Tag: blessing

Genesis | Isaac, Ishmael and the Red Menace

If God is as big as we claim, there is no scarcity in God at all.

In her recent address to the National Press Club, the Red Menace rolled out her usual poison about Islam. She reiterated a bunch of frightened and frightening tropes about Muslims. She claimed that Western civilisation and its values are under siege. She blamed migrants for shortfalls in housing and social cohesion. She insisted that Australia must be a monocultural society. And in all this, she reminded me of our ancestor Sarah.

Continue reading “Genesis | Isaac, Ishmael and the Red Menace” →

Genesis | The joint inheritance

Can a common story offer hope? (Listen here.)

‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household, and go to the land that I will show you… ’ says God to Abram. ‘I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed by you … To your descendants I will give this land.’ Then Abram entered the land with some process of negotiation and treaty. However, from the time of Joshua right up until last week in the White House, these same words have been used to justify driving people out.

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Matthew | The life of faith & doubt

It seems that doubt is part and parcel with faith, and this should be deeply encouraging. (Listen here.)

It might shock you to hear this, but there are days when I find it hard to identify as Christian. There are days when I struggle to hold onto faith. And there are days when I wonder what on earth I am doing with my life, preaching these few and futile words. For I scroll through my newfeed and see nothing but chaos and a world going up in flames.

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Exodus | Hungry people, heaven’s bread

The whole congregation of the Israelites complained, saying, “If only we had died by God’s hand in Egypt, where we sat by the stew pots and ate our fill of bread; but you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill the whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:2-3)

Once upon a time, there was a pastor who was beginning to feel stagnant, and stale, and trapped. She waited and waited for God to open the door of a small inner-city church; but at last, and to her shock, God called her to serve a regional crowd instead. “Who am I to do this?” she asked as she doubted and wrestled and argued with God. Finally, however, she obeyed; and she moved and began working among the people there. But after a year or so of people gathering and growing, and miracles abounding, she began to grumble. Continue reading “Exodus | Hungry people, heaven’s bread” →

Genesis | The god of betwixt and between

God meets us in liminal spaces, when all our defences are down. (Listen.)

I think we can all agree: Sanctuary is at a threshold. Many will affirm that we have indeed lived into our name and created a sanctuary for hurting, wounded, tender things. Many will also affirm they have sensed the holy spirit moving in this place, and have experienced healing and renewal. But somehow, it isn’t enough. Continue reading “Genesis | The god of betwixt and between” →

Genesis | Abram: Our ancestor-colonizer

The story of Abram points to a more just settlement, paving the way to Voice and Treaty. (Listen.)

Leave your country, your kin, and your ancestral home, you poverty-stricken Cornishfolk, for a land which I will show you. It’s the colony of South Australia, Burra to be precise; and it needs people like you to chop down trees and lay out farms and work the mines and subdue the earth. Continue reading “Genesis | Abram: Our ancestor-colonizer” →

Matthew | Blessed discipleship

What if the Beatitudes describe the progress of discipleship? A back-to-school reflection. (Listen.)

At last, the summer holidays are drawing to an end. Some of us are heading back to school; others, to university. Some of us are setting goals for reading the Bible; some are planning their professional development; many are thinking about what we will be teaching others. And so, one way or another, almost all of us are preparing ourselves for another year of learning and growth. Continue reading “Matthew | Blessed discipleship” →

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