Introduction Prayer can so often be difficult to do.  We all know that we should pray.  But sometimes the way we act is not the way we ought to act.  So many things get in the way of praying: pressures … Continue reading →

Beware the Gift Personal Matters The first thing that came up on ABC news radio this morning (8/6/15) was the decision of Hillsong to cancel their invitation to controversial US pastor Mark Driscoll to speak at their upcoming conference. Until … Continue reading →

Turning Point: Equal marriage and the Future of the Church Personal Matters Since the Irish referendum on same-sex marriage I have been receiving a host of messages from Christians alarmed about where our own nation is going. On one level … Continue reading →

Re-Incarnation: Faith @Work Personal Matters Sitting in a breakfast meeting last week with a small group discussing Faith @Work I became greatly stirred up in my spirit (John 11:33; Acts 17:16). The speaker described his journeying around the world to … Continue reading →

In-sight Prayer Ministry and the Spiritual Situation Today  People Alive AGM 26.5.15 Presenting Problem, Underlying Issue Ignorance: great need for healing but no inner sense that this is the case Resistance: awareness but avoidance. These behaviours are all based on … Continue reading →

Cry Justice Introduction As I was preparing this sermon a huge heading appeared on the front of The West Australian ; NO JUSTICE (13 May 2015 p.1). The average Australian appears to be deeply committed to issues of justice: everyone … Continue reading →

SMALL Personal Matters Having just returned from interstate where I was surprisingly confronted with issues to do with sin, plus the church’s failure to testify to Jesus, I was feeling even more “overpeopled” than normal. Feeling crushed, re-traumatised (again!) and … Continue reading →

Some recent events in my life have been somewhat stressful and upsetting.  My emotions have been very extreme.  During this time I have questioned many aspects of my life and wondered about its purpose.  In the course of my pondering … Continue reading →

Sabbath Keeping, Terrorism, Israel’s Jealousy and the End Personal Matters God is working out a global scenario involving Islamic terrorism the Gentile Church and the Jewish people. A friend who fled Kazakhstan recently because of persecution spoke prophetically when he … Continue reading →

Introduction I wrote this piece because I know that I have an idolatrous need to achieve things.  I have an intense fear that I will die without having ever accomplished anything worthwhile.  I began exploring participation in Christ both because … Continue reading →

Andrew Chan and The Meaning of Life The Meaning of Life is the title of a privately distributed communication from Andrew Chan to the Indonesian Church a few months ago. (Excerpts below retain the original wording.) Personal Matters I have … Continue reading →

God makes a powerful promise to believers in Romans 8:15-17 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  The … Continue reading →

Sacred Blood Bonds: an ANZAC reflection The Spirit is calling us to a deeper realisation of how much we need one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, this will reveal Jesus as the ultimate source of the mateship Australians … Continue reading →

Introduction For a long time, when I first became a Christian, I could not believe that God loves me.  I believed that I was not good enough for that.  This made me extremely unhappy.  I could affirm that God loved … Continue reading →

Isaiah and Jesus[1]  St Mark’s Anglican Bassendean Isa 6:1-13 Ps 24 Acts 7:44-53; John 12:36-43 Preamble I connect very strongly with Isaiah, for 21 years ago at the end of a week of prayer when I felt extremely crushed I … Continue reading →

Stop the Boats Personal Contradictions Many Perth churches minister into the Third World but few preach the plight of the global poor as an issue of biblical justice. The fate of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran incites frenzied interest but … Continue reading →

Introduction It is my desire to understand all of the significant Old Testament themes through the person of Jesus.  I have previously spent some time exploring the Sabbath and its fulfilment through Christ.  In this meditation I will explore another … Continue reading →

Today in Church for Good Friday (3/4/15) I understood something which I have not understood before.  After celebrating the Passover with his disciples, Jesus was arrested and tried in several different trials, before being sentenced to death and crucified.  I … Continue reading →

There are many questions in life and some seem to have no answer.  One of the questions which most often bother me is the matter of timing.  If I know that I have been called to do something in particular … Continue reading →

Bruised: A Good Friday Meditation  Personal Matters Many today feel like we are living in a time of intensifying spiritual warfare, and given the media attention provided to terrorism it is not surprising that talk of the “last days” is … Continue reading →

This week (27/3/15) the course I have been teaching has reached a discussion of the doctrine of biblical inerrancy.  This doctrine states that the Bible has no errors because it is inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16), who is all … Continue reading →

Blood in the Cloud Personal Matters In a recent chat a friend excitedly shared how in a newly launched ministry they had taken up the practice of prayerfully blessing everyone who visited their building. This custom was already bearing remarkable … Continue reading →

The Puzzle of Humanity Personal Matters Being human is a struggle. Looking back over my life I can see three phases of inner wrestling. When I was an unbeliever I nearly went crazy, especially when drunk, turning over and over … Continue reading →

Corporate Wisdom: the Architecture of God Introduction Churches influenced by Western culture split between an emphases on the relevant, pragmatic and influential e.g. mega church profile, and what is incarnational, creative and diverse, e.g. emergent church profile. A different approach … Continue reading →

Face Up Personal Matters Years ago I was at the centre of a shock few would believe could come happen in an Anglican Church; people were shouting, pointing their fingers, crying, rushing out of the service, angrily accusing me of … Continue reading →

My Father’s Business “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). A while ago, I was at a small meeting with some people with a mutual interest in Christ’s kingdom in the workplace. We … Continue reading →

Vindicate My Righteousness   Personal Matters At last Saturday’s prayer meeting for persecuted Christians I felt completely out of my depth; “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how … Continue reading →

Blessed to be a Blessing   Gen 27:30-38; Ps 133; Eph 1:3-10; Matt 14:15-21 Introduction In the beginning “God created man in his own image …male and female he created them.” And because God liked what he had made, “God blessed … Continue reading →

I often wonder what is the purpose of prayer.  This is not a question of whether prayer moves the heart of God or whether he hears us when we pray.  There are many clear passages about this in scripture and … Continue reading →

The Crisis of Authority                      Deut 18:15-20; Ps 111; 1 Cor 8; Mark 1:21-28 Introduction Moses prophesied to a rebellious Israel in the wilderness; ““The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me…it is to him you … Continue reading →