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Addiction: How to Help

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” – Jeremiah 17:9 Human beings seem universally to be able to imagine the loftiest moral ideals, but just as universally seem incapable of actually living according to them. This conundrum lies deep at the heart of the human condition. Are we required to just “live […]

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… and this just in: News from the Streets of Ipswich. Issue 23

The Word on the Street The Dalai Lama of Ipswich? So many amazing and fascinating things go on in Ipswich, as I move around on the streets making friends with people. There are lots of stories I can’t share, for various reasons, but I find there are many that I can. I hope this series […]

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What Happens When We Die, and Where are my Loved Ones?

The Afterlife: It’s probably not what you think. Jesus is something of an authority on death, and life. He’s that guy who said that he was going to die, and going to be resurrected, and then it all happened just as he said. For questions about death and life, he is an indispensable source. Unfortunately […]

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Seeking the Kingdom

What do we mean when we talk about “seeking the Kingdom”? I was invited to speak on this topic recently. See the video below for the recording of that presentation, and feel free to add your own questions or comments underneath.

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If it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you – Matt 12:28

Do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven – Luke 10:20 I received a phone call from a friend of mine, asking for help. His friend was unable to go to his own home because it was haunted by a dark spiritual power. Both of them […]

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Are we “Born of God”, or “Adopted”? It can’t be both.

Does the Bible say we are adopted by God? I am quite certain that the Bible does not say we are adopted by God. It does say that we are born of God. Many commentators seem awfully confused about this, but that’s because they are reading an English translation of a Greek document, written in a […]

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The Veil Torn, the Earthquake, and the Resurrection of the Dead – Matthew 27:51-54

A dramatic account, but does it make sense? In Matthew 27, an orderly account of the process of Jesus’ arrest, interrogation, and crucifixion is proceeding along nicely, when all of a sudden there is a dramatic change. It is a change in style, and in content. No sooner does it begin, it is finished! But […]

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How to understand the “Two Natures of Christ”? That’s the wrong question.

The “Two Natures of Christ” The first generation of Christians had no trouble understanding that Jesus was human, and that he was also divine. Arguments only arose subsequently, when the theologians had stopped asking the right questions.

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The Kingdom of Heaven is like Yeast

Yeast: Bad… or good? Often in the Bible, yeast is a metaphor for things that are bad. So why did Jesus say that the Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast (Matthew 13:33)? Listen in, and find out!

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Be ye Baptized

Be Baptized Every One Of You Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are […]

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In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was gone…?

Lost in Translation So I was reading the New Testament in Tetum, the language of East Timor. I started to discover some interesting things that happen in translation. I thought I would blog about them, both to make notes, and to aid my fledgling comprehension of Tetum. The Tetum New Testament I am reading is […]

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… and this just in: News from the Streets of Ipswich. Issue 22

The Word on the Street “WHEN I SEE SO MUCH SUFFERING I WONDER IF THERE REALLY IS A GOD” So many amazing and fascinating things go on in Ipswich, as I move around on the streets making friends with people. There are lots of stories I can’t share, for various reasons, but I find there […]

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Life is Worth Living

It is Worth Saying that Life is Worth Living Crisis: In the last month, at least four people have committed suicide in the local Indigenous community. Conundrum: There is a deliberate policy of not publicising suicides, because it is well known that such news can trigger others to commit suicide. Effect: A whole community is left […]

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… and this just in: News from the Streets of Ipswich. Issue 21

Contents The Word on the Street SO THEN I GOT DRUNK So many amazing and fascinating things go on in Ipswich, as I move around on the streets making friends with people. There are lots of stories I can’t share, for various reasons, but I find there are many that I can. I hope this […]

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Come, let us reason together. To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom!

Plumbing the Mysteries of God In modern English when we describe something as a “Mystery”, we mean it has not been “solved”. Either we can get enough information and can solve it, or we can’t and it remains a mystery. But that’s not what the word means when you read it in the Bible. In the Bible […]

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… and this just in: News from the Streets of Ipswich. Issue 20

Contents The Word on the Street FROM HIS FULLNESS WE HAVE ALL RECEIVED, GRACE UPON GRACE So many amazing and fascinating things go on in Ipswich, as I move around on the streets making friends with people. There are lots of stories I can’t share, for various reasons, but I find there are many that […]

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… and this just in: News from the Streets of Ipswich. Issue 19

Contents The Word on the Street AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US So many amazing and fascinating things go on in Ipswich, as I move around on the streets making friends with people. There are lots of stories I can’t share, for various reasons, but I find there are many that I […]

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… and this just in: News from the Streets of Ipswich. Issue 18

Contents The Word on the Street THE PARABLE OF THE ONE WAY STREET So many amazing and fascinating things go on in Ipswich, as I move around on the streets making friends with people. There are lots of stories I can’t share, for various reasons, but I find there are many that I can. I […]

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… and this just in: News from the Streets of Ipswich. Issue 17

Contents The Word on the Street THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM So many amazing and fascinating things go on in Ipswich, as I move around on the streets making friends with people. There are lots of stories I can’t share, for various reasons, but I find there are many that […]

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… and this just in: News from the Streets of Ipswich. Issue 16

The Word on the Street Freedom So many amazing and fascinating things go on in Ipswich, as I move around on the streets making friends with people. There are lots of stories I can’t share, for various reasons, but I find there are many that I can. I hope this series gives a colourful insight […]

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