Words are fundamental to our lives. We use words to share, to create, to love, to define ourselves, and to build societies and worlds. We live through words. That’s why one of the most powerful things you can do for someone is to help them give a voice to their own words.
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Words with purpose
The Victory of the Cross
By the end of this sermon I want to convince you that your cross is too small. The reason I think your cross is probably too small is that I’ve been convicted that my cross is too small–and I suspect it’s probably true for you too. I don’t mean literally. I’m not saying you’ve got the wrong size jewellery on. No, what I mean is this: Our view of the power and significance of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is generally too small.
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The gospel for criminals
I owe a huge debt to prison chaplains. My whole nation does. Richard Johnson and Samuel Marsden were foundational figures in the history of Australia. Johnson came out on the First Fleet in 1788, and Marsden followed him. They were evangelical ministers, and they were prison chaplains. That’s because the whole colony of New South Wales was a prison. Apart from the original owners of the land which became known as New South Wales, everyone was involved in the correctional system in some way: either as a customer, or as a service provider.
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The seduction of worldly wisdom – Ainsley Poulos
Watching people who don’t have a clue might make for good TV, but it doesn’t make for a successful life. That’s why having worldly wisdom matters – it stops us making stupid decisions. It’s helpful and necessary. However worldly wisdom has its limitations. It can’t work out what really matters, or what’s best.
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Things I’ve learned along the way: studying D. W. B. Robinson – Rory Shiner
First, Robinson taught me that reading the Bible is an adventure. He taught his students that the world of the Bible was untamed, wild, not garden, but wilderness. To enter into the world of the Bible was to enter into a world where we are visitors, not proprietors.
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Grace and anger
Anger is more common that we usually like to admit. There’s anger in our world, and there’s anger in our own hearts. Anger exists because things are wrong. And there’s a lot of things that are wrong, both in the world and in our hearts. Sometimes we’re angry on behalf of other people who have been hurt. Sometimes we’re angry because people have hurt us. Sometimes we’re angry because of our own selfish, uncontrolled desires. Often, it’s a mixture of all of these things. Some anger is perfectly understandable: it’s a right response to the wrongs we see and experience.
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