Tag: god
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God the Father – 1 John 3:1-3
Before you were,before there was a you to be held or known,Love was already moving—circling in light,whirling in joy. The Father has always loved the Son.The Son has always delighted in the Father.And the Spirit breathes that loveback and forth between them—unbroken, unbound,a circle never closed to outsiders. He is not like your father—unless your…
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Not Just Morality
We went to Sunday School when I was a kid. Most weeks. But we never went to church. Not even at Christmas or Easter. At the time, I didn’t think it was odd. A lot of Australian families I knew did the same. I think my parents thought Sunday School gave us something. A kind…
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Overflow – Mark 1:9-13
A Sermon on the Holy Trinity We say:three persons,one God.And already our minds flinchlike startled birds. It is not easy—but it is true. The preacher might jokeabout coming down with influenzarather than preach this mystery.But still—here we are,looking into the cockpit,lights blinking,dials glowing,a thousand unseen systemsmaking flight possiblethis doctrine is the cockpit. This doctrine is…
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To Be With Me Where I Am – John 17
The world keeps score.Finland, for seven years, sits at the topof happiness rankings—clean air, quiet lakes, long days.Australia is close, they say.But we know better.We who live saturated lives,bright with choices,but dimmed at the edgesby a restlessness we cannot name. Where is the joy the Bible speaks of?Where is the peace that surpasses?We scroll. We…
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To Walk With God – Leviticus 26
He is not silent.He is not distant.He is the Onewho split the sea,who broke the yoke,who carried you out of Egyptwhen your arms were too weak to lift. You didn’t earn rescue.You were just there—and he came. Forty-nine timeshis name pulses through Leviticus:I am the Lord.This is not legislation for its own sake.It is the…
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Worried About the Future, Anchored in Hope
What am I most worried about for the future? At the moment, it’s the rise of autocratic leaders in various parts of the world. That’s what keeps pressing on my mind. The ease with which power consolidates around a single figure. The dismantling of institutions that were meant to outlast any one person. The echo…
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The Jubilee – Leviticus 25
This is an odd book for us in 2025—regulations, rhythms, sabbaths, soil—but liberty is etchedon the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia:“Proclaim liberty throughout the landto all its inhabitants.”Leviticus, of all things. We want to be free.God wants it more.He etched freedom into the calendar—every fiftieth year,a holy reset,a factory restorefor a fractured world. Imagine Sarah,her cupboards…
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Not What I Expected: On Spirituality, Surprise, and the Shape of Faith
Spirituality is very important in my life. That probably sounds predictable—I’m a minister, after all, and have spent my entire adult life in one form of ministry or another. You’d expect spirituality to be central to me. But the truth is, I didn’t grow up in a particularly spiritual household. Ours was a solid, reliable,…
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Set Apart: A Candle in Leipzig – Leviticus 21
In Leipzig, the pews whispered fear.But Christian Fuhreropened the church anyway.He expected ten.One hundred came.He read the Sermon on the Mount alouduntil it filled the arches like wind.Stasi eyes stared from the pews.The state said no god but power.By year eight—seventy thousand candlesglowed against tanks and roadblocks.They walked the streets with light in hand.No rocks.No…
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Under Renovation – Leviticus 18–20
Jesusmoved into the houseI barely cleaned. He started in the living room—gentle with my excuses,quietly moving the clutterthat I’d convinced myselfwas furniture. He opened the doorsI’d kept sealed for years.Even the one I’d labelledDo Not Enter: Shame Inside.And he did not flinch. This house—my life—is under renovation.Room by room.Corner by corner.No part off-limits. He is…
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Before the Days Draw Near
A reflection written for Robert Menzies College, Valedictory Dinner 2024 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth—when light poured freely, even in early mornings,and the world felt carved just for you,like soft clay in young hands. Before the hard questions come,before the weight of wondering presses in,find joy in laughter echoing down long…
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Unsettling Gifts: Three Books That Shifted My Ground
Some books entertain. Others inform. And then there are the ones that rearrange the furniture of your mind. These three books didn’t just give me new ideas; they unsettled me in the best possible way—disrupting old assumptions and making space for a truer way to see the world and live within it. 1. The Grapes…
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Clean – Leviticus 12–15
We don’t preach these chapters.Rashes, discharges, childbirth blood—who puts that in a sermon series?It’s gross.It’s weird.It feels irrelevant—until BBQ Man got sick. He just wanted a snag with friends.Went to the movies,BBQs Galore,the butcher—and then the city shut its doors.Unclean, they said.If you’ve been where he’s been,stay home.Don’t touch.Don’t come near. And suddenly, Leviticus makes…
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Loss, Yearning, Transcendence
“Religion is spirituality with rigour,” Nick Cave says, half-laughing, half-serious. But beneath the quip lies a depth of insight that names something essential: that the spiritual life is not only about yearning, but about consenting to be shaped by the weight of that yearning. In a world often suspicious of structure and reverence, religion can…
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Compelling
I wouldn’t say I’m religious—at least not in the way people usually mean it. If someone asks, “Do you practice religion?” my answer is yes and no. Yes, because I’m a Christian.No, because I’m not drawn to religious routine or ceremony for its own sake. I go to church every week—not because I’m especially fond…
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Fit for the Feast – Leviticus 11
How can we be fitfor God? Exercise?Healthy food?That’s part of it.But our bodiesare more than that.They are temples,sanctuaries where the Spirithas taken up residence.They’re not our own—they’re made to honour God. Leviticus—pages of blood and fire,priests anointedlike lanterns for the people.Then, chapter eleven:camel, rabbit, pig—off the menu.Clawed birds and scale-less fish—off the table. Why?Not because…
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Strange Fire – Leviticus 10:1–3
Some jobs are really importantbut not very dangerous—teachers with whiteboard pens.Some are dangerous,but don’t seem to matter much—sword-swallowers in shows no one remembers. But then, some are both:like those who run toward burning buildings,those who take a bulletto protect another’s life. And priests.Ancient priests.Their job:Vital.Holy.Dangerous. Set apart—washed with water,dressed in garments too sacredfor an ordinary…
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There Is Freedom and Then There Is Freedom
In a world that worships the self, Augustine’s Confessions reads like a heresy. Where our age insists, “Be true to yourself,” Augustine responds, “But what if I don’t know who that is?” We often link freedom with the power to choose—what we eat, where we live, how we present ourselves to the world. Desire becomes…
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Joyful Surrender – Leviticus 1–3
This is the part of the Biblewhere people give up—and rightly so.Bulls and birds, blood and fire,a wilderness of rules and ritualfar from the songs we sing. But stop—breathe in the smoke.Smell the grain, the roasted meat.Feel the weight of handson a creature’s head,its life for yours. We surrender things all the time—degrees, careers, our…
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Something to Do, Someone to Love, Something to Look Forward To
Purpose is the why behind what we do—our deeper motivation. Direction is the how—the path we take to express that purpose in action. Without purpose, our steps may be aimless. Without direction, even purposeful intent can wander. Together, they form a compass and a road. For me, direction in life flows from a conviction that…
The Afterword 