Month: March 2010

Posted on

Today I drank an instant coffee

The street we door-knocked this afternoon had an unusually high number of people offering us to come in for a drink. It may have been the heat, or maybe that’s just how they roll. We thought it would have been rude to reject the kind invitations. So we enjoyed the hospitality in four local Merrylands’ homes.

I don’t normally drink instant coffee. I’m not a coffee snob, but you’re a jerk if you reject an instant coffee when door knocking. Maybe you’re a jerk at any time if you reject instant-coffee-hospitality! So I drank the coffee.

While drinking, I explained Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee & the Tax Collector from Luke 18. She seemed to understand that God doesn’t accept the religious, but those who throw themselves on God for mercy. Yet, when pressed on what gave her confidence before God, she insisted that it was because she was good, moral and obedient. Pray she’d understand the Jesus-bit.

Here are 3 observations on this street:

  1. There are many religious people in Merrylands willing to talk about Jesus
  2. Their confidence before God is in their religiosity and not the work of Jesus
  3. Colin Buchanan’s DVD is pretty much like smuggling Bibles into North Korea

Merrylands already have their MP3s online. Check out this morning’s sermons.

THIS POST ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED HERE.

Posted on

Free Music Friday 02 // Jake Armerding – Her

Check out Jake Armerding’s album Her. You can download the whole album for free at Noisetrade.com. Jake Armerding’s genre is listed as Folk Rock/Americana, but as you listen you’ll hear an eclectic range of genres. The violin and some of the duets give some of the tracks a country twang. While there are jazz, roots and blues vibes in others.

FULL ALBUM DOWNLOAD | Band website | MySpace | Facebook | Twitter

Got an idea for Free (+ legal) Music Friday? Leave it in the comments. Are you a band? Think I might like your music? If you send me your album and let me give away at least one mp3 for free, no promises, it might be featured! Contact deets.

Posted on

The Prodigal God – By Tim Keller

Luke 15 is one of my favourite chapters in the Bible. I’ve spoken on the chapter 10+ times in the last couple of years. Some of my thinking on the passage has come from sermons and articles from Tim Keller. I recently read his book, all about Luke 15, The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith. It’s very good.

Here’s a basic overview of each chapter.

  1. The People Around Jesus – one of the keys to understanding this parable is understanding the two kinds of people that have gathered to hear Jesus. There are the tax collectors/sinners and the cranky Pharisees.
  2. The Two Lost Sons – often this parable is focused on the ‘Lost Son’. Keller argues that there are actually two lost sons. The younger brother, just like the tax collector/sinners, is obviously lost. The elder brother, is lost in the same way as the cranky Pharisees.
  3. Redefining Sin – this chapter kicks off with two ways to find happiness: moral conformity, like the elder brother/Pharisees; and self-discovery, like the younger brother/tax collectors. Both are wrong because both are on about self-salvation. Yet both are loved by God. Continue reading “The Prodigal God – By Tim Keller”
Posted on

John Woodhouse Sermon Goldmine

John Woodhouse isn’t a sexy preacher in the Justin Timberlake mould, his sexiness is more like Johnny Cash. Deep. Thoughtful. Dark hair. The glossy new Moore College website has recently been flooded with 704 John Woodhouse sermons! Sweet.

The only thing that would make them better would be a podcast feed. BUT when you’re mining for gold, it’s worth taking the extra 10 seconds to click ‘download’.

Get to know Jesus better by hearing his word read and explained

Browse the catalogue here.