Learning to follow Jesus in 21st Century Australia
A long-standing tradition in a lot of church communities is the shared lunch. Many of us will remember halls full of people with long tables overflowing with casseroles, sandwiches, and homemade pies, pasties and sausage rolls, followed by delicious cakes, slices and cream-filled desserts. They were times when people would connect, talk about their lives... Continue Reading →
Jesus was associating with the wrong kind of people. In ancient Judea, people assumed that religious teachers would spend their time with followers who obeyed their religious traditions and held to high moral standards. They expected people who knew and taught God’s word to mix with people who knew the ways God wants people to... Continue Reading →
In our Bible readings over the last couple of weeks, we have been hearing Jesus promise his disciples to send them the Holy Spirit. Two weeks ago, in John 14:15-21 Jesus told them, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit,... Continue Reading →
There are a lot of movies and television shows set in courtrooms. For example, classic movies such as To Kill a Mockingbird and Twelve Angry Men all include a courtroom scene. More modern courtroom movies include A Few Good Men, My Cousin Vinny, Primal Fear, Legally Blonde, Big Daddy, just about anything by John Grisham,... Continue Reading →
Many of us might be able to understand what Jesus’ disciples were thinking in the opening verses of this week’s Gospel reading, Luke 21:5-19. They were walking with Jesus through the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, pointing out and marvelling at its ‘majestic stonework … and the memorial decorations on the walls’ (v5 NLT). Instead of... Continue Reading →
Just over a week ago some of the primary-school aged young people from our church were involved in their school’s concert. They did an amazing job showing incredible dance skills to songs from a range of popular musicals. Each part of the performance was received with massive applause from a packed theatre full of relatives... Continue Reading →
This Sunday St Peter’s is celebrating the 125th anniversary of their church building. For one hundred and twenty-five years God’s people have gathered in that place to hear the good news of Jesus, to welcome people into the family of God through baptism, and to receive the body and blood of our crucified and risen... Continue Reading →
Most people like to place a mat at their front door for visitors to wipe their feet, so they don’t bring dirt or mud into their home. These doormats can have a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colours and materials to enhance the appearance of a home or reflect the personality of the people who... Continue Reading →
Every day we are surrounded by words. Almost from the moment we wake up in the morning until we go to bed at night, there are people talking to us or asking things of us, media of various forms bombarding us with messages, signs telling us what to do, which way to go, or what... Continue Reading →
Whenever we look at another person or a group of people, we can see them in different ways. For example, we might see a group of supporters for a sporting team in a positive way, such as people who share our passion for a sport or club, or more negatively, even maybe as the enemy,... Continue Reading →
Pastor Eugene Online 