Australia’s Zeal.                                                                                                      25.1.2015 Personal Matters Travelling abroad often brings perspective, and our recent trip to S.E. Asia did exactly that. Within two minutes of being with several taxi drivers in Kota Bharu (Malaysia) I knew exactly where they were in … Continue reading →

Grace without Limit Personal Matters As a young Christian zealot I relished opportunities to defend the Lord’s truth, these days I need to be faced with a controversy to make comment. So there I was at a Boxing Day party … Continue reading →

Safe Introduction In a changing world God is recalling us as Church to the seemingly impossible, to be “The Safest Place On Earth” (Larry Crabb). Just a few weeks ago the man on my right at a city bar spoke … Continue reading →

Epiphany Isa 60:1-6; Ps 72:1-7, 10-14; Eph 3:1-12; Matt 2:1-12 Introduction Today is the Feast of The Epiphany, a story about the manifestation of Christ to the Gentile nations represented by the “wise men”. To properly appreciate this story we … Continue reading →

2015 Reversal and Refuge 2014 will be remembered as a year of great evils; MH 370 disappears somewhere to the west of Perth; MH 17 is shot down over Ukraine; another flight “goes missing” over Indonesia; Ebola breaks out in … Continue reading →

Relinquish                              Luke 2:25-35                                                    28.12.14 Introduction Decades ago I pointed out that his opinion that that death could never be a good thing was contradicted by the story of Simeon. Luke tells us that “it had been revealed to him … Continue reading →

Happy Holidays Personal Matters I have never felt happier with God than at this stage of my life and the abiding presence of his goodness is growing ever stronger. The root of these feelings stands in stark contrast to the … Continue reading →

Recently, I had a strong sense that the Holy Spirit is saying that God wants to heal more people than he does.  Before I explain how this might happen I must confess that I am not given to praying for … Continue reading →

The Government of Peace Preface By way of introduction I need to explain that in the Bible the word “peace” does not mean the absence of conflict. It means something like wholeness, healing and salvation (Deut 6:24-26; Luke 7:50; 8:48). … Continue reading →

Satan, Siege, Survival            16.12.12 Post Trauma Reflections God has been speaking to his Church through the hostage siege in Sydney. If we have ears to hear him the Lord is speaking powerfully to draw the comfortable Western Church into … Continue reading →

Complete Personal Matters Sometimes the Lord has to speak to us multiple times over a period of years before his word is “piercing to the division of soul and of spirit…discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.…” (Heb 4:12). … Continue reading →

Many people claim to represent God.  There are many religions in the world.  For the most part Christians are not fooled into thinking that these are true paths to God.  There are cults which Christians generally recognise as cults and … Continue reading →

In John’s Gospel, Jesus makes a statement which seems quite strange at first sight.  “Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind”” (John 9:39).  This … Continue reading →

Phillip Hughes Why? Personal Matters God has a prophetic purpose in the midst of painful events; “Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it? “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his … Continue reading →

Sometimes the Christian life seems to be something too difficult to live.  Sometimes there is too much pain, emotional or physical or even spiritual.  It seems as if God is just ignoring our prayers for the difficult times to be … Continue reading →

Come Again Isa 64.1-9; Ps 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Cor 1:1-9; Mark 13:24-37 Introduction I cannot recall a sermon topic which has been more of a challenge to my own spirituality than this one. With teaching on the Second Coming of … Continue reading →

In the Book of Revelation the Old Testament images are given new meaning in the context of the creation brought into being by the Lamb of God who reigns forever and ever.  The Old Testament temple worship is seen in … Continue reading →

Fire Personal Matters Listening to speakers at three meetings in two states over two consecutive days can be very demanding, especially when you test men’s words by Jesus’ testimony; “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matt … Continue reading →

Introduction I set out to understand the difference between the conscience of a believer and that of an unregenerate person.  Along the way I decided that something which Jesus has done must have transformed the conscience, because there are differences … Continue reading →

Sweet Wine Personal Matters Spiritually it has been “a long time between drinks.” Though often feeling close to God and hearing him clearly it is a long time since I have experienced a radical empowerment of the Holy Spirit (Acts … Continue reading →

Rest Again Personal Matters Restless sleep, pastors’ meetings in disorder, Indigenous Christian leadership burning with anger, young people in addiction; surrounded by such things I sensed clearly: God is restless and that he is missing the enjoyment of his rest. … Continue reading →

The Spirit of the Kingdom                                                                             Mark 1:1-20 Introduction God is working today to turn his people inside out, from a Church focus to a kingdom focus. Christ did not teach us to pray “your church come” but “your kingdom … Continue reading →

My Father’s Business Personal Matters Last Saturday about 15 people with a mutual interest in Christ’s kingdom in the workplace gathered for mutual support and prayer. One of the brothers shared quite passionately of seeing lovely young people join a … Continue reading →

Inheritance: God’s and Ours                                                                  Eph 1:3-22 In places the content of this sermon could be experienced as distressing, but its purpose is to relieve trauma. Introduction The future of the Anglican Church in WA will be decided by our … Continue reading →

Nailed Beauty Personal Matters Early last Friday I was asking the Lord what the Church today is NOT seeing about him as her Husband. The Lord’s reply was very embarrassing. He started to speak to me about his hand as … Continue reading →

Uncompetitive Glory Personal Matters We are all competitive by nature. This came home to me with particular power the other day when Donna was playing the card game “Snap” with our 3 year old granddaughter. Donna managed to call out … Continue reading →