Standards of Society

The other day I was talking to my mother-in-law when Home and Away came on the TV. She made the statement that she didn’t like the show any more after having followed it for many years. When I asked her why this was, she said it was because of the introduction of a homosexual relationship involving a female cop and that this program was ‘prime time’ viewing. I want to make this quite clear, I'm not having a go at my Mother-in -Law at all, she is ia an awesome woman who is devoted to God, is community minded and i really admier her for having raised such an awesome daughter who is my wife!




That said, I found her reaction to the issue to be quite surprising considering many of the other social issues and values that Home and Away has touched on in recent years including sexual relationships between heterosexual couples outside of marriage, sexual relations between minors, unfaithfulness in relations, abuse of trust in relationships, overt use of drugs, underage drinking and abuse of alcohol. The actions of the producers and script writers of the show are only embracing issues that are relevant for society today, many of which are against Christian values, yet they reflect society in general.



My question to you is this: Is it right to have such a reaction based on one topic when there are so many other issues that are objectionable, or is it hypocritical in objecting to one thing but not others? Your thoughts?

We Will Remember Them

We Will Remember Them

Lest We Forget

My Great Grandfather, Harry Preston, was an original ANZAC landing at Gallipoli on 28th April 1915. He survived and later went on to the Western Front before returning to Australia.

For the Fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,

England mourns for her dead across the sea.

Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,

Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal

Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,

There is music in the midst of desolation

And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,

Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;

They sit no more at familiar tables of home;

They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;

They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,

Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,

To the innermost heart of their own land they are known

As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,

Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;

As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,

To the end, to the end, they remain.

By Laurence Binyon

From fearless to Frail

At the church that I'm ministering in at present (The Garrison Church, Millers Point) we have a number of Commemorative services each year for various Military groups, mostly from WWII. I dont mind these at all as it is a great opertunity to proclaim the Gospel to people who are drawing to the end of their lives.

Last Sunday was another such service where we had Members of the Australian Army (2nd AIF) 9th Division. Some of their Battlefield Honours include El Alamein, New Guinea, and Borneo, but perhaps their most famous action was holding out against the Germans at the siege of Tobruk in 1941, which erned them the nickname 'Rats of Tobruk'. Click here for more info on the 9th Div.

As I saw these men sitting in church, frail and fatigued with age, then thought of the reputation that they earned as a fierce fighting force, it struck me at how fragile life can be. These Men know that as well having suffered 2,732 killed and 7,501 wounded during the war.

Whilst life will alwas be fragile, we as Christians will always have the hope of Eternal life. We have the promise and see the risen Christ as proof of what we will recive on that great day when Jesus comes again.

Whats so good about Good Friday

As a child, I clearly remember asking my mum “Why is Good Friday called Good Friday?”
After all what’s so good about it!

What is so good when a man is betrayed and abandoned by his friends?

What is so good about when an honest person is found guilty and sentenced to death for telling the truth?

What is so good about the promised king of Israel being beaten & spat upon & mocked by the heavy hand of a foreign army?

What is so good about the future hope of the world being nailed to a crude wooden cross – a device of torture and execution?

What is so good about son of man being laughed at by those he came to save and ridiculed by those beside him who are in the same situation as he?

What is so good about the son of God crying out at the top of his voice “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Jesus – God made flesh – the one who created the universe cries out to the almighty father.

Normally in the Bible, when we hear Jesus speak it’s a great thing. A blind man receives his sight with the words “Be opened”. Another, lame from Birth is able to walk again with.
The disciples’ fears are ceased as Jesus commands the wind to stop and the waves to be stilled.
The sad and lonely are comforted as Jesus calls “Come Out!” and Lazarus walks from the tomb. When we hear Jesus speak, it is normally with power and authority about, but then, we hear the weak, pitiful cry to God. The pain; the agony; the distress; the suffering; ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’

How could a loving father permit this to happen? Why would he allow these wicked men to do this? Why?

Is Jesus not the King of Kings? Is he not the beginning and the end? Listen to these words that his cousin had to say - John 1:27 - "Behold, the Lamb of God”… What a beautiful image, a perfect, peaceful lamb. But John continued - "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”[i]

And there is the answer – sin! Jesus came into the world to take away that sin of the world!
All this pain and suffering happened so that our sin might be removed from us.

Sin you see had to be dealt with. It could not be ignored. Something had to happen. Under the old system of Jewish law, a lamb was sacrificed. The blood of a lamb however is only a temporary measure. It wasn’t the solution, but rather a reminder of the cost of our disobedience. After all, how can the life of an animal be equal that of a human?

In Jesus we find man who was without sin. He lived a life of perfect obedience to God.
And as Jesus hung there on the cross he took our sin upon himself. As Jesus blood flowed from his wounds, we can be washed clean of our sins. Jesus died so that we can be forgiven from our sins and have the opportunity to live in a perfect relationship with God.

In the words of the Prophet Isaiah, speaking 700 years before:
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isa 53:4-5)

It is Friday. We hear the taunts of his own people rejecting him as if they were our own.
On that day, Jesus was crowned King the Roman soldiers placed that crown of thorns on his head. And Jesus wasn’t glorified on a thrown, but rather on that cross. And we see the creator of the universe isolated and forsaken. We hear the confession of the centurion “Surely this man was the son of God”. Darkness surrounds us as his body is laid in the tomb. But do not fear; it is all going according to plan.
On Sunday we will see the victory over death! On Sunday we will see the proof that our sin is conquered and we can be reconciled to God!
It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming![ii]

[i] Max Lucado, And the Angels Were Silent, Multnomah Press (Portland1992).

[ii] Lyrics: Tree 63, Sunday, Sunday 2007 Inpop Records.

pumped for Good Friday

I've just finished my talk for church tomorrow - its a 7 min talk on the crucifxion of Jesus.

It really started me thinking about Easter, Good Friday and how important it is for our faith as Christians.

So yeah, i'm lookin forward to doin this talk tomorrow & keep en eye out here for it as i will probably post it sometime within the next 24 hours or so.

I'm also lookin forward to watching the John Dickson Doco on chanel 7, April 10 (Good Friday) 1 pm.

Reflections on Mission

So I've been hanging out on mission all of last week then all of a sudden its over and I've got all these thoughts & ideas running round in my head. This year was my second MTC mission and I'd be happy to say that it was the better of the 2 that I've been on. This is why:

Partnership with the church:
This year we had 2 members of the local church give up holidays and get involved with our ministry to the local community as well as a few who did things every now and then - for me, this was a great encouragement as it really felt like we were partnering with the church.

Pushed me out of my comfort zone:
Last year was fairly easy - I did a lot of school scripture and the only 'difficult' thing for me to do was a short talk at the local skate park. This year i knocked on doors of complete strangers & had people reject the Gospel in not uncertain terms.

Organising Kids group:By complete accident i volunteered to look after organising the Thursday arvo kids club. I don't think I'm gifted and certainly don't feel keen on kids ministry, yet things came together really well and the leader of the kids club thought we had done pretty well!

I cant wait to see how i will be challenged next year on MTC mission #3!