Posts from February 2014

Posts from February 2014

Light

To say that I was surprised would be an understatement. Flabbergasted, would probably be a better word. Someone had just told me about a person who had asked her pastor about the creation versus evolution debate. He had responded by saying, “We don’t really have to worry about that. All we need to do is trust in Jesus.” Hey, I don’t want to minimise the importance of us trusting in the finished work the Lord Jesus Christ – that was…

The not-so-lucky country

One could be forgiven for taking a somewhat pessimistic view of things here in the land down-under at present.  The State of Victoria has once again been plagued by particularly nasty summer bushfires.  Up here, in our neck of the woods, drought conditions are going hand-in-hand with an escalation of suicides on the farm.  A story doing the rounds at the moment is of the farmer who couldn’t sell his cattle because they were so out-of-condition.  He spent a day…

What if our church burnt down?

If your church burned down what impact would that have?  In a smaller city like Toowoomba the fire might make the headlines in the paper.  For the congregation it would be an inconvenience, as other arrangements would have to be made for worship and other activities.  But hopefully insurance would cover the costs and the congregation might even take on a new lease of life in new, rebuilt facilities.  But what about the impact of such a fire on the…

The mystery of a sermon (3)

A well-known preacher once said in his Sunday sermon, “Every blade of grass is a sermon.”  Some days later a parishioner saw the minister mowing his lawn.  When he turned off the mower to say, “Hello!” the parishioner remarked, “That’s good Pastor, cut your sermons short!” No doubt many a time we’ve wished the preacher would do exactly that.  I recall a fellow student at college who preached for the first time and spoke for over an hour.  The elders…