Previous month:
April 2009
Next month:
June 2009

The Story of Stuff

Click here to visit an interesting web site called The Story of Stuff. Click play, then sit back and watch a 20-minute engaging, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our world's production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. Watching this is definitely worth your time. It will teach you something, it will make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life... Read more →


Global Issues

This last weekend we began our annual World Impact week where we take time as a church community to focus on our calling and mission to impact nations. Have you taken time recently to think about how things are going in our global village? If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of exactly 100 people it would look like this: 1 of the villagers would have a college/university education 1 of the villagers would own a computer 70 villagers would be unable to read 20 of the villagers would earn more than 12,000 AUD a year 80... Read more →


When Being Cool Hinders Ministry

Craig Groeschel is the senior pastor of lifechurch.tv in the USA. I had the privilege of speaking at a conference with him in Chicago a few years ago. I love his heart and spirit. His church is setting an example in the free sharing of resources for the wider church. Craig's recent article entitled 'Cool is No Longer Cool' posted on his blog is very good. It highlights the need for us to always avoid allowing style to replace substance or hype to replace the Holy Spirit. Read more →


Money-Wise: Principles of Financial Management from Proverbs (Pt.2)

Here are three more principles ... 4. Say “No” to Debt. Proverbs has much to say about avoiding debt. Debt puts a person in bondage and enslaves a person to their creditor (Prov.22:7). Advertising endeavours to make people unhappy with what they have now so that they buy something new or better. This often leads to impulse buying or the purchase of things that are not really needed. Society encourages people to go into debt and tries to make it as easy as possible. Debt can put a person under great pressure as a person which can destroys their peace... Read more →


Money-Wise: Principles of Financial Management from Proverbs (Pt.1)

The book of Proverbs contains some excellent wisdom for managing your finances. Proverbs are not absolute rules for life but rather they are general principles that usually lead to a blessed and happy life. Here are six principles that I gleaned from my reading ... 1. Live a Righteous Life. Wisdom teaches that God watches over those who are righteous and who walk before him in integrity (Prov.13:25; 22:4; 10:22). This does not mean that the righteous will never experience poverty, adversity or suffering (e.g. Job). Life may appear to be unfair at times, especially when righteous people are poor... Read more →


An Interview with Rick Warren

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in California, was recently named by TIME magazine as one of the Top 100 influential people in the world today. Rick is the author of the best-selling book 'The Purpose Driven Life' and was also asked to pray at President Obama's recent inauguration. Below is a transcript of a recent interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren. He has some insightful things to say. In the interview, Rick said: "People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last... Read more →


Australian Federal Charter of Rights

The Commonwealth Government is examining the proposed introduction of a Federal “Charter Of Human Rights” and has appointed Fr. Frank Brennan as Chairperson along with Mary Kostakidis, Mick Palmer and Tammy Williams. They have been tasked with asking the following questions and reporting to the Government. Which human rights and responsibilities should be protected and promoted? Are human rights sufficiently protected and promoted? How could Australia better protect and promote human rights? Many Christians are concerned that such a Charter could limit Christian freedom. As a service to the Christian community, a special event has been organised for those who... Read more →


Coffee with ...

Looking for a great gift for a book-loving friend? Looking for some short interesting books for your own reading? A while back I was given a few cool little books called 'Coffee with ...' (there are 14 books in the series so far). Each book is a fictional dramatic dialogue with a well-known person based on biographical facts. They are written by experts on that particular person. It's a fun way to have a relaxed chat with some amazing people and get inside their world a little. This week I read 'Coffee with Plato', 'Coffee with Michelangelo', and 'Coffee with... Read more →


Some More Favourite Proverbs

Okay, so I have to have 31 favourite Proverbs. What are yours? Here are my final eleven: Prov 19:2. Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes. Prov 19:3. People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord. Prov 20:4. Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest. Prov 21:5. Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. Prov 21:23. Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble. Prov 22:1. Choose a... Read more →


More Favourite Proverbs

How are you enjoying the book of Proverbs? I have more favourite Proverbs ... Here are another ten: Prov 15:33. The fear of the Lord teaches wisdom; humility precedes honor. Prov 16:3. Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. Prov 16:32. Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city. Prov 17:17. A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. Prov 17:22. A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength. Prov 17:27. A truly wise person... Read more →


My Favourite Proverbs

Our church family is reading through the book of Proverbs this month - a proverb a day. For some thoughts on Bible reading, click here and here. Click here for some links to some terrific resources for your Bible reading from our church's web site. Want to know more about Bible translations? Click here. Bible software? Click here. As we're reading through the book of Proverbs this month, I thought I'd share a few of my favourites (all from the New Living Translation): Prov 3:5-6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.... Read more →


Proverbs: Wisdom for Life

As a teenager growing up I read the book of Proverbs through about 20 times in a period of a few years. The way I did this was to read a Proverb a day according to the date of the month. I sure gained a lot of wisdom for life through my reading and reflection. I learned about important things such as the importance of words, diligent work, handling temptation, anger, financial management, successful relationships and lots more. During the month of May, which starts today, our church family will be doing the same – reading through the book of... Read more →