Gospel Living

Palm Sunday: Will I be still following Jesus by Friday?

palm

Biblical theology teaches us that the promised redeemer will come and put all things right, restore shalom with God, myself, others and creation. As a Jesus follower, I shout, Yes! Hallelujah! I believe it! Commenting on Palm Sunday Tom Wright says, “As we arrive at Jerusalem with Jesus, the question presses upon us. Are we going along for the trip ...

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Every little thing is going to be alright

storm

I attended my doctor’s appointment today to get a big mole on my back that was becoming irregular, checked out. The doctor confirmed two moles that were changing shape and need to be cut out and sent off for testing. He also pointed out some muscle atrophy in my arms and asked what exercise I do, whilst commenting on how ...

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Going pro: Reflections on becoming a minister

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Have you heard? I’ve decided to ‘go pro’. Not in golf, but in religion. Yeah. The church. Of all the good ideas I’ve had, being ordained as a minister is not one of them. I mean look at the church. Catholic clergy and congregations alike are reeling over the extent of sexual abuse allegations – against children of all people. If it ...

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Need a break from church?

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash

I’ve been pondering this thought lately… How is it, that after many years, many a Christian feels exhausted and in need of a break from involvement with church?  I do not mean for bio/psycho health or other unforeseen reasons, but spiritually need a break. Many of us confess that we are “spiritually/emotionally burnt out” and have given up on the ...

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It’s just not cricket

balltampering

Steve Smith, What have you done? Australia, and the world of cricket are in shock. Our golden boy, Steve Smith, perhaps the best since Don Bradman, the captain of the Australian cricket team; has admitted to trying to cheat through ball tampering. For the uninitiated, ball tampering is when you use a foreign object to modify the condition of a cricket ball ...

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Great again

make america great again

So much has happened in the world since we last blogged here at Gospelbrew. So it would be remiss of us not to comment (belatedly) on perhaps the most unlikeliest of victors: Donald Trump. Because, of course no one else has written articles about the matter. Sarcasm aside, he apparently rose to power on the back of disenfranchised Americans, sick ...

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Bad Grace: Get Your Act Together?

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I can’t be the only person to have been in church their entire lives and still not quite have grasped grace. It seems that grace is just hard to get our heads around. Grace as a Jumpstart At times, I reflect and remember what it was like as a teenager in a large, growing church. Busy volunteering, running groups, leading, and attending ...

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A Letter to My 21 Year Old Self

letter-new

Dear past me. Firstly, I don’t have the almanac, and I won’t tell you the winning lotto numbers. It might break the space-time continuum. Secondly and more seriously, err… thanks. You had a choice to abandon your faith – but you made a choice to follow Christ wherever that lead. I sit here, writing to you with a loving family around me, ...

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The Blasphemy of Grace

The Blasphemy of Grace | Gospel Brew

Why do Christians have such a love-hate relationship with grace? It is the pinnacle of Christianity – what sets it apart from the other major religions and yet we struggle with it so. Buddhists eight-fold path must be walked, the Hindu must pay the price karma demands, Jews and Muslims must obey their own law codes. Each of these offers a way to ...

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Grace for Tools: Money and Morality

Grace for Tools | Gospel Brew

Occasionally, my wife can tell you, I can be a bit of a tool. And if there’s one area, in our first world countries that we can be a tool – it’s money. “Money can’t buy you happiness”, spoke the great Spike Milligan, “but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.” They say that Jesus spoke more about ...

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