Refresh: Redeeming Work – Job, Career or Calling
As AI gallops forward, many are wondering about the future of work, and there are many unknowns. This Refresh post originally appeared in Aug 2016, and explores the difference between job, career and calling through a biblical lens. I think it remains relevant in the important conversation which is starting to emerge. Refresh: Redeeming Work – Job, Career or Calling A significant portion of our life is engaged in ensuring that we have a roof over our head and food on the table. Some of us are able to work in such a way that life’s basic needs are just taken care of, for others...
Read MoreWhen Life is Like an Egg… and When it Isn’t.
Not all images work. I wasn’t at all sure that this one would. The speaker was likening life to an egg – not a hard boiled one, long dead and simply waiting to be eaten, but one of those with a fledgling chick inside. As the young bird attempts to come out, it pecks away at the shell from the inside. Recognising how tough the task is, you might well be tempted to lend a hand and give the shell a little tap to break it open and hasten the birds release. Apparently that’s a big no no. If you do, you have almost certainly sealed the chicks fate. There is something about it...
Read MoreRefresh: When Faith is Aspirational…
The old quip goes, “When all is said and done, far more is said than done.” It’s true. sometimes it works that way in faith as well. We claim huge things… we are set to change the world. But back at the ranch things are a little different. Sometimes faith is more about our aspirations than the reality. What happens then? This refresh post from August 2022 explores this dilemma. Refresh: When Faith is Aspirational… Have you ever asked if we do what we believe, believe what we do, or sit in an uncomfortable space of a bit of both, with belief and action sometimes...
Read MoreOn Turning 68: A bit of an Update…
If you are reading this on the date of its first appearance, 13 July 2025, it’s my birthday. Happy birthday me – all 68 years of me! While 68 is in many ways an annoying age, marking no special milestone (it’s not a zero birthday nor even a “last year in your 60’s” birthday) it feels a little bit special if only because of some recent changes in my life. “What are they?” you ask, while perhaps assuming I will announce the big ‘R’ word. No, it’s not retire, but here are some of the changes… After finishing my 17 year...
Read MoreRefresh: Can Good Come from Conflict? Listening for the Spirit’s voice
Today’s Refresh is a lightly edited version of a sermon I have often preached. I wish the topic had faded into irrelevance, but it hasn’t. How do we find what God is saying to us when we are in battle with one another. Though times and examples change (and this first appeared in 2015), I hope some of the principles are helpful. Refresh: Can Good Come from Conflict? Listening for the Spirit’s Voice. Most of my sermons only get preached once. They serve a particular purpose, and while I file them away, hopeful that they will prove useful on another day, most of them never...
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