I remember Christmas eve as the peak of childhood excitement. I could say it was about family or feasts or celebrating Jesus’ birth, but the truth is it was all about the anticipation of presents. It was a magical feeling falling asleep on Christmas eve… the scent of Christmas pine, the glow of twinkling lights, the promise of presents. Read the rest of this page »
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The gift of peace with God
Dealing with problems in the church at Corinth
Imagine a high-performance sports team. They’ve got incredible talent—star players with amazing skills, speed, strength, and strategy. But when they hit the field, something’s terribly wrong. The players are arguing over who gets the spotlight, fighting about playing styles, some are living reckless lives off the field that’s dragging the whole team down, and others are showing up in mismatched uniforms, ignoring the coach’s playbook entirely. They’re talented, but they’re fractured—divided, dysfunctional, and far from winning. That’s a picture of the problems in the church in Corinth. Read the rest of this page »
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A great victory
The first cricket test against England finished recently after just two days of play! England batted first and scored 172 runs, which seemed too low. But then Australia only scored 132 runs, giving England a lead of 40 runs on the first innings. In the second innings, England was 1 for 65 (105 runs ahead, with 9 wickets in hand). They would have been feeling confident of winning the game. But then the Australian bowlers took 5 wickets for 23 runs and England scored only 164 in the second innings. This meant that Australia needed to score 205 runs to win, which was higher than all the previous innings. So the English would have still been confident of winning, especially after their fast bowlers had terrorised the Australian batters in the first innings and Khawaja (the Australian opening batter) was injured. So the barmy army of English supporters was in full swing while things were going England’s way. What happened next? Australia was rescued by Travis Head who hit 123 runs off 83 balls! It was an amazing effort. He was a hero and won the game for Australia. And the barmy army were silent. Read the rest of this page »
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Is Genesis 1 liturgy?
Recently I heard a claim that Genesis 1 in the Bible (Appendix A) was an Israelite liturgy like Psalm 136. In Psalm 136 each second line is “His [God’s] love endures forever” (Appendix B). The psalm offers praise to God for His creation of the heavens and earth and His deliverance of Israel out of Egypt and bringing them to settle in Canaan. It was claimed that “And there was evening, and there was morning-the xth day” in Genesis 1 was a repetitive pattern like that in Psalm 136. Read the rest of this page »
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Prophecies about Jesus: His death, burial and resurrection
Mark Taylor (captain of the Australian cricket team, 1994-1999) told Sam Konstas to ditch the ramp shot and go back to basics to force his way back into the (Australian) Test cricket team. The basics are the foundation of whatever you are talking about. Builders know that if the foundation isn’t right, the whole structure will fail. Read the rest of this page »
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A brave rescue!
Last Friday was the 108th anniversary of a brave rescue. On 31 October 1917, the Lighthorse charge at Beersheba in Palestine was ‘The last great cavalry charge in history’. My wife’s grandfather was one of the 800 Australian horsemen that captured Beersheba. Beersheba marks the southern boundary of Israel, often mentioned in the biblical phrase, “from Dan (in the north) to Beersheba (in the south)” (Jud. 20:1; 1 Sam. 3:20; 2 Sam. 3:10; 1 Ki. 4:25). Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived there and Elijah visited when he fled from queen Jezebel. This stunning victory ended the 400-year Turkish rule over the Holy Land and lead to the creation of Israel as a nation once again. It was a brave rescue from Muslim rule. Read the rest of this page »
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Imagine everlasting peace
Do you know that throughout recorded history there has never been a period of complete global peace? Though some consider we have been in a state of “long peace” since the end of WW2 that isn’t the reality for the millions who have lived in Myanmar, Rwanda, Nigeria, Congo, Somalia, Libya, Vietnam, Sudan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Ukraine, Palestine and so many more countries. Read the rest of this page »
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Giving thanks in everything
A prayer at the end of a thanksgiving service for an aged care provider
The Bible says that Christians are to, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Th. 5:18NIV). And those who are filled with God the Holy Spirit will be “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20). We can give thanks in everything because God is in control and He is always with those who trust in Him. That’s why each November we publicly honor God and thank Him for the work done through our organization over the past year. Read the rest of this page »
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The Light Horse charge at Beersheba
The Lighthorse charge at Beersheba on 31 October 1917 is known in military circles as ‘The last great cavalry charge in history’. The stunning victory of the 800 Australian horsemen, together with their New Zealand and British comrades, changed history. Yet in Australia, it is totally overshadowed by the discouraging stories of the losses in Gallipoli and the Western Front. Read the rest of this page »
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Prophecies about Jesus: He would enter Jerusalem on a donkey
There were two donkeys in the field near where we stayed in France recently. They followed people around and liked eating apples.
On the Sunday before He was crucified, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling a predictive prophecy given about 530 years earlier (Zech. 9:9). Read the rest of this page »
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