Church Blog (Page 113)

“If you preached like that…” “Chris Miller gives a good sermon” is one of the many compliments I have heard about Chris’ preaching over the years. He has preached at Morningside on a number of occasions, and has always been well received. About 13 years ago he came to preach for us and, as usual, he did a good job. In the van, on the way home from church, my kids were giving their weekly commentary on the Sunday morning’s…

They Don’t Come Better Than This… King Saul warned his son about David: “As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send someone to bring him to me, for he must die!” (1Sam.20:31). Jonathan loved David. He had chosen to believe that his father’s psychotic episodes would not cost David his life. He had been naïve but now that Saul’s paranoia had overflowed to the point where even…

Plot-holes. Recently, I watched the movie, “A Quiet Place.” It was worth the watch. But it did leave me with some questions about its plot. Some of my movie loving friends might be asking me at this point, “Why are you criticising a $20 million film that made $340 million in revenue?” and that is a fair question. So, I’ll try not to ruin the story for anyone. But be warned, a plot-hole does exist, and you might want to…

What a Pain! Have you ever been in pain and felt as if nobody understands? To my shame, I have to admit that I was one of those people who couldn’t always relate to your suffering. You would think that having bronchitis at 10 years old, fracturing my left metacarpal at 16, and ripping a tendon in my right leg at 17 would have given me a reasonably good definition of pain—not so! Despite these episodes of extreme discomfort (the…

The Jaguar Man. My many experiences hitchhiking in the 1970s incorporate the array of stories that mothers everywhere use to dissuade their children from asking strangers for rides. My 650 Yamaha was giving me troubles while stationed for work in Tamaranui in the summer of 1978. So, I put my thumb out and was transported on those occasions to my destination by various drivers, ranging from the best of humanity, to the down-right bad. One day I was standing beside…

Family Resemblance. I worked with my brother, Ray, off and on for 4 years between 1978 and 1981 and no one ever seem to have picked us as being bothers. Some, surprised to find out, still couldn’t see a resemblance. 40 years later, things have changed. As I watch myself preach on Facebook Live during this Lock-Down, I can see that I not only bear the family resemblance, but I have words and gestures that are unmistakably his; I have…

Cover to cover. I was in New Plymouth on a Campaign for Christ (door-to-door evangelism) in the winter of 1984. One evening Ian Terry and I went to the house of a nice lady who had asked us to return to talk further about setting up a Bible study. We were invited into the home, but not by her. Instead we were greeted by her husband. From the start he sounded like a husband that had been told to be…

It’s a Dog’s life! Oscar only wants to know two things: what are you eating and where are you going? His appetite is insatiable and his energy boundless. So, he is a typical three year old, all would agree. Green vegetables he will not abide, but nothing else will he reject. He will go where you go, and as he goes, he will do what he does best: learn by discovery. You might think that Oscar will be pleased one…

Was Jesus alone in the Garden?Jesus may as well have been alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, for all the practical use his disciples were to him. Whatever their reasons for falling asleep, Jesus didn’t excuse them. He had spelled out, on more than one occasion, what his end would be—“He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day” (Mt.16:21; 20:18).…