THE ENCOUNTER BLOG

From the keyboard of David Wanstall

 
 
July 2022 Bible Binge 
08/07/2022
Often we only read the bible in small bite size pieces. While, meditating on small portions of the bible is valuable, a bible binge can help us get a wider perspective.
Dallas Willard on the Incarnation 
26/12/2021
Here is a recording of a sermon by Dallas in his home church from Christmas in 2007. There is a lot to ponder in this sermon.
Temples, Genesis and Family Trees 
08/11/2021
In this series of blog posts, we will explore the theme of Temple throughout the bible, and look at four ways it can help us in our everyday discipleship.
Contemplating the Lord's Glory at Easter 
05/03/2021
We are encouraging people to watch/read the Easter accounts in the four gospels in the lead up to Easter.
Spiritual Bright Spots from 2020.... 
03/01/2021
I encourage you to reflect on 2020 and see if you can identify some spiritual bright spots. These will be simple practices you observed in yourself or others that had surprising benefits.
The Lord's Prayer Challenge 
27/06/2020
During July, I would like to challenge you to pray the Lord's Prayer three times a day - they can become pools of prayer that help us grow in the With God Life.
The Blessing - the song and the Dallas Willard Teaching 
10/06/2020
I hope this song will help embed the Aaronic Blessing in your soul. But more than that, I hope that for the rest of your life you will regularly bless other people with it.
Positive Pruning 
29/04/2020
This pruning is an opportunity for us to connect with God and reflect on our pre-shutdown lives. If we just spring back to life as it was, we may miss an opportunity for spiritual growth and greater fruitfulness.
Giving Up Ignoring God for Lent 
19/02/2020
This year we are encouraging everyone in our church to 'give up ignoring God' for Lent by using these 40 days to Cultivate a more Consistent Awareness of Christ with us.
The 5 Animals of Mission from Matthew 10 
05/02/2020
In Matthew 10 Jesus gives his 12 disciples instructions before he sends them out on mission. In his usual vivid style, Jesus uses 5 animals to help them and us remember key points about how to approach mission.
Sermons from 2019
30/11/2019
We often get caught up in the tyranny of the next thing. But it is important and valuable to look back and to remember. I encourage you to look through this list of topics we have covered in Sunday sermons this year.
How do we 'Seek God's face'? 
24/10/2019
Psalm 119:58 says 'I have sought your face with all my heart' and to 'seek God's face' appears in Christian songs and prayers. It is a spiritual sounding phrase, and yet we probably haven't thought about how we might do it.
Are you suffering from Rest Resistance?
14/08/2019
External pressures and internal vulnerabilities can conspire together to keep us from a life of real rest that leads to fruitful work.
Lord Make me like You - praying for Spiritual Growth 
17/07/2019
I think praying about our own spiritual growth is something that we should do on a daily basis. Here are some reasons and some steps to take.
Stillness, Smallness + Being on the Edge 
13/06/2019
Some spiritual reflections from being out in nature on a recent holiday
Who are we (am I) becoming in 2019 - growing into the For God Life
26/02/2019
God originally created humans to rule over the world (Gen 1). Humans' performance in this regard is mixed, but more than any other creature, we have the capacity to influence and shape this world.
Who are we (am I) becoming in 2019 - growing into the Like God Life
20/02/2019
God created humans in his image (Gen 1) and at a deep level we are carriers of Gods' image. But it only takes a bit of introspection to realise there are many parts of our lives that are currently not like God. However...
Who are we (am I) becoming in 2019 - growing into the With God Life 
13/02/2019
God's original intention for humans was that we would live with God (Gen 1-3) but we became disconnected. We can be confident that God will succeed in fixing this because the With God Life is a major feature of the new creation in Rev 21-22.
Two Podcasts to stimulate your thinking 
30/01/2019
To grow as Christians, we need to grow in Content (what we know), Character (how we behave), and Competency (what we can do). Here are two podcasts that provide great content.
Be lazy this Christmas Season 
15/12/2018
Some reflections on the biblical rhythm of Rest and Work along with a link to an article about "Why Being Lazy is Actually Good for You"
Sermons from 2018
07/12/2018
We often get caught up in the tyranny of the next thing. But it is important and valuable to look back and to remember. I encourage you to look through this list of topics we have covered in Sunday sermons this year.
A guide to Worship 
30/11/2018
Exaltation, Reflection, Adoration, Consummation, and Commission are five elements that can enhance our worship.
Desires, Will and Death TO self 
10/08/2018
When we are Disconnected from God our Desires come to Dominate us. As we reconnect to God we need to Dethrone our Desires from that place of Domination. And that involves our wills and us making choices for good and for God with God's help.
What does it mean to die to self? 
14/06/2018
The first step into a life without lack involves how we relate to God in trust and reliance. The next step into a life without lack involves how we relate to ourselves and it involves 'death to self'.
Job's stages of Faith 
08/06/2018
In Chapter 5 of Life without Lack, Dallas Willard looks at the story of Job and unpacks how Job’s faith develops through his experiences.
How is a 'Life Without Lack' Possible? 
30/05/2018
Psalm 23 gives us a picture of a life without lack. But if you are anything like me, you will ask - is that sort of abundant life really a possibility for me? in my complicated life? with all my issues?
Practice - the key to hearing god better 
23/05/2018
If you want to get better at hearing God, the next thing to do is practice. We need to practice what we've learned rather than continually look for more information.
Are you missing some of the ways God communicates with you?
17/05/2018
Humans communicate in a rich variety of ways. Obviously we speak to each other. But we also use lots of other modes. It is similar with God.
Hearing God Better for Others 
02/05/2018
There are two reasons to get better at hearing God: God speaks to us about our relationship with God, and God speaks to us to for the strengthening, encouragement and comfort of others (1 Cor 14:3)
Hearing God Better 
27/04/2018
We see in Mark 1:11-12 that Jesus heard his Father - his Father affirmed Jesus' identity as His Son, and through the Spirit he was sent into the wilderness. So it follows that an important part of copying Jesus is learning to hear God.
How to memorise information using your strengths 
20/04/2018
I’ve been challenged by David’s idea of memorising an entire chapter of Mark this year. David has given us one idea of how to do it. There might however be some people who need other ideas for learning from memory.
Identity Microsurgery 
21/03/2018
We form our sense of identity from those around us. But God always intended that the strongest source of our identity should come from our relationship with Him.
Psalm 23 life without lack in a War Zone 
16/03/2018
When we start thinking about a life without lack, we might automatically begin thinking about a life free from trouble, difficulty, or suffering where you always have lots of money, a nice house, a good car and a good job......
What do you count at church - ABD or DEF? 
28/02/2018
When I was a child, sometimes during church services I would look at the hymn book and count the number of words in the hymns we were singing. I don't do that any more but I still count when I go to church.
Children’s Sport and Christian Discipleship 
20/02/2018
Some time last year I read an article on the web looking at the involvement of families in children’s sport in the USA and comparing it to church involvement.
The Dallas Disciplines for Lent 
12/02/2018
Our theme at church this year is COPY. For us to live a with, like, and for Jesus life, we need to copy Jesus and copy people who copy Jesus. So this Lent we are encouraging everyone in our church to spend 40 days copying Dallas who copied Jesus.
Copy people who copy Jesus 
07/02/2018
We learn how to do all the important things in life by copying others. We copy how others tie their shoe laces, plait ponytails, kick footballs, shoot netballs, drive cars, and do brain surgery. It is no different in becoming more like Jesus.
The Diamond that is Mark Chapter One.
31/01/2018
Mark Chapter One is our theme bible passage for this year. It is like a beautiful diamond with many different facets. We are going to be returning to this passage across the year to unpack many of its riches.
The next best thing gives us access to the best thing
24/01/2018
We all like to meet important people first hand and if we can't we like to speak to people who have had the opportunity to meet them.
For true rest, practice coming to a complete STOP 
07/01/2018
We are in a season of rest and abiding as a church. But it can sometimes seem to pass by so quickly and we don't feel like we have really rested or abided. In this post I want to explore the significance of stopping.
Difficulties in life can have negative impacts on our Christian lives - it is wise to prepare
18/10/2017
Since we will experience crises in our lives it is wise for us to do some stress testing - to think about what difficulties we might experience and how they could negatively impact our Christian lives.
Deep and Wide Thankfulness
28/07/2017
One of the keys to becoming more like Jesus is cultivating thankfulness to God. To build a life permeated by thankfulness, we need to give thanks regularly. But what can we give thanks for?
The Poetry and Puns of Isaiah 
11/07/2017
When we read the poetry sections in Isaiah, we might be puzzled by the lack of rhyms that are much more prominent in English poetry. Rather than rhymes, hebrew poetry is typically structured around 'parallelisms',
A fresh way to focus on one of our three words: With Like and For
05/07/2017
This year, we are focusing on three words to help us in our Christian lives - WITH, LIKE and FOR.... half way through the year, here is a refresher PLUS a bonus exercise you might like to try
The Genius of Mid Sized Groups 
28/06/2017
Last Sunday our church had a fantastic Brunch. It was an important time of togetherness over food. But it was also an opportunity for us to experience the genius of mid sized groups.
Overview of Isaiah 
22/06/2017
As we read and preach through the book of Isaiah, it might be helpful to keep in mind the following framework:
The Book of Isaiah 
14/06/2017
This week we are starting a teaching series on the Book of Isaiah. Our hope is that during this series you will gain a deeper appreciation for this amazing book and will recognize ways in which it speaks to us today.
Aaron Keyes talk at the 2017 Worship Together Conference 
07/06/2017
Aaron Keyes leads a ministry called 10,000 Fathers. He gave a great talk at the 2017 Worship Together Conference and while it was delivered in a worship conference setting it is actually a great teaching about discipleship.
The Weightiness of Waiting 
30/05/2017
As we look forward to Pentecost this Sunday and we are asking God to fill us afresh with His Spirit, here is a reminder of 7 points about waiting on God from the recent sermon "The weightiness of waiting":
Oh for the love of God! 
11/05/2017
You don't hear this phrase of exasperation used as much anymore but maybe you can recall yourself or someone else using it when something silly or frustrating happened....
Are you enjoying God? 
04/05/2017
God wants us to encounter Him, He wants us to encourage one another, and He wants us to engage with the community around us. But sometimes we can get so caught up in encountering, encouraging, engaging that we forget to enjoy God.
Questions for our Souls 
05/04/2017
A few days ago, one of our daily readings was from Psalm 42:5 - Why, my soul, are you downcast?...Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him. It reminded me of some advice from 'Soul Keeping' by John Ortberg about speaking to our souls.
The With God Life part 2 - some more quotes from Brother Lawrence
29/03/2017
One of the most widely read books about living the With God Life is "The Practice of the Presence of God". Here are some quotes that might inspire you to read the book.
Our current Actual Lives are the ONLY place we can be with God 
22/03/2017
Our 'With God' lives can only happen in our actual lives. If we wait until our lives are less hectic, more ordered, less painful, more successful, more simple, more dramatic, less dramatic etc etc - we could be waiting a long time
The With God Life - some quotes from Brother Lawrence 
15/03/2017
One of the most widely read books about living the With God Life is "The Practice of the Presence of God". Here are some quotes that might inspire you to read the book.
Two simple practices for being a bit more like Jesus
08/03/2017
If all it took to help people become like Jesus was attending church services, our country would be full of people who are barely indistinguishable from Jesus!
Reflections on Paul's Testimony 
03/03/2017
Earlier this week, our daily readings (encounterbc.org) included Acts 26:15-27. This reading is part of Paul's testimony before King Agrippa. Many rich reflections come from this short passage.
Integrating the Three Simple Words 
22/02/2017
This year we are encouraging people to use three simple words to help them in their Christian life - WITH, LIKE, FOR.
Three simple words for Christian Living 
31/01/2017
As we start a new year it is always good to refresh and refocus. John 1:1-18 and Luke 10 are a great place to start.
The Example of Mary 
14/12/2016
Mary plays a crucial role in birth of Jesus. Her openness and receptivity to the work of God is remarkable and inspiring
The forgotten art of real rest
07/12/2016
In our always on, always connected, always moving to the next thing lives, it is easy to lose the art of true resting.
Journey of Worship 
03/12/2016
Worship is central to the Christian life. Understanding how we can progress through worship will help us become better worshippers.
Aim to have an Up In Out Christmas 
25/11/2016
In the lead up to Christmas I have been reflecting more on the life of Jesus and how he expertly balanced the three relationships - with his Father (Up), with the disicples (In), and with the world around him (Out).
The example of the church in Antioch
09/11/2016
The second season in the life of this church changed their world. We are aiming to follow their example.
Equip Sunday - October 2016  On our equip Sunday in October we ran training tracks to help us with o
02/11/2016
On our equip Sunday in October we ran training tracks to help us with our Christian lives. Here are some resources from those tracks.
28/10/2016
Chris and Peter are two members of our congregation who have had long journeys with illness. I have asked them to reflect on a number of questions about non-healing and their answers are below.
Responding to the healings in our Service last Sunday 
14/10/2016
Below are some thoughts about how we should respond to the healings that people received in our service last Sunday. The focus of these thoughts is on the healings and the importance of us responding to them in significant ways.
Gratitude and Grace 
06/10/2016
As we recognise, name and express gratitude for the good things in our lives, we are recognising how God's grace has been active in our lives. (grace is much more than forgiveness although it wonderfully includes it)
A heavenly perspective on Worship 
16/09/2016
Over the last few weeks I have been regularly reading and reflecting on Revelation Chapters 4 and 5. These chapters provide a glimpse of what it is like in heaven 'at the moment'. They describe worship of God in vivid imagery.
6 helpful Questions for our Christian Lives - Question 6
02/09/2016
Have you ever noticed our humans almost always tend to gather together in teams.  It appears to be a deep human trait..... Communities that have purpose outside themselves have a depth and richness that communities without that outward focus usually lack
6 Helpful Questions for our Christian Lives - Question 5
16/08/2016
I think most Christians understand that is important for Christians to be engaged in mission of some sort. However, it is something we tend to outsource to others - overseas missionaries, visiting evangelists, paid ministers, or church programs.
6 Helpful Questions for our Christian Lives - Question 4
09/08/2016
I think the church has sometimes defaulted to a classroom mode of developing people through sermons, classes and courses.  In the process we have often settled for the TRANSFER OF INFORMATION and fallen short of the TRANSFORMATION OF LIVES.
6 Helpful Questions for the Christian Life - Question 3
26/07/2016
I think we sometimes unconsciously change the phrase 'PERSONAL relationship with God' to INDIVIDUAL relationship with God'. We live in a culture that prizes individuality and autonomy and so 'personal' often unconsciously translates to 'private'.
6 Helpful questions for the Christian Life - Question 2
19/07/2016
I think one of the great hinderances to growth in our Christian walk is BEING BLASÉ - being indifferent in our responses to the ways we encounter God and the ways God speaks to us.
6 Helpful questions for our Christian Lives - Question 1
13/07/2016
Over the next few blog posts I will be looking at six questions about our Christian lives that are good for us to think about regularly. Reflecting on them can help provide shape and direction to the three dimensions of our Christian lives.
Books refered to in Nothing can separate you from the love of God
23/06/2016
In my sermon from Romans 8 titled 'Nothing can separate you from the love of God' I referred to stories from two books. These stories illustrated the two ways we can be convinced of things - information and personal experience.
A simple repeatable step for discipleship and mission 
15/06/2016
Discipleship and Mission can sometimes seem to be difficult and complicated. That is why I am always on the look out for simple and repeatable practices that can be a great help.
10 Plagues and 10 Tests
01/06/2016
In direct correspondence to the 10 plagues, the books of Exodus and Numbers, record 10 instances where the Israelites put God to the test by not believing what God had said, by being disobedient, and by grumbling and complaining.
Discipling Meals 
29/05/2016
From these verses and the example of Jesus, From the bible we learn that discipleship should happen in the regular events of life. We shouldn’t rely just on services, programs or even training events.
Getting Real with God 
29/04/2016
One category of Psalms, that aren't often referred to are Psalms of Lament. But since our lives are full of downs as well as ups, it is important that we become familiar with these Psalms.
Missional Meals 
19/04/2016
We think it is important that as Christians we follow the words, works and WAYS of Jesus. When we look at the Gospels, we see a vital part of what Jesus did was have meals with people.
Developing our 'Grow' Resource 
13/04/2016
On our site, we regularly publish blog post and sermons but when you look for a particular topic, they might not be as easy to find. So we are in the process of adding relevant links to the 'Grow' section of our website.
What can a relationship with God look like?  The Psalms give insight. 
08/04/2016
Christians often talk about having a relationship with God. ... this can sometimes seem a bit confusing and it has the potential to become a 'stock phrase' which we can sometimes struggle to explain.
Missional Training Videos from Alex Absalom 
30/03/2016
Here are some short videos by Alex Absalom. They are full of practical tips to help us be on mission with Jesus in our everyday lives. (We will add more as they are released!)
Don't take Easter at one speed (reposted) 
18/03/2016
I think there is a danger that if we transfer this flattening out to Easter we miss the richness and the depth of these universally significant events. So this Easter try not to treat every day the same.
Pharoh's mummified heart 
02/03/2016
In our relationship with God, we are usually either moving closer to Him with greater openness, or moving away from him either slowly through distracted drifting or more quickly through hardening of our hearts
The Joy of Gravity Waves (not too nerdy) 
24/02/2016
Last week there was a major scientific announcement that Gravity Waves had been detected for the first time. I find the science fascinating but in this post I want to link it to goodness and joy.
Imitating life requires closeness 
17/02/2016
Effective discipleship or apprenticeship needs both information and imitation... Too often in discipling new Christians we have just relied on conveying information and omitted imitation.
Understanding the Parables 
10/02/2016
The gospels record the first disciples going to ask Jesus to explain these parables on a number of occasions. Therefore it is quite natural that we should also have questions about how we should understand the parables.
Learning something new - a key to entering God's Rest 
04/02/2016
The section 11:20-12:14 surrounds the famous 'come to me all you who are weary ...' verses in 11:28-30. This section as a whole can help us understand these verses in a clearer way.
Words, Works, and Ways
27/01/2016
Looking at Matthew 5-9 to learn from the Words, Works AND Ways of Jesus.
Upside Down and Inside Out 
19/01/2016
In this post I would like give an overview of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) as it is authoritative teaching from Jesus about Character.
Covenant and Kingdom foundations 
15/01/2016
The two big themes of the bible are highlighted in both Genesis and Matthew
The Minor Prophets - Introductions
16/12/2015
One thing that can make it easier to understand these books is to understand who wrote them and when they were written.
The Minor Prophets aren't a Rock Band! 
20/11/2015
The 'Minor Prophets' are actually the last 12 books of the Old Testament. And the only reason they are called 'minor' is the length of the books when compared with the 'major' prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
Resisting temptation - get help from an expert 
14/10/2015
?Temptations to do the wrong thing or NOT do the right thing are common to all of us. They can sometimes be difficult to overcome. In other areas of life, when we have a problem we usually go to an expert for help.
What do those words really mean? 
09/10/2015
As we seek to follow Jesus in community with other people, we usually start using words that have biblical and theological significance. Sometimes we think we know what these words mean, but if we were asked to define them we might struggle.
The Particular Goodness of God in our lives 
30/09/2015
In the last two posts I have looked at the importance of focusing on the Goodness of God in Creation and Salvation. In this post I want to look at the importance of recounting the particular goodness of God in our personal lives.
The specific Goodness of God in Salvation 
24/09/2015
There are parts of creation that we don't experience as good - disasters, sickness, and the sin and evil that occurs between humans. This is where appreciating the second source of God's goodness is vital
The pervasive goodness of god in creation 
16/09/2015
Last Sunday we looked at the importance for our spiritual lives of knowing, understanding, recognizing and appreciating the Goodness of God.
Memory verses aren't just for sunday school 
07/09/2015
Memorising verses are valuable for adults as well as children. When was the last time you memorised a bible verse?
Learning to pray through imitation
23/06/2015
On Sunday we looked at how Jesus taught his disciples to pray. He gave them information about prayer in Luke. The Lord's prayer is the foundation of that information and such a rich resource for us today. However he continually gave them ....
The value of Crystal (of the clarity variety)
03/06/2015
Many times we can be struck by the need to be more like Christ in our Character or Competency - through reading the bible, a sermon, a converstation or even just observing someone who is like Jesus. But often we take the thought no further.....
I want it all and i want it now - catchy lyrics, not so good for the spiritual life
29/05/2015
To become more like Jesus in our Character, we have to feed the fruit of the Spirit in our lives but we also have to weed out sin. One of the important things we have to get better at is dealing with temptation - because temptation comes to all of us...
Some quotes from dallas willard
20/05/2015
A number of years ago I was privileged to attend a two week workshop with Dallas Willard. I was recently going through some notes and thought I would share a few of them here: Spiritual Life is the life that integrates us with the Life of God...
Salvation, stronghold, satisfaction
13/05/2015
At our church we encourage people to follow the Moravian Daily readings (encounterbc.org). Recently Psalms 62 and 63 have been in the readings. These Psalms describe God as being psalmist's Salvation, Stronghold and Satisfaction. These aren't just ...
Some recent 3dm blogs
08/05/2015
Here are some great blogs from various people connected with 3dm around the world.
The importance of delighting in the Lord
29/04/2015
Psalm 37:4 "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Until recently, I didn't think about delighting in God. I loved God, was committed to God, followed God, and had joy in my life. But this verse has inspired me....
Great story about someone's experience of Christians living out their life
15/04/2015
This is an article that was published on The Age's website. It describes his experience of coming across an unlikely group of people who turned out to be followers of Jesus and what happened when they offered to pray for him....
When I get to the nursing home I want to be ....
08/04/2015
What sort of person do you want to be when you get to the nursing home? Many of us think about what we want to be or do when we grow up, but one day, if we get old enough we will find ourselves in a nursing home.....
Do you have a To Be List?
01/04/2015
Many of us have TO DO lists. Some who are more organised will have detailed lists with priorities and due dates. Others will freely move from one task to the next one that comes to mind. However there is something more iimportant than a TO DO list....
24/03/2015
Becoming like Christ involves growth in knowledge of the CONTENT of the Christian Faith, the CHARACTER of Jesus, as well as the COMPETENCIES of Jesus....
How can I 'seek first the Kingdom of God'?
17/03/2015
When Jesus is teaching his disicples about not worrying (Matt 6:25-34) he tells them to seek first the Kingdom of God. But how do we do that? I think Col 3:1-4 breaks that down into some clear steps....
Apologetics - its not a cage match
11/03/2015
In 1 Peter 3:15 it says 'But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.'...
Weeds of the flesh and Fruit of the Spirit
04/03/2015
The Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 are well known to many - Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness .....etc. But what is not often recognized is that in many of the places in the New Testament where positive characteristics ....
A key competency for disciples - relying on Kingdom resources
24/02/2015
In the feeding of the 5000, Jesus challenges the disciples to give the crowd something to eat. Now giving people things to eat is a normal, everyday activity that most of us can accomplish (with varying degrees of culinary expertise)....
G.R.O.W as a disciple
17/02/2015
Recently we have been reflecting on being deliberate in seeking to grow as disciples of Jesus this year. There are three areas we need to grow in: ....
Suffering and joyful confidence - an excerpt from Soul Keeping
11/02/2015
This excerpt is challenging especiallly for those of us who may be facing great suffering now and I don't want you to experience them as harsh or condeming in any way. The first paragraph holds out the possibility of meeting God in your suffering....
Busy and hurried are different - (an excerpt from Soul Keeping)
02/02/2015
Dallas pointed out to me once that there is a world of difference between being busy and being hurried. Being busy is an outward condition, a condition of the body. It occurs when we have many things to do....
Easy is a soul word
28/01/2015
Here is another excerpt from 'Soul Keeping' by John Ortberg: The Soul needs rest. In the Bible, God never gives anyone an easy job....
When the soul lacks a centre - from Soul Keeping by John Ortberg
21/01/2015
As I mentioned earlier, the New Testament book of James uses a fascinating word to describe this condition. It's often translated "double-minded," but the Greek word is dipsuchos - we might think of it as double souled ...
Keep your Soul by Speaking to it - an excerpt from Soul Keeping
13/01/2015
The formation of the soul is the most important process in the universe. John Keats wrote, "Call this world if you please 'The vale of soul-making.'" in our day, we talk a lot about self-talk. Apparently, that's a really important part of the human...
How to arrange your days - a quote from 'Soul Keeping'
28/12/2014
John Ortberg was experiencing frustration at work. He went to Dallas Willard for some advice. I think the advice applies to all of us, whether we are pastors or not because all of us are influencing people as Christians - people at church, family, ...
I hope your Christmas is like the case of Stuart Little and the painting
17/12/2014
At Christmas six years ago art historian Gergely Barki reluctantly turned the children's movie "Stuart Little" to appease his bored daughter. Hanging on the wall in one of the scenes he saw a long lost avant-garde painting - Sleeping Lady with Black vase
Who Was St Nicholas
10/12/2014
Link to an online article
Embrace the Busyness, Revel in the Relaxation
02/12/2014
The next two months are often months of great contrast. December can be unusually busy with projects needing to be finished, school years coming to an end, end of year functions for work, school and a kaleidoscope of other groups, presents to purchase...
Everyone starts running around in circles
24/11/2014
Have you ever been to an end of year concert for a dance school or a days worth of games at a local soccer club? In both places you will see beginners - usually young - running around in circles.
The Soul Experiment
21/11/2014
Here is another quote from John Ortberg's book, Soul Keeping. I am recommending this book for summer reading. We will have several copies available at church. You can also purchase kindle versions from Amazon.
Soul Keeping: Caring for the most important part of you
03/11/2014
This is the title of a recent book by John Ortberg. I found it really helpful and would recommend it. It seems we don't speak much about 'soul' these days - we are much more likely to talk about 'self'. I think we need to redress the balance.
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