A new blog

The Bible Talks has a blog!

Check us out at www.thebibletalks.blogspot.com

James' Surprise Party!

Caught up last night with some good friends - members of the 2000 Hohne Bible Study Group at St Matthew's Wanniassa. The occasion was James' 26th Birthday and it was a great chance to have so many of us together again.

Sadly David and Amelia couldn't make it, but we had a picture to remind us:

Here's the gang that made it, Nathan, Yani, Skye, James, Bron, Pam, Michelle, Me, Luke, Dave:



And the cake we enjoyed (Yani helped to decorate it):



More stories to follow, but now I'm off to invite people to come to church tonight. Doing anything at 6.30pm? Why not join us at The Bible Talks, St Andrew's Cathedral, right near Town Hall. All welcome.

A Tale of Two Kings

Last night Andrew preached on Mark 6:7-56. A great sermon that contrasted King Herod with King Jesus and demonstrated that Jesus is God's King, the Lord of Glory who is now sitting enthroned in heaven as the judge of all.

One of the things he pointed out to us about the crowds following Jesus was something I'd never really noticed before. He demonstrated the relentless pursuit by the crowds of Jesus and the disciples. As we looked through from the end of Mark 3 we saw the crowds continually coming to Jesus wherever he was. The pace and pressure was relentless.

It did give rise to my favourite line in the sermon:

The crowds make the paparazzi look like shrinking violets!

I'd never really thought about the way the crowds followed Jesus and his disciples and the way that must have been really draining as the pressure builds as they continue to impose on Jesus and the disciples. I guess I'd noticed the way that in some ways the crowds seem to distract Jesus from his 'main game' of declaring that the Kingdom is at hand so that people must repent and believe the gospel (See Mark 1:14-15, 38). But haven't ever really pondered the significance of the crowds.

What do you think?

The Cross of Christ

I've begun reading The Cross of Christ by John Stott (again) with one of the women from The Bible Talks.

There are many reasons that I love this book, not least for the clear outline of the meaning and impact of Jesus death. We see how our theology changes how we think and drives our actions.

Here is an excerpt from the first chapter (page 40):

The third and most important reason why he knew he would die was because of his own deliberate choice. He was determined to fulfil what was written of the Messiah, however painful it would be. This was neither fatalism nor a martyr complex. It was quite simply that he believed Old Testament Scripture to be his Father's revelation and that he was totally resolved to do his Father's will and finish his Father's work. besides, his suffering and death would not be purposeless. he had some 'to seek and to save what was lost' (Luke 19:10). It was for the salvation of sinners that he would die, giving his life as a ransom to set them free (Mark 10:45). So he set his face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem. Nothing would deter or deflect him. Hence the reiterated 'must' when he spoke of his death. The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected. Everything that was written about him must be fulfilled. he refused to appeal for angels to rescue him, because then the Scriptures would not be fulfilled which said that it must happen in this way. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer before entering his glory? He felt under constraint, even under compulsion: 'I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am (RSV 'constrained', literally 'hemmed in') until it is completed!' (Luke 12:50).

So then, he knew he must die, it was not because he was the helpless victim either of evil forces arrayed against him, or of any inflexible fate decreed for him,. but because he freely embraced the purpose of his Father for the salvation of sinners, as it had been revealed in Scripture.

Given this, how would you respond to the charge that Jesus was on a suicide mission?

Canoeing - the photographic evidence

Sharon has entrusted me with the photos, so here's a selection.

Canoeing in Kangaroo Valley

Yesterday I went Canoeing in the Kangaroo Valley with 5 of the girls from The Bible Talks (the trip I was invited to here).

It was a fun filled adventure, with quite a few silly moments. The aim was to be at Ali & Karyn's by 8.30am ... I was the last to arrive at 8.45. Then we had to work out who was going in who's car ... How to choose? Hair colour of course - so Sam, Fiona and Sharon went off in one car, leaving the blonde's in the other car.

First stop was Kenso cafe for coffee - it was an early start and we needed our caffeine boost before heading down the M5 to Kangaroo Valley. By all reports one car chatted the whole way while in the other car at least one passenger caught up on some sleep. Delayed a little by the road works near Mittagong, we arrived in Kangaroo Valley a little after 11.30am along with lots of others keen for a day of paddling. The weather was fantastic - sunny and warm, but not overbearing. We were hopeful that the predicted possible thunderstorm or late afternoon showers would not eventuate.

So with the money paid and instructions to get down to the river, we set off. Left out of the driveway then right at the first street, which would turn into a dirt road for about 4kms. When not far down the road we saw a sign saying 'no access, private property' we were concerned but not alarmed, we'd followed the directions. After contemplating turning back because this must be the wrong way, we forged ahead continuing up the road... until we came to a gate equipped with security camera's having arrived at someone's house. So we turned around and headed back down the narrow road while phoning for directions. Yes, we had turned onto the first street on the right as instructed, but we actually needed to turn into the second street on the right! Eventually we found the right street and headed to find our canoes.

We had a quick snack to fortify us before heading out on to the water. Karyn & Fiona in one canoe, Sharon & Sam in another with Ali & I in the third. We managed to find our rhythm and paddled out enjoying the beautiful valley, spotting birds and ducks. Sharon took lots of photos (that I'll post soon). There were some rumblings of thunder in the distance, but it still looked quire fine. A bit after 1pm we spotted somewhere on the shore to pull up for lunch - Sam predicted that it would start to rain in about an hour. Karyn, Fiona, Ali and I made it on to the shore, but Sharon & Sam decided to stay in the canoe near the shore to eat. We had a lovely picnic lunch and ate far too much as we played 2 truths and a lie. Who would have thought that one of us was questioned by the police about a murder in Nepal or that another had auditioned for Nida?

As we tried to reload everything into the canoe's to paddle back, the thunder was closing in and the rain began to fall. About to head off, we were warned by someone on the bank that the storm was close and if the lightning was less than 14 seconds apart to get to the shore or else we could be in trouble. So we set off to paddle back down the river. Ali & I decided to swap places in the canoe - a move that was to prove to be a bit of a disaster as we literally zig-zagged our way back down the river, with me unable to get the steering right from the back. It provided lots of amusement for Karyn & Fiona who thought we were trying out some new technique!

Eventually we made it back to shore. Trying to get the canoe out of the water I managed to break my blue flip-flop, then let go of the canoe and have to wade into the water to rescue it. In attempting to pull it out of the water, it had to go under a rope and for some reason it didn't occur to me that I could go over the rope and pull the canoe under, so I went down and pulled the canoe under the rope with me.

Not ready for the adventure to end, we headed into Kangaroo Valley in search of the fudge shop. We turned up just after the power had gone out and so were unable to have a nice warm drink. So it was off to Berry before taking the coast road home. After running in to some of the second year MTC girls, we sat down for coffees, smoothies and cake in a lovely Berry cafe. They had experienced a black out as well, but the power had come back on by the time we arrived. With a discussion about whether the bathroom was in fact quite pleasing or really rather ordinary, we headed for home along the South Coast. We didn't make it to the coast road near Wollongong - it was raining pretty steadily by that point anyway.

It was a great day - lots of laughs and fun.

Photo's from Kangaroo Valley Canoe's website