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When Darkness Surrounds You
When Darkness Surrounds You “I wake up in the night and all I see is darkness, all I feel is darkness.” “Why are all these bad things happening?” “I don’t understand!” When darkness surrounded them, these fellow believers asked questions and wrestled with God. Pain has a way of confounding us. The truth is, we live in a cursed and broken world. Our ancient father Adam sinned, and groaning, pain and death were the cosmic result (Romans 5:12; 8:22). No matter what we do, at some time or another, we will be confronted by evil, death, and pain. Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the
Renew & Reach: Grace, Gratitude, and Generosity
Renew & Reach: Grace, Gratitude, and Generosity Last Sunday was a special and significant day in the life of our church. It was the day that we came together to make our financial pledges towards the initial stage of our ‘Renew & Reach’ building campaign. The goal of this campaign is to renew our building so we can reach more people for generations to come. It was a joyful time together on Sunday as we considered how we might all be involved in the work that God is doing in and through our church. Thank you to all who submitted a pledge card or have sent through your contribution already. Your generosity will enable us to move forward in this process, trusting God to guide us each step of
The Discipleship Need
The Discipleship Need When you stop and think about who was responsible for passing the faith on to you and for helping you to grow in your faith, how many people were involved? How many of these people were older, wiser, and more mature? What were the ways that they intentionally sought to help you trust in Jesus and grow in your faith? How are YOU doing that for the next generation today? As people age and change stages of life, it is natural to be drawn to others who are of the same age and stage of life. However, this should not be to the exclusion of all others. In his letter to Titus (2:1-8), Paul writes: You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach
Mother’s Day: Celebrate & Mourn
Mother’s Day: Celebrate & Mourn I have friends who love Mother’s Day and others who find it to be a really difficult day. I wonder what your thoughts are about it? I’m blessed with a wonderful Mum and Mother-in-Law as well as a number of women in my life who are Mother figures to me. But I’m acutely aware of friends who have fractured relationships with their Mums or have lost their Mums. Friends whose children fail to show love and appreciation to them. Not to mention the heartache in the eyes of those who have longed for, but never been able to have children. I read an article by Courtney Doctor that I think can help us approach Mother’s Day in a way that embraces all its beauty
Tell me the old, old story
Tell me the old, old storyWho doesn’t love a good story? The interesting characters, the ups and downs, the climax, the happy ending. Kids especially love stories. When our kids were small we would read stories at bedtime and often it would be the same story over and over and over until we knew it by heart. As they got bigger they loved to hear stories about themselves or their siblings, the funny things they did, the silly things they said, the antics they got up. Even now my grown up kids love to tell stories about funny things I’ve said or done. And according to them, there’s plenty of material to work with! We are now in a season of welcoming new babies into our extended family and I’m
Christus Victor (Christ the Victor)
Christus Victor (Christ the Victor) Have you ever saved up money to buy something special or expensive? Was it easy for you to save? Or hard? Were you ever tempted to spend your money on something else that you’d seen and really wanted? Did you ever give in to that temptation? And then realise that now it’s going to take you longer to save up for what you originally wanted? Or, maybe, you didn't give in to the temptation to buy something else…and you kept your goal in mind every time you were tempted. This is, effectively, what Jesus did throughout his life and ministry. He had been born with a particularly hard and challenging goal ahead of him. There were points along the way when he could’ve tapped
God’s Loving Discipline
God's Loving Discipline The entrance of sin in the world began in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit. As a result, they were banished from the Garden of Eden and thereafter their lives, and our lives, have been affected by the curse of sin. Sin is the root cause of all the evil in the world and is the cause of our death. Sin is universal in its effects. Trials and tribulation are the lot of all mankind; both the outsider and the Christian indiscriminately. The non-Christian attribute their trials to chance, and are quite unaware that they are governed by God's hand. Those of us who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and have been brought into the
Caring for One Another: A Note on Pastoral Care
Caring for One Another: A Note on Pastoral Care This week I was blessed with a beautiful encouraging email and gift from someone in the Church. It reminded me of the joy and responsibility we have in caring for one another as a Church family. While the Bible speaks clearly about the qualifications and responsibilities of pastors, elders, and overseers (1 Timothy 1:3-7; 2:1-15; 3:3-13; Titus 1:5-9), it also teaches that all Christians are called to care for one another. As followers of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, we are to walk in His footsteps—loving, serving, and encouraging each other in faith. The Call to One-Anothering Throughout Scripture, we find many "one-another" commands that shape our relationships as believers. We are called to love one another (John 13:34), bear one
