Pastors Letter (Page 22)

Dear friends Earlier this year we flagged that we were planning to have a COMMITMENT SUNDAY on May 23 this year. What is this? It’s a special time for all who wish to make a public declaration of their commitment to Christ and their membership amongst his people through either Baptism or Affirmation. Who’s it for? Baptism is for all Christians, including…

Dear friends An article in Tuesday’s Australian (“In this world without, we seek a saviour within”, The Australian, 9 March 2021) made this observation: “Although the significance of Jesus has been lost on most people today, a kind of saviour longing seems to endure. The Messiah is forgotten, but his archetype continues to throb at the heart of Western culture.” The…

Dear friends This week I have been some preparation for a course I teach at the Bible College.  One author wrote this provocative statement: “The Puritan Thomas Goodwin point out that our fallen nature is actually allergic to God and never wants to get too close to him. Thus our fallen nature constantly pulls us away from prayer (Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual…

Dear friends Our church’s turns fifteen next week. On March 5 2006, Trinity Bay (as it was known) was launched in the Holdfast bay Community Centre. John Warner and a team from Holy Trinity Adelaide planted the church and over the years we have seen God’s blessing in so many ways. Not that it has been always smooth sailing. There have been hard times as well as times of…

Dear friends Let’s keep reflecting on the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50).  The story that so many are familiar with – the one told by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat” – does not do the Biblical account justice.  That version is told about a boy whose dreams came true, whereas the Bible is less concerned with Joseph’s personal…

Dear friends We have recently started sharing in church about how some of our brothers and sisters grow their relationship with God.  We will continue to hear from different people throughout March. One privilege that I have as a pastor is that I get to spend extended time digging into different parts of God’s word in depth.  So when it comes to my daily Bible reading I…

Dear friends I’m not sure if you’ve been following the press around Eddie McGuire’s response to the Collingwood Football Club’s report into racism.  In case you missed it, McGuire was reported as declaring “This is a historic and proud day for Collingwood Football Club” as they adopted a “leadership position on the most fundamental of rights equality: to be who you…

Dear friends I was super encouraged by our Christmas mission that we ran at the end of last year. As we reach the end of January (it always goes so fast, right?) and with school starting this week it already feels like we’re well into 2021, but it’s good for us to pause and reflect on how Christmas went. It was a Christmas where we probably had no choice but…