2009 NRL grand final, Melbourne Storm versus Parramatta Eels. During the week there was a newspaper article about a famous Parramatta fan called “Parramatta Jesus”. Basically, Parramatta Jesus was a yobbo with long hair and a beard whose mates dared him to wear a long robe and sandals to a Paramatta game in 1998. He [...]
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You are probably aware that Muslims have been celebrating their holy month, Ramadan, which ends shortly. “Ramadan” was the name of the ninth month in Arab world long before Islam emerged. It is considered special by Muslims because it is claimed that the first verses of the Qu’ran were revealed by God to Muhammad in [...]
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You may already know that there is a campaign being run by the Bible Society at the moment called Jesus. All About Life. Our Sydney Anglican Diocese is supporting this campaign and we have signed up as a supporting church. The campaign is now underway in Sydney. If you are a Christian, it would be [...]
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One of my favourite metaphors for the way churches should work is the orchestra, however…
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Believe it or not, it is almost time to start planning for church next year and beyond. This year has been a special year in which we planned to pour much of our energy into the Connect 09 outreach. We planned for very few new initiatives beyond the effort of door-knocking our whole parish and [...]
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I recently read a BBC news item titled “What have the noughties done for God?” The article highlights some of the huge changes that have occurred in the past decade to the place that religion occupies in Western society. The influence of religion has been so diminished in the eyes of some that they are [...]
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Would you regard yourself as a particularly “spiritual” person? In many circles, a “spiritual” person is someone who claims a connection with some kind of higher life. It involves some form of enlightenment or experience that transcends our ordinary bodily existence in this world. Often, people who follow Eastern religions and practise transcendental meditation are [...]
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We are naturally inclined to look to our own performance in order to gauge where we stand with God. We might measure ourselves by our regularity at church or the amount that we pray, or we might ask ourselves less tangible questions such as “Am I a good person?” (often measured by comparing with someone [...]
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You may be aware that governments in Australia have been stirring up the issue of human rights this year. For example, the Victorian government has been looking at widening anti-discrimination laws. The federal government has also set up a Human Rights Consultation, which has been touring Australia asking people what they think about how their [...]
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