Tammy Wynette may have thought that sometimes it’s hard to be a woman but these days I’m convinced that sometimes it’s hard to be a Christian. When life is going well, when there’s money in the bank, food in the cupboard and toilet roll in the bathroom cupboard it’s easy to thank God for all…
DetailsEaster is going to be very different this year. If we are honest, life in Australia has been pretty comfortable. We live in a safe society where we have freedom to meet, to worship. We can do pretty much as please. We have access to shops with plenty of stock and we know there is…
DetailsPalm Sunday marks the celebration of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. By all the accounts we have, it is a scene of unbridled celebration and joy. Jesus is being welcomed into the capital city both as a king and Messiah. There’s a wild display of national affection and religious fervour. It’s kind of like the…
DetailsThere is no doubt that we are living in a very different world today than from even a few weeks ago. The impact of the corona virus is evident in our everyday life. Every day we hear of more infections, more deaths and more restrictions that are placed upon us in an effort to halt…
DetailsWeek two of Lent has us considering the grace of God. In our first reading today, we look at the original example, the call of Abraham. We regard Abraham, quite rightly, as the father of our faith. But with this view of him, it’s easy to overlook the fact that when he was called, Abraham…
DetailsOscar Wilde reckoned he could resist anything except temptation. We are now in Lent, this period of forty days that reflect the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted and tested. It’s a time when the church prepares for Easter by engaging in a time of self-reflection and we begin this week by…
DetailsIn the Shakespeare play, “Twelfth Night”, a young woman, Viola, is shipwrecked and disguises herself as a man in order to enter into the service of the Duke of Orsino. The Duke despatches Viola, now disguised as a man, to the woman the Duke loves, Olivia, in order to convince Olivia of the Duke’s love…
Details“Where sits our sullen, sulky dame, gathering her brows like a gathering storm, nursing her wrath to keep it warm” Robert Burns, “Tam O’Shanter” (1790) It’s a powerful image that Burns creates here. A wife waiting up late at night for the return of her drunken husband in order to give him a piece of…
DetailsDespite eating thousands of carrots over the course of my lifetime, I still cannot see in the dark. It turns out that I need some sort of light to see where I am going and where things are. My ankles, knees and furniture can attest to this truth whenever I get up in the middle…
DetailsOne of the things you cannot escape these days is advertising. It’s on our TV’s newspapers, online news feeds and is even slipped into our subconscious thoughts through product placement. Most adverts follow a similar line of thought, that you are fortunate if you use this product. Or, alternatively, if you don’t use this product,…
DetailsOne of the things I can tell you about myself with absolute certainty is that I am an extremely consistent fisherman. Whether it’s fly fishing on rivers and reservoirs or sea fishing from a boat, a jetty or from the beach makes no difference at all. Even fishing from the bank of a river produces…
DetailsImagine that were two people who attended a church. Person A came every week and always attended special services. They knew the creeds and could refer you to a bible quotation for a given situation. They could recite the beatitudes and the ten commandments without error. They read about theology extensively and demonstrated a sound…
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