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Christianity Failure sermons Spirituality Spirituality in the Ordinary Suffering

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When we picture Jesus entering Jerusalem, do we imagine the whole of the city turning out to celebrate the arrival of the Messiah? Or is there something altogether stranger happening? What does it all mean?

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Christianity Culture and Society Doubt Failure sermons Spirituality in the Ordinary Story Suffering

Suffering and Gratitude

As the lockdown drags on in Melbourne, gratitude just gets harder. Suffering becomes a kind of blindness as we are turned in on ourselves. But could suffering be an ironic teacher that knocks us out of our limited ways of seeing the world? Could gratitude be a way forward?

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Christianity Failure Faith Suffering

Take Up Your Cross

Why does Jesus persist in saying such depressing things? Take up your cross? It sounds like a real downer. I would pass – except that, in fact, you can’t actually avoid crosses. My choice appears to be: what do I do about it?

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Failure Faith sermons Spirituality in the Ordinary Suffering

Abundant Life in the Time of COVID-19

What does it mean for Jesus to promise abundant life in a world beset by COVID-19? What does it have to tell us about abundance?

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Christianity Failure Kingdom of God sermons Suffering

#blessed

If we were writing the beatitudes today, what would we write? What does it mean to be #blessed? Could the church to be a blessing? And what does it mean to be blessed in the midst of grief and suffering?

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Christianity Doubt Failure Religion sermons

Practice Resurrection: Easter Morning Sermon

What does the resurrection of Jesus mean? What is it to “believe” in the resurrection? Ultimately, does it, or anything, really matter?

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Christianity Failure Faith Spirituality Story Suffering

Jonah and The Whale

What I learned about suffering from the story of Jonah and his whale.

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Culture and Society Entrepreneurship Failure Spirituality in the Ordinary

On Empty Seats

I recently listened to Rob Bell’s podcast, the Robcast, and was struck by the story he told about his a very unsuccessful book tour which he made. The context was that he had recently written his very controversial book Love Wins – see here and here for a few sample reviews. In his previous book tours […]