The leader we need was not almost assassinated. He was.
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Reading the Bible is amazing. You are hearing the living creator God speak to you by his Holy Spirit. But how do you get started. Read, answering these four questions. I think they are the four most important questions when it comes to reading any passage.
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It isn’t enough for a Christian to know about Jesus. The call is to follow Jesus. It is a life of discipleship. Discipleship isn’t about knowing the right answers. Though we need to know the truth. Discipleship is about knowing the truth and obeying the truth.
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In the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, his ministry pattern is laid bare. Paul and his team were there for only a few short weeks before conflict and persecution drove them away. But so deep and clear was Paul’s pattern of ministry that he can write back to them and point out what the Thessalonians experienced. In this he lays bare a ministry pattern that Christians can learn from and use to serve others.
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I’m deeply missing Xavier my son who died just over 2 years ago from a terrible sarcoma. I would love to hug him and hold him again. If I did, I’m not sure I could ever let go.
But, I cannot hug him or hold him. Death has stolen him from me, from my wife, Kathryn, from his brothers, his grandparents, his aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. But, I will hug him again because of the resurrection.
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Until this year, the sure way to kill a conversation or slay a whole dinner party was to raise the topic of death. Unless, of course, it was a horrific public murder. But otherwise, even alluding to death was the social equivalent of deliberately insulting the party host. But, now, death is trending on twitter.
So, what does it say about the human heart that the overflow is spit? And what does it say when one person thinks another person deserves their phlegm?
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Read Mark’s Gospel in just 21 days, taking 10-15 minutes a day. You could read most of these in 5-6 minutes giving you 10 minutes to think about what you’ve read.
BTW - Ignore the headings in most printed Bibles. They are a distraction from the flow and connections!
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Over one summer in Sydney, Jesus thundered into my mind. Before that summer, Jesus was insipid in my mind. He was a slight, white figure with no power, no majesty and no strength. Yes, I knew he went to the cross for me, but it seemed a passive path, with a sad inevitability about it. But as I met Jesus in Mark’s gospel I was stunned by the strength of his character and deliberate desire to offer himself on the Cross.
The next few blog posts are written to help you read Mark’s Gospel.
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This is a reading guide for Luke’s gospel. Its goal is to help you get the most gold as you read Luke. Luke is a beautiful piece of writing. It reveals Jesus as the suffering servant king who comes to fulfill God’s promises. We, humanity, are revealed to be lost and far from God, oppressed by spiritual forces of evil and captive to our own sinfulness. Jesus comes to free us - to bring forgiveness. It’s great news worth reading for yourself.
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A dear friend wrote an email to me saying they are not sure if they can believe in God. Here is how I responded: you can’t trust someone if you don’t know them.
There is a lot of gold on the internet. And there is a lot of dross! Slowly but surely I’ve kept a list of some of the gold. As they say - just click on the links.
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It was a Buddha’s head that started the thought. The head was in Bunnings ready to receive your newly purchased soil and spring bulbs. Jesus was thoroughly domesticated.
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