Song of the week- We can

Leann Rimes- We can

Our greatest need

“If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, he would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death; and he sent us a Savior.”

- D.A. Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation

Found on Of First Importance

Song of the week- Magnificent

U2- Magnificent

Shaking up common wisdom

Every society has their common wisdom about how the way the world works. Round where i live during the college semester, one of those pieces of wisdom was that earthquakes do not and cannot happen here. Apparently they do- twice in a few weeks. Thankfully nether was dangerous (both about 4.6 on the Richter scale) which is not enough to do damage but certainly enough to freak people out. People are now rethinking their ideas about the earthquake risk.

Like those earthquakes, Jesus seems to have a way of shaking up what we think. He forces us as Christians to rethink the wisdom we’ve always known. This became especially obvious as i read the beatitudes section of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12) in preparation for my War ethics class. Thinking about some of the objections that would likely come up in tutorial about it i realised how different the people Jesus and common wisdom of our society say are blessed are.

The common wisdom says, “Blessed are the happy, those who think positively and know their potential because they will get everything they desire.”
Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted”

The common wisdom says, “Blessed are the powerful for they will rule the world and everyone in it.”
Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”

The common wisdom says, “Blessed are those who are skilled at exploiting people to their own advantage, for they will soon rise to the top”
Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy”

The common wisdom says, “Blessed are the impure for they have the most fun”
Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.”

What long held assumptions have you had to reconsider in light of what the bible says? Where are some biblical “earthquakes” needed amongst the church today to conform us more to the truth of God?

Resource roundup: Podcasts

Faith by Hearing (faithbyhearing.wordpress.com)
Faith by hearing provides a large index of sermons and lectures from various sources. The audio is sorted by book of the bible, doctrine, part of history for historical lectures, speaker, topic and type of presentation so you should have no trouble finding something of interest.

Worldwide classroom (www.worldwide-classroom.com)
Worldwide classroom provides the audio for over 20 university level courses from Covenant Theological Seminary for free. For some courses transcripts and course notes are also provided.

Passion Messages Podcast (268media.com/passionmessagespodcast)
Messages from Louie Giglio, best known for his role in the Passion conferences.


The Open House (theopenhouse.net.au)
The Open House is an Australian radio show that plays interviews on life, faith and culture with an assortment of interesting people from a variety of fields.

Song of the week- You're the voice

John Farnham & Coldplay- You're the voice (live @ Sound Relief Sydney)



And despite what is said at the start of the video it is not our national anthem. I wish it was though!

Book review: David Batstone- Not for sale

Mention slavery and most people will think of the long abolished transatlantic slave trade. Unfortunately for a staggering number of people today slavery is not stories from hundreds of years ago they read in a history book but their daily, inescapable reality. Despite slavery being illegal around the world, an estimated 27 million people are slaves today, more than the total of the whole transatlantic slave trade. The men, women and children caught in slavery are often trafficked across borders, are often victims of physical & sexual violence and are denied some of the most basic human rights. In Not For Sale, anti-slavery campaigner David Batstone attempts to raise awareness of this huge issue. He weaves together real life stories of slaves with statistics, background information, stories of those helping free & rehabilitate slaves and information on how to contribute to the fight against slavery. The book is divided into several sections on different types of slavery prevalent in different parts of the world, notably including contemporary forms of slavery and human trafficking in America. I should warn you that some of the slave’s stories are horrific and some people may find them distressing. The book necessarily deals with some adult concepts. Please don’t let that put you off the book because it is a very important one that raises issues that need to be understood and challenges that need to be overcome. I recommend Not For Sale to all adults, particularly those with an interest in social justice.

Song of the week- Burn out bright

Switchfoot- Burn out bright