Hopes and Dreams

Hopes and Dreams...

What would you like to see happen in 2012? “We just pray for the safe arrival of our baby.” I would like to do well at school… pass my exams… meet a nice guy.”  These will be just some of our hopes and expectations for the coming year. But what about the church… what are your...
Read More | No Responses
Confident in Christ

Confident in Christ...

The Church which is addressed in Hebrews finds itself in a crisis of confidence and faith. Its members are in danger of backsliding and falling away. In similar situations, some church leaders seek to encourage commitment… we have all heard of congregations being encouraged to sign...
Read More | No Responses
Where do you find warmth?

Where do you find warmth?...

Paul asserts in his letter to the Colossians that, as Christians, our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). One of the reasons why we are so easily offended and knocked down by criticism and disappointment...
Read More | No Responses
Looking for a church?

Looking for a church?...

Around this time of the year, for various reasons, people are looking for a church to join. If you fit into that category and you are wanting to “check us out”, please know that you are welcome and we trust that the Lord will guide you in your search. It is such an important decision…. One...
Read More | 4 Responses
What do you need to grow?

What do you need to grow?...

What do you need to grow? One of the questions that we need to be thinking about is. “What is our core business at MetroWest?” It’s an important question, because if we are not careful we will find ourselves being pulled in a hundred and one different directions...
Read More | One Response
What’s your beef with church?

What’s your beef with ...

“What’s your beef with church?” - It’s a question I’ve found myself asking a number of people lately, although perhaps not quite in those terms. But it really intrigues me why many people who believe in Jesus and take the teachings of the Bible seriously aren’t...
Read More | 15 Responses
Brisbane Flood Response

Brisbane Flood Response...

...as the Brisbane River receded the massive cleanup began. In some of these houses, the people had to throw the entire contents of their home out onto the street. The amount of mud, silt and filth that inundated their homes meant that nothing was salvageable. Thousands of Brisbane residents...
Read More | No Responses
Are we all sinners?

Are we all sinners?...

In Romans 5:8-9 the apostle Paul describes people (all of humanity) as being sinners. In the surrounding context he equates that with being ungodly (v 6) or even as being God’s enemies (v 10). Yet what does this mean or what does this...
Read More | 2 Responses
Cedar Creek Hike Photos

Cedar Creek Hike Photos...

On 26 April 2011, a group of us from Metrowest travelled to Cedar Creek Falls for a hike. You can find photos from the hike
Read More | No Responses
David’s Undress

David’s Undress...

There is a strange story in 2 Samuel 6 where the Ark of the Lord, the symbol of the Lord’s presence, finally makes it way into Jerusalem, to great fanfare and rejoicing on the part of the inhabitants. What happens next is the puzzling bit … David disrobes … right down...
Read More | 4 Responses
Learning the Lesson

Learning the Lesson...

In 2 Cor 1:8-11 Paul shares with the Corinthians the terrible sufferings that he had to endure in Asia. It was so bad that he thought he would not survive it: “We were so utterly burdened… we despaired of life...
Read More | No Responses
I Am Wonderfully Made!

I Am Wonderfully Made!...

I know some people think me strange, but I love to appreciate a successful project in which I have had a hand. Linda and I have recently levelled our entrance foyer and paved it with bricks, cutting the edges with a massive diamond studded angle grinder… and it looks spectacular…...
Read More | No Responses
It’s not that difficult!

It’s not that difficult!...

It’s not that difficult! All you need is an appropriate question to steer the conversation in the right direction, and everything flows from there…. Ah it is useful to have a little bit of an understanding of the core issues, but then most of us have been attending classes for a number...
Read More | No Responses
Something more substantial

Something more substantial...

I grew up going to a church in Toowoomba that had a good deal of excitement and engagement (slightly Charismatic bent to it), yet I never became a Christian there and don’t remember hearing the gospel (which doesn’t mean it wasn’t preached). It wasn’t until university...
Read More | One Response
Can We Forgive?

Can We Forgive?...

Some of the things Jesus asked his followers to do were from the realm of the impractical and the impossible. He said it was one thing to love our friends, but he wanted us to love our enemies. Was this before or after they had stopped attaching us? Then he urged his disciples to forgive...
Read More | No Responses
Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me

Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me...

I thought you might enjoy this version of Rock of Ages by Ella Fitzgerald.
Read More | 2 Responses
New to church

New to church...

It is always a bit scary when you visit a new church, because you are never too sure what you will find. “Will they be a bunch of crazies, like we sometimes see on the TV?” “Will they be friendly and welcoming or will we be left to sip our coffee on our own?” “Will they look...
Read More | 2 Responses
Moving Forwards with Confidence

Moving Forwards with Confide...

Have you noticed how often God blesses expectant faith? In Mark’s Gospel there is a lady who has been sick for a long time and she knows that Jesus holds the key to her recovery. Her understanding is limited… she hasn’t worked out all of the details about what he has come to...
Read More | 2 Responses
Reason for God

Reason for God...

Tim Keller speaking at Google about the Reason for God: Tim Keller has written an interesting book “The Reason For God”.  Keller is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York. The church was planted the late 1980s and has since...
Read More | One Response
The Provocative Church

The Provocative Church...

The Provocative Church by Graham Tomlin, SPCK, 2002 The Church needs to be provocative, in that those who encounter it should be provoked. Graham Thomlin, in his book, The Provocative Church, argues that the mission with which Christians have been charged is to be a sign....
Read More | One Response

« Previous Entries