Habakkuk 1
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
A Call for Justice audio (5MB)
The cry for justice is a common occurrence in our world isn't it? Injustice takes place at all sorts of levels and we wonder, why does God allow it? It's like what we saw in Psalm 73 a few weeks ago. Why do the wicked prosper? Why do the powerful get away with taking advantage of the weak and helpless? Why doesn't God do something about it if he's the good and powerful God that we think he is?
Those are the sorts of questions that Habakkuk struggles with as he looks at the nation of Israel. And as we'll see in a moment there's an even more difficult question that needs answering. That's the question that arises when we see evildoers being punished at the hands of those who are just as evil if not more so.
We occasionally see on the news stories of bikie gang members being shot by members of rival gangs and you think that's justice - yet it's justice carried out by someone whose as wicked as the one receiving the punishment.
It's sometime around the end of the 7th century BC. The nation has gone through a period of revival under Josiah but now he's dead and the rich and powerful are back to their old tricks.
Luke 10:25-37
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- Written by: Michael Prabaharan
Who is my neighbour? audio (5MB)
Passage: Luke 10:25-37
Have you ever not really liked someone? Not just nyeah, I’m not sure about them.
I mean really not liked someone. Not happy to have them around at all.
You don’t have anything nice to say about them, they just could never do anything right and boy whenever they are around they are nothing but trouble!
All around the world there are many wars and civil conflicts going on. Often when you talk to people on one side that’s the way they feel about people on the other side. They can’t say anything nice about them and really don’t like them and don’t want them around.
But you might hear people talk like that even when there isn’t a war around, maybe when a friendship has gone wrong or someone feels humiliated or betrayed by someone. We have our own prejudices, we make selective observations and remember things that happened in past history or the way certain people behaved.
Well when Jesus lived, it was exactly the same. There were two groups of people who couldn’t stand each other and would rather cross the street than walk on the same side if they saw them coming along.
Luke 12:35-48
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- Written by: Naomi Gebert
We Have a Job to Do audio (5MB)
Passage: Luke 12:35-48
First of all, I have a request to make of you all. If you’ve ever received payment for doing a job, raise your hand. So that’s quite a few of you. Now raise your hand if you’ve ever done a voluntary task or job. You might have noticed that the people you were serving or working for were grateful for your service, they might have praised you for doing a quality job. But you might also have noticed that your boss, or the person you were doing the job for, expected you to come through on your word and get the task done. You might be wandering, “what does making an agreement with my employer, or doing a voluntary task, have to do with the first century servants in the passage?” The answer is, they’re all examples of being given responsibility. All these roles involve being asked to carry out the wishes of the person you serve. Regardless of how all these people have been recruited, they all have a job to do.
As we read the first parable, in verses 35 to 40, there is one main command that Jesus gives to servants. The master in Jesus’ parable expects his servant to be ready when he comes.
Psalm 27
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- Written by: George Hemmings
A Psalm of Yearning audio (5MB)
There’s an old story of a young man who grew up on the wrong side of town. He was bright and full of good intentions, but down on his luck. Until one day, through a series of events he came into possession of a magic lamp that could grant his wishes. If you believe the Disney version, he was only allowed three wishes. And he couldn’t wish for more wishes, couldn't wish for someone to die, and couldn’t wish for someone to fall in love with him. I wonder if you had Aladdin’s lamp, what would you wish for?
What are your deepest desires? Would you wish for fame, fortune, happiness? Maybe a good job, a happy family, and long life? A packet of Tim-Tams that never runs out? What would you wish for?
Series: 19: Psalms
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Psalms
|
A Song of Yearning |
Ps 27 |
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A Song of Lament |
Ps 73 |
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A Song of Hope |
Ps 46 |
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A Song of Praise |
Ps 148 |
Psalm 73
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
A Psalm of Lament audio (5MB)
Today we start a short series on the Psalms – culminating in our evening worship service with Sons of Korah on May 26th. Over the next 3 weeks we’ll be looking at 4 different types of psalm – today a psalm of lament, next week a psalm of yearning, then a psalm of hope and on that Sunday evening a psalm of praise.
Before we begin it’s important to understand that psalms are first and foremost poetry. Poetry is a great medium for expressing feelings. The words that are used are not always exact, nor are they meant to be heard literally. Rather they’re meant to evoke a response of the heart. They often appeal to the emotions rather than the intellect. That makes them particularly helpful for people who are struggling with life, who perhaps don’t have the energy to think things through rationally or who are too unsettled to think calmly. These people can join with the psalmist in pouring their heart out to the Lord. Psalms are also good when you’re so full of joy that you can’t put it into words. That’s when the psalmist calls on the mountains and trees to sing their praises along with his own.
Well, today we’re looking at Psalm 73, a lament.
The psalm begins with a familiar refrain: “God is good to those who love him.” That’s one of the foundations of our understanding of God, isn’t it? God is good. God loves us. God has chosen us. He’ll never forsake us. He’ll look after us. What’s more he’ll bless those who remain faithful to him with every good gift. And so the psalmist believes.
Eph 6:10-24
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Be Strong in the Lord & in his Mighty Power audio (5MB)
Do you remember when we looked at Paul’s prayer in Eph 3 that I commented how difficult it is to achieve the sort of unity that God wants from his church? In fact I pointed out that that’s why Paul prays the way he does: because only by God’s power can this miracle come about. Paul knows that apart from the problem of our own weakness, our hardness of heart, there are forces in the world that’ll try everything they can to stop us showing God’s wisdom and glory to the world. The reality of life for the Christian is that we face opposition from the spiritual forces around us every day. We have an enemy whose sole aim is to ruin our efforts at every point. So Paul warns us. He says “our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
So what do these spiritual forces want to do? They want to thwart God’s plans. Is God’s plan to create a new society? They’ll do their best to break it down. Has God, through the death of Christ, broken down the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile, indeed between all people, independent of gender, race, or culture? Then the devil and his agents will try to build that wall again. Does God intend his new people to live together in harmony and purity? Then the powers of evil will sow the seeds of discord and sin in our midst. Never underestimate the danger. Never take for granted your victory over sin. Never stop fighting temptation. Never give up in your efforts to overcome it. And never be surprised when you see a Christian leader fall into sin of some sort or another. Until Christ returns to take us to the Father we’ll always be fighting these spiritual battles. The peace, which Christ has bought by his blood, is still a promised peace. It’s a peace that we enjoy in the midst of a relentless struggle against evil. The war is won but the battles continue.
