All of will wonder at some time or other if God might have more important things to do than to pay attention to us. There are always big problems in the world. Right now it might be COVID and the Ukraine; next year it will be something else. And who are we? Small people with …
What makes a sermon a good sermon? Everyone will have a different personal opinion. Some like loud, enthusiastic preachers who call for ‘Amens’ and ‘Praise the Lords’ at regular intervals. Others like careful, logical, well-thought out dense sermons. Many have a favourite preacher. But how might we assess preaching in a Biblical way? The basic …
The advertised time for the church service I am part of is 10am on Sundays. This is not a new time, but is the time our church has met for decades now. Yet, most Sundays, less than 50% of the people who will ultimately be present are there at 10am. Sometimes the service leader stands …
Greed is one of those sins that creeps up on you. You see it in the lives of other people. It is easy to silently pass judgement on that person who bought that luxury car or lives a lifestyle you would be uncomfortable with. If your name doesn’t appear on some list of the wealthiest …
Most parents have a certain dream for their children. They hope that they grow up to be nice, well-adjusted people. They hope that their children are respectable and, ideally, wealthy. The parents want them to be good to other people. If someone had a child who grew up into a nice, middle-class, friendly person, they …
You know what it’s like. Partway through a service, you hear a baby cry. It distracts you, but you try to ignore it; the parents are trying their best. Then, a little later on, there is a rustling noise while a toddler opens a packet of chips during a prayer. And during the sermon, some …
Today’s children are very busy. In previous generations, at least in Australia, it was common for children to spend a great deal of time outside, in parks, riding bikes, and relaxing. Now life is different. There are many after school activities, music practice or sports training, and for Christian families, church. How does this reality …
When two people stand up in front of witnesses on their wedding day, they make a range of traditional vows. They promise to be faithful to one another until they are parted by death. And when those vows are made, they really mean them! No-one expects their marriage to end at that point. Yet, as …
Long life is often described in the Bible as one of the signs of God’s blessing. One of God’s promises to Abraham was that he would die at a “good old age”[i], something that came about when he died at the age of 175[ii]. Those who were blessed by God are often described with similar …
Samuel had a most unusual childhood. He was born as the result of God listening to the prayer of his mother, Hannah, who had been barren for many years. Samuel was given to God’s service and spent his life serving the priest Eli at Shiloh. He was faithful to God from a very young age …