To the praise of God’s glory
Dear friends, Like many older people, I often reflect on the shape of the life I have lived. This January is significant for me. It is 40 years since I returned from England to come…
The extraordinary ordinary
In extraordinarily ordinary lives, we live to the praise of God’s glory!!! Dear friends, we tend to look for God’s glory in extraordinary lives, great achievements, significant success in ministry, wonderful progress in church growth,…
A praying church
Dear friends, Here is a vision of a praying church: This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as…
Lift up your eyes
Dear friends, Greetings from Melbourne, where we are still coping with Covid 19 restrictions, and many of us are stressed. What should we do when life and ministry are unpredictable, complicated, stressful, demanding, and exhausting?…
Do you love God? Do you love the Lord Jesus?
Dear friends, When I arrived at St Thomas’ Richmond in December 1967 as a humble theological student to preach my first sermon, to four people, a small girl met me as I got out the…
Introducing a word of encouragement
‘But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our…
Prayer; praise-filled, thanks-filled, trust-filled
Dear friends, I hope you are doing the hard slog of intercessory prayer. I find it so moving that in his letter to the Colossians Paul tells them that he is struggling or wrestling for…
Embrace your suffering
Dear friends; To the horror of our Western world, suffering is a part of life, despite the best contributions of wealth, science, and medicine. And rather than being shielded from all suffering by God’s protection,…
Delighting in weakness
Dear friends, It all came about last Monday because I had prepared a meditation on the cross for the ordinands at Ridley College. I decided to challenge them to reflect on aspects of the cross…