Jonah
Micah 4:1-4; 5:2-5 - Kingdom Restored
- Details:
- Written by George Hemmings
Kingdom Restored audio (6MB)
Micah 4:1-4
Before we came to St. Thomas’, Sarah and I were at Deep Creek. It had been Sarah’s home church for about 12 years and after we were married I started a student placement there. So when Deep Creek decided to sell their old pews to buy new seats, we leapt at the chance. We had grand plans for it, but the pew sat in our garage for a couple of years until this past summer, when we finally got around to restoring it. Now to be fair, we’d tackled a number of other projects in the meantime. Over the years we’d restored two cabinets, a dresser and two cots. (Not to mention having three kids!) So we kind of knew what we were doing.
I wonder if you’ve had any experience restoring or rebuilding something? Taking something that was broken, or worn, or used and bringing new life into it. Maybe you’ve tried tackling something bigger than a piece of furniture, like a house. Or maybe just seen it on TV.
Micah 2:1-11 The Kingdom Defiled
- Details:
- Written by George Hemmings
Kingdom Defiled audio (4MB)
Micah 2:1-11
It doesn’t take a genius to realise there’s something wrong with our world. I mean, I guess on the surface things look pretty good. We live in an age of wealth and prosperity, of innovation and exploration. Our day to day lives are pretty peaceful. Sure we’ve had our share of questionable leaders in the past, but the current guy’s better than anyone we’ve had in the last 30 years. Who’d want to go back to having Ahaz as King of Judah? He was a king who didn’t walk in the way of the Lord, if there was ever one. There were shrines going up to Baal everywhere, pagan sacrifices in the temple. There was even talk that he made his sons pass through fire like the you know who do. We’re lucky Hezekiah survived and took the throne after Ahaz died. Talk about chalk and cheese! He’s nothing like his father. You can tell Hezekiah’s a man after God’s own heart, he’s working to clean up the streets of Jerusalem and restore right worship in the land.
Daniel 5: When the Writing's on the Wall
- Details:
- Written by George Hemmings
When the Writing's on the Wall audio (7MB)
Daniel 5
Governments come and go, leaders rise and fall. Sometimes all that happens overnight. Four years ago, we were on a bus in Germany, as part of a Reformation study tour, when some one, can’t remember who’d been willing to pay for global roaming, broke the news that we had a new Prime Minister! Kevin Rudd had been replaced by Julia Gillard. Overnight, almost without warning the government, and the leader, changed.
Daniel 6 - Politics in the Lion's Den
- Details:
- Written by George Hemmings
Politics in the Lion's Den audio (7MB) (NB this audio is from the 2pm Mandarin service and currently includes the Mandarin translation)
Daniel 6
It feels like every time we turn on the TV we're reminded that the world is full of conflict. Some conflicts are small, but many are huge. Some conflicts are so big they involve entire nations, even the whole world. If you turn on the TV tomorrow morning at 5:00am you'll see one of those nation, in fact world-wide conflicts. Argentina and Germany are facing off against each other to see who will claim the World Cup! Throughout Daniel we’ve seen a more important conflict being waged, the conflict between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Man. The conflict continues on multiple fronts in Daniel 6, between the people of the kingdoms, between their laws, and between the Kings themselves.
Daniel 4 - Madness at the Top of Government
- Details:
- Written by Ruth Newmarch
Madness at the Top of Government audio (5MB)
Daniel 4
Some time ago, back in the 20th century (!), I sat in Linguistics lectures at the Australian National University with a student from Queensland. He had flowing, blond hair then, and wore colourful shorts and thongs. He gained a reputation for himself in the Asian Studies faculty, and I remember on graduation day, he was awarded several academic medals, which literally jangled around his neck. He entered the Department of Foreign Affairs, and climbed the ladder, becoming an Australian diplomat in Beijing. He then worked with the Queensland government, before moving into politics. He won the 2007 federal election, becoming the most popular prime minister Australia has ever elected. But he wasn't able to lead effectively, and in 2009 Kevin Rudd was struck down by his own party, to save Labour from losing the next election. How the powerful fall.
