Revelation | So much better than you think!

Revelation can be read to judge and exclude … but what if it’s not like that at all? Listen here. A reflection on Revelation 6:1-8:1 given to the Vietnamese Evangelical Church of Australia (English language service) on 28 July 2024.

A couple years ago, I met a young woman on a train. I was quietly reading my Bible, trying to be discreet, but she noticed and began asking questions. Gradually our conversation unfolded, and what I learned was this: She was South Sudanese. Her family had fled that long and terrible war, and eventually found asylum in Australia.

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Samuel | Joining the sacred dance

The dance of the liturgy heals and transforms us: but to receive its gifts, we must participate. Listen here.

One of my happiest childhood memories were church barn dances. Once or twice a year on a Saturday night, we’d gather in the hall with a dance caller and bush band, and off we’d go with a do-se-do and twirl your partner! People of all ages skipped and galloped, wove and spun, stumbling and laughing and moving down the reel.

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John | God’s dwelling place

A reflection given to Canterbury Baptist Church on 7 July 2024. This congregation is facing a move, as their property is about to undergo a major redevelopment. And while there will be much to gain (don’t even mention the toilets), there will also be a great deal of loss. Given all this, I reflected on the theme of God’s dwelling place. Listen here.

Where does God live? What does God’s house look like? Does God live at church? These are big questions often asked by small people, but I wish more big people would ask them. Because I reckon many big people haven’t really worked out the answers, even though the questions have been floating around for thousands of years.

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Mark | How Satan casts out Satan

When Satan casts out Satan, he grows stronger: but in Christ we can unmask and bind him. A reflection on Mark 3:20-35 given to Westgate Baptist Community Church on 9 June 2024. Listen here.

I have a beloved friend whose church said she had a demon, and so they tried to bind and exorcise it. In the name of Christ, they said, she must be straight, yet over the days and years of fasting and praying and shouting and weeping they utterly failed to cast the demon out.

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God’s bigger picture or, How to read your Bible

As followers of Jesus, we must always interpret scripture through his lens. A response to God’s Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts, given to West Preston Baptist Church on 12 May 2024. You can also watch it here.

So I was out walking with my fifteen-year-old one dark night, when this guy got out of a car parked in the shadows and made a beeline for us. Naturally I thought, ‘A weirdo, oh help!’ Then a voice said, ‘Ali? Ali, is that you?’ and I realised it was your minister.

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Malachi | Wholehearted worship, overflowing life

Who pays for a Big Build, and what does it really cost? Or, what you worship changes everything. (Listen to a very bad recording here, or watch here.)

I am delighted to be here at the invitation of your pastor. Trí tells me that you are a group of enthusiastic people who are strong in faith. He also tells me that you love to be with one another, and that you love to meet for worship and for Bible study. This is all wonderful for me to hear, because I am passionate about faith and the Bible and God’s promise of life to those who engage with it all wholeheartedly.

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Jesus, our friend

After the service, a visitor bailed me up. ‘That prayer,’ she said. ‘You called Jesus our friend. Why would you do that?’

‘Um … because he tells us to,’ I said.

‘What!’ she snapped, then she shook her head briskly and walked out, leaving me wondering about the forms of address she considered permissible …

Read my piece for the upcoming Zadok Perspectives here.

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