The last few days I have been reflecting on two parables that my wife and I read in our morning Bible readings. In the NLT they are titled, “The parable of the mustard seed” and “The parable of the yeast”. The first one is found in Matthew 13:31-32 NLT and says, “The Kingdom of Heaven [...]

I was re-reading some stuff about new churches that are planted from scratch this week. By this I mean a new church that does not have support from a denomination or a larger church. I was interested to read that most independent church plants that don’t continue, finish in the first six months of their life. [...]

Several months ago I decided to plant some vegies for our family to eat and to give away depending on how the crop goes. We put in baby carrots, broccoli, cabbage, red onions, tomatoes, beetroot and more. As I had been thinking about it for a few months I made sure I did some work [...]

It is interesting how my preaching has changed in the last four years or so since I have been studying. Previously I used to prayerfully read a passage and draw some points out of points out of it. These days I prayerfully read the passage, then I focus on some of the background issues that the general [...]

In 2005 and 2006 I took myself through the Bible using Old and New Testament Bible Foundations. It is a DVD-Rom or computer program that takes you on an interactive journey of the Bible. I found that in these two years I really improved my understanding of the Bible and how it all ties together. [...]

I was just reading Romans 12 for a message I am preparing for Sunday. As I came to verses 14-20 I couldn’t help wonder how different our world would be if we all applied these verses! Here it is from the NLT version… “14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God [...]

The last few days I have been reflecting on my pastoral care units I did back in 2008. I have been thinking about what pastoral care is and how it changes over time and depending on the situation you find yourself in. One of of the best definitions we learned is “Pastoral Care is the cure and [...]