an ok course of action, but in hindsight, it was terrible, and maybe even traumatic. Now, sometimes, we simply make mistakes. However, at other times, we intentionally overstep boundaries, and maybe we end up on a Coldplay Kiss Cam…and then on endless memes. Whether we’ve made a simple mistake or a mistake that turns into news headlines, there are (almost) always consequences. And in echoing the American Christian rock band Relient K, we “so hate consequences”. And yet, even when we know there will be consequences, we still think we can get away with doing wrong. And so we do whatever it is,
Make Sunday’s Uncomfortable (an article by Rebecca McLaughlin)
Make Sunday’s Uncomfortable (an article by Rebecca McLaughlin) Did anyone cut your conversation short last Sunday at Church? Anyone notice an emergency? If you haven’t listened to last week’s sermon, you might not know what I’m talking about. In our ‘One-Another’ series we unpacked the command to show hospitality to one another. Not the kind of hospitality that’s about putting on a perfect meal or impressing our guests. Rather, the kind of hospitality that reflects the heart of God, who welcomed us when we were strangers. We saw from 1 Peter 4:9 that Biblical hospitality is about stranger love; opening our hearts, homes, and lives to others, especially those who are on the margins. It’s not a site note in the Christian life; it’s central to our discipleship. We
