Comfort Jams 8 May 11
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Comfort Jams
We are about to read again the stories of Abraham and his family. Old “Father Abraham” whose family had such a chequered history. Those of us with chequered families will be able to identify with (and take heart from) Abraham’s tribes.
We in our church family will also find lots of points of connection with Abraham and his kids. The stories in Genesis start wonderfully but end dismally – in captivity. But the beginning of stories often shows the ending. That’s the case in Genesis, although the end takes a long time in coming. In the middle there are many struggles, tragedies, acts of faith and disobedience, and over it all is a somewhat frustrated God.
Why did Jesus die? Good Friday 2011
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Why did Jesus die?
The simple answer is, “Because of death.” Why should there be death in the first place? How come if God created everything, he made things to die? Of course he didn’t. He made them so they could live with him forever.
But something went wrong with the humans he made. To tell the truth, the humans went wrong. They had a difference of opinion with God as to who was the boss – who got to say how things should be. They tried to have a kind of coup, a takeover, a rebellion, you could say. The only trouble is they weren’t capable of running the world like God. Certainly not capable of living like God – you know, always just, fair, good, loving, caring ...
Palms or Passion? 17 Apr 11
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
The Sunday Next Before Easter
Sounds a bit boring. Sometimes it is called “Palm Sunday”, sometimes called “Passion Sunday”, sometimes known as the Sunday of “Holy Week”, or the “Great Week”.
From around the 4th century in Jerusalem there was a ceremony of blessing palms or branches and a procession to commemorate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. From about the 8th century the practice gradually spread into the western (Roman) church. However by the time of the 16th century the liturgy of this week was strongly dominated by the passion of Christ.
Burning Korans 10 April 11
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Burning Korans
A strange idea. I knew a man once who burnt all his Heavy Metal CDs – and his guitar – when he turned to Christ, because he saw them as part of a demonic dark period in his life from which he wanted to be free. But they were his CDs.
But where would you go to find out about burning other people’s Korans? The Old Testament gives some suggestions about smashing and burning idol images, but that is for idols that find their way into God’s land. It is not as though there was a general world-wide mandate given to the Israelites to search out and destroy all idols world-wide.
Would you like to join me? 3 April 11
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Would you like to join me?
“Would you like to come to church with me next Sunday? The services are helping us understand about Jesus and why he died and was raised.”
Can you imagine a conversation like this? Or a variation of it? How would you change the dialogue to be more what you could imagine? “Would you be interested in coming to church with me ...?”
Most people who join congregations come because someone invited them. During last year’s Back to Church Sunday 100,000 Christians had 100,000 invitations accepted worldwide. Feedback in Australia suggests many people were waiting for an invitation.
Living safely 20 Mar 11
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Living safely
So much death and destruction. Is it getting worse? Some think so. Others say that the earthquakes and cyclones are happening more or less as they always did but that more humans are living in a greater number of dangerous places. And communications are so good now that we can see every disaster the moment it happens.
So the death and destruction is getting worse just because there are more people and more cities. But is that all we want to say? What about God? Are these God’s judgements? And which god? Common conversation attributes the disasters to “nature”. Presumably the material world of planet earth conceived of as an impersonal force (with or without “intent”).
Christians don’t believe in “nature” in this sense.
Dead Disciples 13 Mar 11
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Dead Disciples
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau in 1906. His father was a professor of psychiatry and neurology. In 1930 he became a lecturer in Systematic Theology at the University of Berlin. When Hitler came to power in 1933 he left his academic career and began speaking against the idolatry of the ‘Fuhrer’. He spent a couple of years in Britain and then returned to Germany to set up an illegal training college – closed by the Gestapo in 1940. He was helped to get out of Germany in 1939 but soon returned to share the troubles with his fellows. He was arrested in 1943 and sent to concentration camps and prisons where he had a powerful ministry to fellow prisoners. He was executed in Flossenburg in April 1945 a few weeks before the Allies arrived.
Among his writings The Cost of Discipleship has been a continuing encouragement to Christians. Most of it is an exposition of the Sermon on the Mount. Part of it is a reflection on the last part of Mark 8. Here is part of what he says about being a disciple.
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