Refresh: Things that get in the way…
This is the 10th year this blog has been operating. There have been over 500 posts along the way. I always encourage readers to repost and republish if they find the material useful, and recently stumbled upon a website that had done just that. I vaguely remembered writing the post about 3 years ago, and as I skimmed through it thought, “Gosh, this is actually rather good! Definitely worth thinking about.” The trouble with that post, and many others like it, is that it is now buried amongst 500 others. That’s when I came up with a new plan. How about every Wednesday I do a...
Read MoreWhen family fails…
At Carey we recently finished a preaching series on the life of David – author of so many of the Psalms, and Israel’s most successful king. One of my topics was the family life of David – notable largely for its failure. As a fair few people found my reflections on the topic helpful, I decided to post my sermon notes on the blog. Perhaps the messiness of David’s situation might, in some round about way, be helpful for you… Don’t know if you had any imaginative dreams during your childhood. In my fantasy moments I would imagine that I had been born a prince – and...
Read MoreWhy the angels sang…
With the Advent season officially upon us, I thought it would be worth turning our thoughts towards Christmas. In an Advent message a few years ago I asked the question if the angels were right to sing a song of joy the night Jesus was born. Would a dirge not have been more appropriate given the shameful response Jesus met with? Here are some of the things I said… When at high school I was the chairman of the school debating team. I quickly learnt that there were two sides to just about any argument, and that it didn’t really matter if we were asked to propose or oppose a motion. There...
Read MoreWhen weak is strong…
At Carey we are running a series on emotionally healthy spirituality based on Peter Scazzero’s book of that title. It was my turn to speak this week, and I looked at his chapter on hitting the wall. The message was based on 2Cor 12:1-10 and focused on the Pauline paradox in 2 Cor 12:10 For when I am weak, then I am strong. Clearly this flies in the face of conventional wisdom. Here are the notes I spoke from… You’ve probably heard the Mae West quip: “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. Rich is better.” How would you complete this one? I’ve been strong and I’ve been weak… It’s a...
Read MoreFaith, Forgetting and Fruitfulness: Reflections on Genesis 41
I was preaching on Genesis 41 yesterday. As I don’t expect you to be able to rattle off what that chapter is about, let me refresh your memory. Genesis 37 tells us that a 17 year old Joseph had a dream in which he saw his brothers bowing down to him. Offended by the arrogance of this dream, and by Joseph’s status as his father Jacob’s favourite son, his brothers have him sold into slavery in Egypt. Purchased By Potiphar, he impresses in his new status and is left in charge of Potiphar’s household. For a while things turn out not too badly for Joseph, but then...
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