The refugee, my housemate: On opening our hearts…
Vose student Alan McGrechan recently shared something of his story at a chapel service… And what a story it is – of cultural readjustment to Australia after his time in Mozambique, of loss of purpose and confidence, and then of finding new challenge and meaning in opening his heart and life to others, others who in this case were Afghani asylum seekers. I find it inspiring, and I am sure you will to… It fits seamlessly into our current series on ethics, ‘Deciding what’s right…’ Currently I live in Midland with sixteen other people in a shared house...
Read MoreSome blogs worth looking at…
I had a preaching free Sunday, so no sermon notes today, but instead I thought I would point you to some blogs I think are worth looking at. In my opinion, the gold standard is undoubtedly Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed. Most often there are 4 posts per day (no idea how he manages that – though he is not the sole author), and whilst topics are largely theological in nature, the overall coverage is broad and always interesting. At times it is fairly specialized, but most are accessible to anyone ready for a theology 101 course. Comments (which usually flow thick and fast) reflect a...
Read MoreTo Strive for Great Things: Is Ambition OK?
J. Oswald Sanders starts his classic book Spiritual Leadership by contrasting 1 Tim 3:1 To aspire to leadership is an honourable ambition with Jeremiah 45:5 Are you seeking great things for yourself? Seek them not. There is a creative tension between the two sentiments. Is there a place in the life of a Christ follower for ambition? If you listen to some worship songs, or pay attention to the names of many Christian groups, ambition seems the new norm. We are going to be planet shakers and kingdom builders and our lives are going to count like no other has. Our church will be the centre from...
Read MoreThe Blog: Some Notes and News…
It has been great to see the increase in traffic to the blog. Each week it has been hitting new highs. It’s been going a little over a month and is currently just short of 5 000 page visits from more than 2500 visitors from 58 countries – a few of which I had never heard of before and have had to look up on the map. Wherever you are from, welcome. Some bits and pieces First, why the blog? I’d like to help further a thoughtful Christian faith. Roughly a thousand years ago St Anselm spoke of ‘faith seeking understanding’. This blog is a tiny contribution to that...
Read MoreThe Reason for the ‘Go…’: Reflections on Matt 28:16-20
Several people said they found the sermon notes from last week Is Cross Carrying Passe helpful. So I thought I’d post this weeks notes as well. This is the message I preached at Carey Baptist Church, Perth, today. As always, feel free to use them any way you find helpful. If you pass them on, it is always nice if you credit the source as brianharrisauthor.com In this series we have been asking the question, ‘Why Jesus?’ – but now we finish on a slightly different note. ‘If it is Jesus – so what? What difference should that make in my life, and how should it impact what I do.’ The last...
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