Episode

“Finally,” Paul says in Philippians chapter 3, “Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord!” It’s a very appropriate verse for today, isn’t it! Today we are rejoicing in the Lord! We are rejoicing in the baptisms of Maddie and James and the reminder, for many of us, of Read more…

One of my joys in this series on Philippians – and joy – has been receiving an enthusiastic email from John Morrison telling me he preached a similar series at Wellington Baptist and attaching the annotated (as only John would!) list of jokes he used! Though he added, “I am Read more…

Did you see the story on the news this week about Australia’s oldest man, Ken Weeks, celebrating his 110th birthday? There was a party in his aged care home in Grafton and he received a letter of congratulations from the king, though that seemed standard fare. “On my 100th birthday,” Read more…

Pray with Joy – Philippians 1:1-11 At this time of year, the lectionary (the 3-year cycle of readings that many churches follow) focuses on one of Paul’s letters to the early church. Two years ago, we looked at Ephesians. Last year, Colossians, and today we are starting a six-week series Read more…

Don’t waste a fight – Romans 13:8-10, Matthew 18:15-20 I may have given my punchline away with this image, but many years ago Aron and I attended a series of marriage enrichment dinners at our church (not this church) and we invited some friends – a couple many of you Read more…

The flame of love – Psalm 26:1-8, Romans 12:9-21 It was wonderful this week to spend time with other central city Baptist pastors – from Adelaide, Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney and Wellington, New Zealand – and to have the opportunity to preach at Collins Street last Sunday. Collins Street send greetings Read more…

Skinny cows – Genesis 45:1-15, Psalm 133 The story of Joseph makes up most of the last part of Genesis, from chapter 37, our reading last Sunday, to chapter 50, the end of the book, and our reading today, Gensis 45, is the climax of that story – which as Read more…

Dream us forward – Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 I’ve discovered that Google (or whatever search engine you use) can pretty much replace Joseph and his famous ability to interpret dreams. This week I had a dream that the ground floor of my house was much larger than I had thought, and Read more…

Don’t let go – Gen 32:22-31 and Psalm 17:1-7, 15 I re-read this week a Tim Winton short story from his 2016 book, The Boy Behind the Curtin. It’s the autobiographical short story about growing up in the Churches of Christ in the 60s and 70’s, and about his journey Read more…

But wait there’s more – Matthew 13:31-32, Ezekiel 17:22-24 At the end of Matthew chapter 13, in the space of just nine verses, Jesus tells five parables – short, sharp, evocative parables – that reveal, to stick with seeds theme, kernels of truth about the kingdom of God – about Read more…