A shed in Yatala in SE Queensland seems like an unlikely place from which greatness can grow. And yet it has. 3 women Aussie boxers are now world title contenders. The shed in Yatala and the seed in the Kingdom of Heaven have a lot in common.
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Taylor Sheridan of Yellowstone fame is carving up our screens. I recently devoured the blood soaked Western 1883. Here's my reflections on it. This reflection is 100% spoiler because of the story telling arc of 1883 and the message behind it: freedom.
The world seems more dangerous than ever. One thing we can do is pray. This is a short and simple prayer.
There are two different ways of thinking about God (primarily). One of them is 100% wrong. That’s the bad news. But the good news is that the other is 100% correct. Understand these two different ways and you have the key to understanding God, the great news of Jesus and the Bible.
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If you’re a Christian believer or a mission organisation, how do you evaluate risk? Or put another way, do you have a theology of risk?
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Deuteronomy is God’s living word given to us so that we might know God’s grace and love for his people. Read on to discover some of the key ideas and the structure of Deuteronomy. May this help you discover and read Deuteronomy.
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A really simple key to reading the Bible is to notice what the writer repeats. You’ll learn a lot more from this than from verses of the day or from a Bible streak on an app that throws up random verses each morning.
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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Does Jesus have the right to rule?
I recently watched the new movie about Henry 5th – The King. He is a young King who wants to unite England under his rule. One of the key questions threaded through the movie is – does he have what it takes to rule? Can be bring the people of England together under his rule and what will it take?
Jesus says he is bringing the Kingdom of God. Does he have the right to rule? Mark’s Gospel answers this question.
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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In my life the Bible has been a bright light shining in a dark world. It has been a living word in which I’ve heard the very voice of God. Now, many might recoil at this wild and dangerous assertion by a church pastor. So let me show you that this wild and dangerous assertion is made by the Bible itself.
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Read and apply these principles and your understanding of God’s word, the Bible, will be transformed.
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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