Why we don’t ask God for things—and why we should

  • Jean Williams
  • 17 July 2015

Nothing is too trivial for me to pray about, from the common cold to parking spots. But I often forget to ask for things that really matter, from big things like the growth of God’s kingdom to little things like daily help with my anxieties and ungodliness.

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Down-under round-up: 15 July 2015

  • Sandy Grant
  • 15 July 2015

Important reads on Aboriginal evangelists, the pitfalls and positives of pastoring a small church, temptations when discipling, music and discernment, and liberalism.

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The Christian passport

  • Phillip Jensen
  • 14 July 2015

Passports are really important. You can’t enter the kingdom of heaven with the wrong one. You can’t use anybody else’s passport. You have to have your own. It must be current. It must not be a fake or forgery. It must be recognised by the government. Without the right passport there is no entry into God’s kingdom.

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Down-under round-up: 22 July 2015

  • Sandy Grant
  • 22 July 2015

Catch up on the Christian news and thought of the week. This week: the revelation of the sale of body parts from aborted infants; church planting that distracts from evangelism; prayers for the tempted and wayward; points for protecting a marriage.

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Biblical recruitment: Cross-shaped servants

  • Peter Tong
  • 13 July 2015

If the human-centered approach to serving in church doesn’t happen to be the one you want to foster, then perhaps you could try these tips for encouraging a cross-shaped mindset for ministry.

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Biblical recruitment: Human-shaped service

  • Peter Tong
  • 10 July 2015

Most pastors at one time or another have had a conversation with someone engaged in ministry, when they tell us things aren’t going so well. It can be hard to diagnose the problem in the moment. Maybe the person is over it or burnt out, too busy elsewhere, or wanting to try something new.

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Is there such a thing as a nominal Catholic?

  • Mark Gilbert
  • 13 June 2018

People from a Catholic or Orthodox background do not think about people being nominal; it is a very Protestant way of thinking.

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The bassinet

  • DB Ryen
  • 2 November 2020

Even though our first pregnancy had successfully produced a healthy baby boy, we unexplainably couldn’t carry a pregnancy to term anymore.

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Redefining marriage

  • Tony Payne
  • 1 July 2015

Amidst all the sound and fury about same-sex marriage, it’s often hard to find a straight-forward, clear, thoughtful Christian defence of what marriage is. Sandy Grant has had a crack, and a very good one, in this recent public lecture at St Michael’s Wollongong.

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The reluctant Swedish reader

  • Carl Matthei
  • 23 May 2015

I am a reluctant convert to the Swedish Method for Bible study. I read the Briefing article all of those years ago and decided to try it out in a couple of Bible study groups. It didn’t work! It didn’t seem to make group members think deeply enough about the passage, and it seemed to promote surface-level easy answers.

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