Weekly Bible Reflection

In the midst of the uncertainties and fears of the world around us, it’s worth pausing and reflecting on those all too rare moments when we experience a deep longing that we know nothing on earth can satisfy. We might experience such moments when our hearts are lifted...

During this Easter Season we have been touching on the reality of life and death. Three years ago I observed that Eugene Ionesco’s, Exit the King is a clever play about life and death. Reportedly the Romanian-French Ionesco who died in 1994, said about the play: I...

Writing in The Australian last year (April 23, 2024), Dr Greg Sheridan observed, ‘Politics, as they say is downstream of culture, and culture is downstream of faith. Having lost faith in any transcendental truth, the West now is in a permanent crisis of meaning, which...

The death of Pope Francis has attracted wide media attention with numerous outlets having representatives in Rome commentating on the events. Of the many reports one in particular caught my attention. A reporter commented that the Pope’s body was being laid to rest...

In The Return of the King, the 3rd volume in The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkein portrays the struggles Frodo and Samwise Gamgee faced on the final stretch of their perilous journey to Mt Doom. Utterly exhausted, Frodo is barely able to press on. Sam, despairing of...

The story is told of an Easter dawn in a Russian prison camp in the days of the USSR. A voice called out, ‘Christ is risen!’ and, despite the command for silence, a chorus of voices responded, ‘He is risen indeed!’ The events of the first Easter Day awakened the world...

A Maundy Thursday / Good Friday Reflection Why is it, that despite all the hopes and dreams of the world becoming a better place, wars, injustice and poverty continue? Why, two millennia ago, did Jesus of Nazareth die – the most unjust conviction ever? He lived a life...

GK Chesterton once observed, “On five occasions in history the church has gone to the dogs, but on each occasion it was the dogs who died”. With the 40million Americans who have stopped attending church over the last twenty-five years, Chesterton may well have...

I have a question: What do you think of prayer? When you pray, do you pray with purpose and confidence? I ask this because prayer is integral to our partnership with the Lord – and not least in our gospel promotion. In Luke chapter 9 we read that Jesus sent out the...

In the light of Dr. George Barna’s Reports in February and March this year, I am touching on Bible references that have been foundational and inspirational for me. The Barna Report in February revealed, “that while 71% of adults” (in America) “believe in the existence...

In a report released this week, Dr George Barna wrote that ‘Americans are increasingly minimizing the role and influence of God in their lives—with a minority of only 40% who believe He exists or influences human lives. ‘As a result, fewer American adults put God at...

It’s often said, we have only one life to live! We need to live it well.’ How many people really believe this? Most people have a sneaking suspicion that there is more to life – that death is not the end of our existence. C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity commented, If...

No-one likes a hypocrite – someone who says one thing and does another. I’m not talking about times when we fall short of the Lord’s expectations of us. I’m referring to the general disposition of someone whose professed faith is hollow. A hypocrite – an English word...

HG Wells, historian and author of The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds responded to a request from The American Magazine in July 1922, to identify the six most influential people in history. “I am an historian,” he said. “I am not a believer, but I must confess...

Last week a good friend of mine went to be with the Lord. In a final conversation with him – in this world – one of the things we talked about was the hope we have in God whose loving action led to Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus’ death is reckoned to be foolishness by the...

As The Lord’s Supper is often confusing, let me step aside from my usual practice of providing a Bible reflection and make a few remarks about key themes that were crafted by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1533-1556. Cranmer was used by God to re-form the...

The late afternoon storms last Tuesday afternoon (Australian Eastern Summer Time) brought down a huge neigbouring tree on to the Cammeray Church site – one of two church properties where I am part-time interim senior minister. No one was harmed – for which we thank...

With the elections in the UK and the US last year and upcoming elections in other democracies we wonder about the future. Good and upright leaders are rare. Indeed, while every election shows that no leader is perfect, most people long for someone who will use their...