Good morning church! I am killing two birds with one stone with this email! In a hour or so, I’m heading to parliament with the Micah Women Leader’s delegation to urge our parliamentary leaders to increase the Australian aid to at least 1% of the Federal Budget, so I’m practicing Read more…
A song I have running around and around in my head at the moment is ‘Peace, Salaam, Shalom’ by Pat Humphries and Sandy Opatow of Emma’s Revolution. (You can read the origin story of the song here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FETbuMdnthI) But thinking about that song, and especially about the story of Read more…
I shared this painting with you on Sunday. It is titled ‘David and Uriah’ and was painted c.1666-1669 by the Dutch master, Rembrandt. It captures the traumatic moment in 2 Samuel 11:14 when David signs Uriah’s death warrant and sends it to his general Joab “by the hand of Uriah.” The Read more…
As I promised in the middle of last Sunday’s sermon – here is the last cheeky sign from the new Oxford Terrace Baptist Church in Christchurch, New Zealand. And as I was praying, in our prayers of intercession on Sunday, for the different rooms of our houses – particularly our Read more…
The story we read on Sunday, of David transporting the ark of God to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6), sounds – at times – like a game of hot potato! Having captured the ark of God (1 Samuel 4), the Philistines are soon convinced (1 Samuel 5 and 6) to return Read more…
Dear Friends, Happy NAIDOC Week! On Sunday I mentioned the beautiful resources indigenous Salvation Army officers have prepared to celebrate NAIDOC Week this year, and I wanted to share this video with you – a sermon from Aunty Clare Lena, speaking alongside the Tweed River in Bundjalung Country, on ‘The Read more…
Dear Friends, As I was looking for quotes related to refugees and boats last week, I came across this poem by young Somali-British writer and poet, Warsan Shire. The line that was picked up in my search was: you have to understand,that no one puts their children in a boatunless Read more…
Dear Friends, This week Rudy Prasetya sent me this picture of a mural depicting David and Goliath that he took in Regensburg, Germany. As he says, “the proportions between them seem more accurate!” David and Goliath are a powerful metaphor for the struggles we experience, and thinking about how those Read more…
Dear Friends, It is not often someone shaking the minister’s hand at the door of the church describes the service – excuse the language – as ‘kick-arse’! But that was the case on Sunday! It was a powerful service – hearing from Karen Pack about the damage that is done Read more…
“Everyone is cranky at the moment!” That’s what we’ve been saying in our house this week. It seems patience is just a bit thinner and fuses just a bit shorter than usual. I was looking up the ACT Government Health site to see if the Covid health advice had changed Read more…