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Psalm 119:161-168

Mouse Trap

So much of what we are committed to in our lives is in reality cheese on a mouse trap. No matter how careful we are the trap is sooner or later going to spring. In an arguement people are either committed to being aggresive; they fight back or they are committed to withdrawing; going silent. We are committed to things that give us pleasure, what we really love. Let me encourage you to change your commitment. To invest in living according to God's revealed wisdom so that you will know real peace and you may never need to stumble.  the Rev

Bad commitment

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Psalm 119:25-32

Crying out to God

Much of how you relate to God is developed as a child by the way you have related to your parents. If your father was distant, emotionless, unapproachable then you may think of God in the same way. Let me assure you that God cares for you, he hears and answers those who cry out to him in need. The purpose of todays message is to encourage to cry out to God in your need, to ask God for help and finally to commit yourself to living God’s way.  the Rev

Cry out to God

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Psalm 119:65-72

What is Good?

I ask in my sermon what is good. Chocolate, family, friends, parents, fresh air, a good movie, sleep and an engrossing book were some of the answers given. But can good things be bad? The surprising answer is yes. Sometimes we want something that is good in a bad way and the way we try and get what is good is also bad. Psalm 119 gives clarity for those willing to be honest to not only discover what is good but to live and enjoy it.  the Rev

Relationships are good but not all the time?

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Psalm 119:137-144

Real Connection

Ever felt God is far away. Ever read the Bible and the words are just words. Ever wondered how you can connect with God despite feeling small, unworthy or harrased by trouble? Psalm 119 will help you intimately connect with God in a very personal way. the Rev

God I feel small

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Psalm 62

Be a real hero in 2010

Every good story has a hero. But to be a good hero you need the right quest which usually involves some crises, challenge, enemy or monster that needs to be overcome. To do that you need the right weapon or skill. Psalm 62 is like a manual on how you can face 2010 with more than an attitude of survival. You will be guided as to which quest to undertake, what challenges you will face and how you can face those challenges in such a way that you will come out the other end a real hero. the Rev

Slowing down

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Psalm 63

What you can do

Thinking about 2009 can be both good and bad depending on how you remember the year. So much of our lives is inter connected, work affects home and home  has a bearing on work. Mostly we strive to be accepted and not rejected in all the different parts of our lives. This Psalm is about David’s painful experience of being betrayed by family, and yet he finds more than just comfort in God. The key to life is not how much you get but how much you give. the Rev

Refresh your soul

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Luke 22:14-15, Matthew 26:26-29, John 13:31-35

Eager Care

Speaking as a married man I sometimes think that wives can lose sight of the many expressions of love their husbands give them every single day. They go to work even though there are times when they hate it. They mow the lawn even though it is hard, hot and sweaty work. They allow themselves to be dragged through the shops instead of sitting down to their favourite sports program. Translated into ‘woman’ these activities a like the giving of flowers and chocolates, or the writing of a romantic note.

Remember Christ

Christ told his disciples he was really keen to celebrate the passover with them before he suffered Lk 22:14-15. Now Christ was not keen to suffer and die, just like I’m not keen to mow the lawn, or go to the shops. But Christ had a care for his disciples which was eager. He strongly desired to save them from their sin despite having to bear the punishment of hell upon himself.

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Psalm 100

Lifting the burden of Christmas

Christ’s birth was heralded with Angels saying

14    “Glory to God in the highest,

    And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Be as free as a humming bird

The reason why Christ came in the first place is that we struggle to find and keep peace and goodwill toward all people. Christmas can be especially hard for us. It can remind us of our fractured families, of loved ones who have died or can’t be with us. Of love that turned to bitterness. Our lives are broken, lived in the context of a broken world.

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Matthew 6:5-13

Connecting with God

Would you like to have a greater sense of God’s closeness to you? How about some genuine help with how you pray? Do you fall asleep when you pray and then feel incredibly guilty? Do you start well but find that your mind has wandered off somewhere far from God?

God’s children are like Chefs that can’t boil an egg to save themselves. You would expect that we would be people of prayer. After all we are known to the living creator God, we have been adopted into his family, we have been promised that whatever we ask in Christ’s name we will have.

Pray Aloud

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Proverbs 3

Wisdom Teeth?

Why do we call some of our teeth wise, especially since many of us get them taken out very soon after they come up? I guess it’s because our wisdom teeth don’t arrive when we are kids but when we are much older. The implication is that getting older makes you wise. But I’ve met some pretty stupid old people, particularly when I remember some of the things I’ve done and struggle with. 

How often have you been confused, perplexed and at your wits end? These are the times when you wish you knew just what to do; that’s wisdom. It is better than money, it is better than anything in this world. If you would like to find out why wisdom is so valuable and how to get it then listen or watch this sermon. the Rev

We need more than wise teeth

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Psalm 145

Seeing the invisible God

People have become genuinely confused about God. I’ve been asked why God doesn’t reveal himself more clearly. Christians whom I counsel struggle to find God within their crises or addiction. God has revealed himself as the invisible God. Is that fair? How are we supposed to know him?

To begin with God has been revealing himself right from the beginning. Originally he walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the garden. It was their sin which got them kicked out of God’s presence. But God has not abandoned his children nor this world.

God makes every daisy every time

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Psalm 139

Real Intimacy

There is no question everyone longs for friendship. There is nothing more frightening than being rejected and feeling alone. And yet lonely is how many of us do feel. Even though we might be with friends, even though we smile on the outside it can so often just be a mask that hides our sense of isolation. God understands; he is close, he is faithful, he is able to care for you, he is thoughtful and he is protective. Be refreshed and renewed by God’s love for you. the Rev

Refresh your soul

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Mark 10:17-31

Lost in the Clutter

We are presently painting the inside of our house. Call us crazy, I know. The more we paint the more I agree with that assessment. It is amazing how much has to be done before a drop of paint actually hits the wall. One pre-painting challenge is to move furniture and in some cases that means unloading bookcases or packing up crockery etc from cabinets so that they can be moved. One thing that we have said to each other on a couple of occasions is “We have too much stuff!” But, we are reluctant to throw some of it out because it has sentimental value, like the ceramic dragon that Nana made, and which sits in the bottom of the buffet. We seem to have a lot of clutter.

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Mark 10:35-45

True Greatness

Late last week I googled the internet for “great Australians” and found a site called whitehat.com.au that listed 200 significant Australians. They chose not to find great Australians “because there are some people who have had a strong influence on Australia who are not necessarily great. Ned Kelly was a murderer but was quickly elevated to legend status.” They also discarded famous, successful and popular.

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Ephesians 2:1-10

Real Hope

Big thanks to Rev David Niven for taking the service and giving us the message today.

Hope allows us to face that which terrifies us. Without hope we can’t face getting out of bed let alone getting through the rest of the day. There are lots of places where you can find hope.

Need a little more hope?

Personally I think that when man stepped on the moon it gave the world a hope that we could do what was once thought to be impossible. Having a friend who cares for you can give you hope. Some people hope to win the lottery or find the right partner. All people think that being happy, experiencing pleasure gives hope. The way this works is that they think that as long as they can enjoy something, have fun, indulge themselves they can face hardship, so in effect they place their hope in being able to have fun.

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Galatians 5:16-26

How to love life

There are a lot of self help books that seek to give advice on how to improve your life, how perhaps even to come to ‘love life.’ Typically they will be something like 10 steps to happiness, or 7 steps to enrich your marriage.

Self help or Jesus help?

Unfortunately life is not reducible to a few simple steps. The sheer number of self help books proves that loving life is not as simple as they make it out to be. Nothing in this world will make you love life. And there is no secret technique either. Jesus is the life of this world. He promises to be the very source of your life both spiritually and physically

We often try and meet our spiritual needs with the physical. For example: We fear God’s judgement so we compensate by wanting people to love us, accept us and certainly not reject us. But when Christ reconciles us to God we no longer have to use people to replace the love and acceptance of God.

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John 6:22-71

Lasting Satisfaction

There is nothing like a deliciously hot dinner on a cold night. Full, warm and satisfied is the result. But in a few hours tummy starts thinking about supper or a snack.

Is Jesus the goose that lays the golden egg?

Life can be just like hunger. Satisfaction is never lasting so we need to keep eating. One holiday is not going to last you the rest of your life. One romantic night leads to a desire to another. Your dream car, job, hobby needs constant upgrading.

Isn’t God there to give us what we find satisfying, to make our marriage happy, kids obedient, job fulfilling, food tasty? I haven’t found that to be the case. God has rarely given me what my heart desires.

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Exodus 20:1-17

Full Colour

I love living in sunny Brisbane with blue sky above the lush green of the trees which cover my neighbour hood. I’ve met lots of people who have moved away from places which seem full of grey, bitter cold and rain. They come here to feel the warmth of the sun, to enjoy the vividness of our sunlight.

Let Jesus colour your life

There are times when the colour is drained from our world from within our own hearts. If we begin to lose hope our bright would turns to shades of grey, with sharp shadows of darkness filling much of what we see.

When we turn to that which once held light and warmth it seems that the greyness consumes the brightness. And the more we try to brighten our world the more we seem to darken it.

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Luke 7:1-10

Spinning Jesus out: Luke 7:1-10

It may be hard to imagine but it possible to spin Jesus out. Even though he made everything, sees everything, is everywhere there are occasions when even Jesus is amazed

There are two occasions in the Bible when this happened. They are both unlikely examples of extreme and daring faith. Today we will be sharing in the story of a centurion who blew Jesus away with his faith.

Add courage to your faith to Amaze Jesus

It is so unlikely that a hardened soldier who had killed men in battle with a sword would so simply and decisively put his complete trust in Christ. To the point where he didn’t even need Jesus to come and lay hands on his sick servant. He just asked Jesus to ‘say the word and my servant will be healed.’

Not even among Church people had Jesus encountered such faith. I must admit I find this story incredibly challenging.  I make stupid excuses like, I really hate that person, they have hurt me so many times therefore I don’t have to love them or forgive them. That isn’t very good faith is it? Jesus said forgive, love your enemies and watch what I can do.

This story challenges us to be really daring, to leap into situations with an attitude of; how do I serve rather than be served, how do I forgive, love and demonstrate Christ working in and through my life? There is no reason why we should hold back because Jesus has the authority to do amazing things when we amaze him with our daring faith.  the Rev

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Luke 7:18-35

Is God for real?: Luke 7:18-35

What I love and hate about Jesus is that he is surprisingly surprising. I love the way he spins people out, he touches the untouchables, he has dinner with hardened criminals. But I hate the way he sometimes surprises me by allowing me to suffer far too much, as far as I’m concerned.

Not what you expected?

John the Baptist was a full on Prophet of God. No one in all of history can compare to his dedication to God. But even John asked Jesus whether he was the one he hoped for. So if John can have doubts how much more should we expect to sometimes struggle.

What is surprising is that Jesus assures John of who he is by doing a bunch of miracles. After that Jesus praises John, even though he had just questioned Christ as to his true identity. So it is ok for us to struggle with doubt. Perhaps Jesus wasn’t ministering in the way John expected. After all he was in prison, and Jesus seemed to be gathering to himself a large crowd of no hopers instead of overthrowing their nations enemies or cleansing the Church of religious hypocrites.

Sometimes Jesus doesn’t work the way we expect him to in our lives. He can allow some pretty hard stuff to happen. The trick then is to learn to recognise Christ in our lives, to see and hear Jesus working despite painful circumstances, people or experiences. Today I hope to encourage you to learn to see and hear Jesus within John’s story, your own story and our community’s story. the Rev