Category Archive

As the song chimes, Christmas is “the most wonderful time of the year”. In Australia we may not have kids jingle belling, nor carolling out in the snow, but it is still wonderful. We have gift giving, delicious foods, and summer holidays to come. For those with small children it is especially wonderful. They have so much anticipation. An early rise, present … Read More

Advent Reading: Luke 1:47-55 What kind of power changes the world? Common wisdom states such power includes the political, intellectual, financial, social. By this calculus a charismatic billionaire will have greater opportunity for change, then the average citizen. How then do we make sense of a young woman from a small, dispossessed people positively impacting more than a billion lives … Read More

Luke 3:4-6 “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.’”  Across our city major infrastructure projects are redesigning our roads. By the time it is … Read More

There are only 37 days until Christmas! We are well and truly into the Christmas ‘season’. As the end of year approaches it brings a whirlwind of activities and celebrations. For some, these activities signal the end of a ‘season’ and the transition to something new. For me personally, I’m feeling a little nostalgic. My youngest is finishing primary school … Read More

Work ‘with’ people, not ‘on’ people. I learnt this a long time ago working with youth. Don’t run youth group ‘for’ young people, as if they were consumers. Run it ‘with’ young people. Treat them as contributors in their youth community. I have learnt as a pastor we don’t provide care ‘to’ people, but ‘with’ people. People are not projects. They have dignity and capacity for their own wellbeing. In even the … Read More

“Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” Eph 6:18-20 (NIV)  Across our world Christians seriously suffer for their faith in Jesus. This year alone we have heard accounts from Myanmar of Christian sisters and … Read More

One of the signs of the vitality of our faith is our love for our neighbour. Some helpful questions to consider are, how is my faith good for others? How is our church strengthening others? Especially those who are vulnerable.  Our church strengthens others. Locally, we have done this for many years through ministries such as Playgroup and Basketball. Both these ministries build community, relationships and provide support. Youth Group is a place where non church young people often attend. It offers fun, safe community for young people to build friendships … Read More

Why do we invest into local government schools? Our church, with other local Unley churches, financially support chaplains in three schools – Unley High, Blackforest and Goodwood Primary. We hope this will increase. This year, our church is helping Blackforest Primary financially support families that can’t afford to send their children to school camps or excursions. Sarah as part of her Community Pastor role, … Read More

Lately in my own Bible reading, I’ve been working my way through the book of Acts. From chapter 16 onwards, the story follows Paul and various companions from city to city all around Greece, Turkey and Asia Minor. Over and over again, Paul begins in the synagogue where some believe and others reject his message. He then turns to the … Read More