Ecclesiastes was a book of wisdom written about 3000 years ago. Yet it could easily have been written yesterday with its relevant observations of “life under the sun”. It was written by (or at least through the eyes of) Solomon, King of Israel. In it he speaks about life, death, work, money, pleasure, sex, alcohol, music, justice and God. The big question that Solomon asks is “what’s the point of life?”

Throughout the book he embarks on a search to find meaning and purpose in life. He concludes that everything is meaningless – it’s temporary and won’t last forever. Although everything “under the sun” is meaningless, life under the Son (JESUS) is far from meaningless. As we think about the search for meaning and purpose in life – the key question we want to think through is “what difference does Jesus make?” Knowing Jesus changes everything!

I gave the following talks (mp3) on The Real Thing 0809:

1. The Search for Meaning
2. The Search for Happiness
3. The Search for Status
4. The Search for Justice
5. The Search for Immortality
6. Fix your eyes on Eternity

pic from pixelgirlpresents

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I spoke in The Boat Shed at Good News Week this morning. GNW is run by The Lakes. The topic was “Raising kids in a dangerous world” with particular reference to the Net.

DOWNLOAD (mp3) the talk. See the resources referred to in the talk.

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Last week I went on The Real Thing 0809. Good times. Stay tuned for the talks.

Click for fully sickness (apologies for the frequency of my head)

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This will probably be the last post for 2008. Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for regular broadcasting again in January 2009. Believe in Jesus. Peaceout.

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Friday Foto is over for 2008. Here are most of the pics squished into one. Peaceout.

[click for mega size]

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The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Merry Christmas from dmdc - believe in Jesus Christ!

sxc pic

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O Holy Night is my favourite Christmas Carol - it’s about Jesus. The following Christmas song has nothing to do with Jesus, but is catchy, “All I want for Christmas is you”.

Which one do you like better - the classic one by Mariah Carey or the emo one by My Chemical Romance? Watch then vote below:

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Here are the talks from The Strad 08. The key question we thought through was: now what? The year 12s had just finished their final exams and before they jet off into the rest of their lives, it was good to reflect together on the purpose and meaning of life.

My aim wasn’t to say anything new, but to remind them of things they already knew, and to keep going in Jesus. Anyone is welcome to listen but if you know recent school grads they could be good to pass on. The talks are topical, but we spent a lot of the time in Ephesians.

• Talk 1 - Now what? GLORIFY Jesus
• Talk 2 - Now what? GATHER with Jesus
• Talk 3 - Now what? GROW in Jesus
• Talk 4 - Now what? GIVE like Jesus
• Talk 5 - Now what? Share the GOSPEL of Jesus
• Talk 6 - Now what? Be GLAD in Jesus

Need a speaker in 2009? Hook me up.

Shout out to Lorraine - I snaked the above pic from her facebook photos.

Filed under: Jesus | 4 Comments

On 28 July 08 a couple of hundred people packed out the Avoca Beach Cinema for an uplifting night of singing praise to Jesus. The Nite EV crew have done an incredible job at pulling together their first live album: NiteEV Live.

The recording quality of the instruments is exceptional, and even though some of the vocals are wobbly at times, it only adds to the raw energy of the album. Have a listen. Click to keep reading and for pictures from the night:

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I’m pleased to announce a new blog aiming to help churches use technology effectively: Check 1-2. Their categories so far include: design; lighting; software; sound; video; and web. The site is chockers with really simple advice on how to use technology to help rather than hinder our churches. Check 1-2 + RSS (What the heck?)

(h/t mikey and suds)

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I’ve written a gospel outline from Ecclesiastes using the Two Ways to Live framework. The first 3 boxes are from Ecclesiastes; while the second 3 boxes are from the New Testament, but with reference to the ideas from Ecclesiastes.

DOWNLOAD IT HERE (pdf). Let me know what you think.

Filed under: Jesus, Ecclesiastes | 4 Comments

We’ve just finished a week with the year 12s from Christ Church on Stradbroke Island. Very good times. I did a 6 part series of talks called “Now What?”. It was super-fun hanging out with the year 12s and their leaders.

We’ve been particularly encouraged by Scott and Nicky (in the pic) this year. They are doing an incredible job in heading up the youth ministry at St Ives.

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Here’s another photo for the “I am the centre of the universe” mindset of our culture.

Check out some discussions on Santa and Jesus:

• Santa Christ? - Sinclair Ferguson
  
• Do/Will Your Kids Believe In Santa Clause? - Carlos Whittaker
• My thoughts on Santa Claus: Who cares? - Abraham Piper
  

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1. Paris Hilton and David Beckham
2. How to run a meeting that doesn’t suck
3. Very tempting…
4. Friday Foto #39
5. Movember 2008

Warm fuzzy if you can name the 5 different languages used in the welcome.

Warm fuzzy for every first time commenter. (If you don’t know what a warm fuzzy is, oh boy, you don’t want to miss out!)

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Here is a series of Ecclesiastes talks from Al Stewart given at the City Bible Forum. I’m half way through the series. Good stuff. They are from the Reason4Hope podcast.

• Talk 1 - Ground Hog Day: audio | video
• Talk 2 - The Search for Meaning: audio | video
• Talk 3 - Money Doesn’t bring Happiness and other Urban Myths: audio | video
• Talk 4 - Eternity in our Hearts: audio | video
• Talk 5 - Who can make sense of Life when it’s Cruel and Unjust?: audio | video
• Talk 6 - How to Survive in the Real World: audio | video
• Talk 7 - The Crime of Growing Old: audio | video
• Talk 8 - Do you want the Good News or the Bad News: audio | video

sxc pic

Filed under: Jesus, Ecclesiastes | 1 Comment

Kanye West just released 808s & Heartbreak. I’ve only heard the 30 second iTunes previews, it sounds different, but good. Anyone got it yet? Here’s Love Lockdown:

Filed under: culture, music | 6 Comments

Central Coast Evangelical Church has a new sermon podcast. Listen to solid sermons from Andrew Heard and his team. Here is the RSS feed or subscribe directly with iTunes.

If you need help with a podcast or website, let me know.

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The Danish architect who designed the Sydney Opera House, Joern Utzon, has died in Copenhagen. What an incredible piece of architecture!

[Reuters: Jason Reed]

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I’ve been doing some work in Ecclesiastes this week. I’m sure this video ties in.

Longer Version

(h/t Los)

Filed under: Jesus, life, Ecclesiastes | 1 Comment

This is the 25th episode of JLCD. Awesome. Is it worthwhile? Do you ever look at the links below? Suggestions for new features? Hope you’re having a killer weekend. BinJC.

Latest delicious.com bookmarks. You can subscribe to them via RSS or just keep an eye out on the left sidebar. Here are the latest 7:

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