Matthew 5:13-16 — Since 1911, the census has collected information on religious affiliations and in 2016, for the first time, more Australians identified as having “no religion” than anything else. In 2006 it was 19% of the population who identified this way, in 2011 it was 22% and now it stands at 30%. This is a remarkable change…

II Kings 3:4-15 — The kings of Israel, Judah and Edom were in big trouble. They had marched their armies for seven days into the wilderness and had run out of water. They were now ripe for defeat by the forces of Moab. In desperation, a prophet was called for and by God’s good providence…

Various Texts — What are we saying about God’s sovereignty when we are cynical? What are we saying about his goodness? Or His promises? In the first part of our study we learned that cynicism is a love problem, in this second part, we learn that it’s a faith problem as well. Cynicism reveals a deficient…

I Corinthians 13:7 — Cynicism is the inclination to believe that people are motivated purely by self-interest. A cynical person is overly skeptical, constantly distrustful and generally pessimistic. We live at a deeply cynical time in history. People are more distrustful and contemptuous of institutions than ever before. Unfortunately this attitude can find its way into…

I Kings 21:1-16 — Letters had come from the queen to the elders of Jezreel. It was her wish that an innocent man be falsely accused and executed. They complied and Naboth died. Why did these leaders do what Jezebel wanted? How will we respond when we are pressured to do something that violates our…

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 — How should a Christian think about time? Our life unfolds as a series of events in linear succession. This movement from beginning to end is inescapable. We are, as it were, bound by time and yet we think about realities outside of time. Why is it that we have a sense of…