‘Social distancing’ will probably be the phrase of the year in 2020. Most of us could not have defined that term last year; now we see it in every news article and as warnings in every building we enter. We are encouraged to spend more time away from other people. As some satirical articles have …
In the early church, most gatherings were in houses. Church buildings didn’t become common until after the conversion of Constantine in the 300s. This means that when Paul wrote to churches in Ephesians, for example, this probably meant the collection of churches in the city of Ephesus that met in a variety of homes. We …
The food shortage in Australia right now is bizarre. People are hoarding food and emptying shelves from the supermarket. In a rich and blessed country, many people are looking for food. Christians know that we need more than physical food to sustain us. We need the bread of life, the Word of God. This was …
The world is in the midst of a coronavirus panic. Many aspects of life we usually take for granted are being changed or removed. It is all that anyone is talking about. How do we respond to such a crisis? In this brief blog post, I want to mention two unhelpful responses to the crisis …
Christians should expect that serving Jesus in this world will mean people will be unhappy with us. Jesus warned his disciples as much in Matthew 10. When giving them instructions about their mission to the world, he said: 16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise …
It is easy for Christians to be angry when we look at the people in our society. So many are lost in sin. So many live their lives for their families, for their work, for their bucket list, and they care nothing for Jesus. There are those who block out their thinking with drugs and …
Our church is running an evangelistic event this Saturday night. This means that there will be people from our church praying for and inviting friends to come along. That can be a daunting prospect! All kinds of thoughts go through our minds before we have that kind of conversation. Maybe they will laugh at me. …
You need to have faith in Jesus to be saved. That is a refrain we see in many places in the New Testament. Repent and believe. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household (Acts 16:31). We need faith in Jesus who died and rose again in order to …
Have you ever come to prayer or Bible reading or going to church and thought it was all too hard? That you knew it was a good thing to do, and you knew you should do it, but it felt just like a chore? Like doing the dishes or washing your clothes? Essential, but not …
The coronavirus is big news. Every day we find out something new. We find some shocking statistic about infection rates or the number of deaths or lack of containment. Flights in and out of China are stopped. People who have recently visited China are banned from school or work for 14 days. This latest epidemic …