Illustration

The young boy said, “Daddy, if three frogs are sitting on a limb hanging over a pool, and one frog decides to jump, how many frogs are left on the limb?”

His dad replied, “Two.”

“No,” the son said. “Listen carefully, daddy. There are three frogs and one decides to jump. How many are left?”

Dad says, “Oh, I get it, if one decides to jump, the others would too. So there are none left.”

“No daddy—there are three left on the limb. The first frog only DECIDED to jump.”

Introduction

I can totally identify with this frog. At the beginning of the year most of us make plans, to do things differently. We plan to make to make crucial changes in our lives. We dream of new beginnings. And some of us dream the same dreams come the beginning of every year. I know as a church we dream dreams as well; we all want 2012 to be a special year for Trinity. A year of growth, not just in numbers but Spiritually as Click Here to Read More...

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator;

If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist;

If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist;

If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer;

But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Saviour.

Introduction

Egypt – 1330 BC

For a very long time, all those stories from the Bible were just that, a story for me. Although you hear it so many times, it’s quite difficult to relate to the story of Adam and Eve, of David and Goliath, the story of Noah, Jonah, Job; they all seem so ancient. Different culture, different traditions, totally different lifestyles; where do we even begin? We begin to mix the reality with fairy tales.

A few weeks ago, Nicole and I went to the Melbourne Click Here to Read More...

Illustration

Back in the early 1930s, C.D. “Bigboy” Blalock of Louisiana State University–a six-foot-six-inch giant of a boxer–was taking on a stocky fellow from Mississippi State. In the second round, Bigboy let lose a roundhouse. The Mississippi man stepped in, and his head caught Bigboy’s arm inside the elbow. With the opponent’s head acting as a lever, Bigboy’s arm whipped around in almost full circle, connecting with haymaker force on Bigboy’s own chin. He staggered, grabbed the rope, walked almost all the way around the ring, and then fell flat for the count–the only prize-fighter who ever knocked himself out with a right to his own jaw.

Introduction

My message is titled “Self-Defeating Behaviour – Punching Yourself in the Face”.

Let me ask you a question. What or who do you think is the 2nd biggest enemy of a Christian today? Do you think it’s the church?  Is it Click Here to Read More...

Thank God, I am Here

Introduction

A few weeks ago, whilst having my dinner after work, I was watching the evening news on TV. One of the main stories on that night was about the card skimming.

A group of Malaysian and Sri Lankan men were caught in Sydney as part of an international highly organised card skimming operations.

 These people would install some sort of a device in the EFTPOS machines which read the magnetic strip on your cards. They would then use this information they collected to create a copy of your card; which they then so graciously use on your behalf, in other words, they stole your identity.

Every few months we hear similar stories in the news, but involving different groups and organisations. Identity theft is something we have heard much about in the media for a few years now. I’ve also come across articles where it becomes quite hard for someone with a stolen identity to prove who they really are. Click Here to Read More...

Illustration

Someone once said, “Parents spend the first part of a child’s life urging him to talk and walk, and the rest of his childhood telling him to sit down and keep quiet.”

Introduction

One thing that I grateful to my dad for is the way that he brought me up. From a very young age, every Sunday morning we would all get into our small mini and off to church we went. All dressed up in our Sunday best, hair properly combed and all. Whether we liked it or not, Sunday was church day.

And I remember he would make me read all this Christian magazines to him. After I read it he would ask me questions. Sometimes we would also have discussions around various topics from the magazines. He was not a very educated man but he was a wise man.

He never ever told us how much he loved us, he never hugged us but we always felt safe and secure when he was around.

Scripture

As I was preparing this message last night, thinking Click Here to Read More...

Illustration – Tour de France

How many of you followed the latest Tour de France? I followed it in bits and pieces but I have friends who are mad TDF followers so I knew what was going on.

Let me talk about the Tour de France first.

(From Wikipedia: “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_de_france”  the free encyclopedia)

-          The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries.

-          First staged in 1903

-          This year held from July 2nd to 24th with 2 rest days

-          The race covered more than 3,400 kilometres.  From Melbourne to Brisbane by road is a distance of 1674km (1040 miles) and takes about 19 hours to travel.

-          Attracts riders and teams from around the world. About 21 teams with 9 riders each

-          2011 winner gets around Click Here to Read More...

Illustration

The title of my sermon is taken from an article that I read online just this week; “God Doesn’t Do Details” (ref: http://www.stevenfurtick.com/personal-development/god-doesnt-do-details/)

Reading this article really got me thinking. The whole big picture concept can be very frustrating to a detailed oriented person.  And for a Christian it is absolutely critical that we understand the big picture concept and where the details will fit in. 

When it comes to planning and doing things, generally there are two types of people:

• the ‘big picture people’ and
• ‘Detail oriented people.’

These two types tend to complement each other and work together very well.

The first type tends to be creative, strategic, and visionary … thinking ahead, drawing up long term plans but on the other hand they can also be Click Here to Read More...

My Reflection in God’s Mirror

Introduction

We all know the story about Snow White, right? Her step mother would ask the mirror who was the fairest of them all. And the mirror would reply that the step mother was the fairest of them all. This continued for a few years until Snow White grew a little older – and we know the rest of the story. The mirror never lied!

A mirror tells us a lot of things about ourselves. And the mirror doesn’t lie, except for those funny mirrors that you see in shopping centers etc. A plain mirror tells you if you have grey hair or bags under your eyes or if you’re losing weight or gaining weight.

Before we face the world, we face the mirror. What we see in the mirror determines a lot in how we face life in the natural. We do our hair, put on a new face just so the mirror tells us we’re to face the world.

In James chapter 1, the word of God is likened to a mirror. Now if you were to ask this Click Here to Read More...

From Thorns and Thistles to Blessings           

Scripture

Revelation 4:11 (King James Version)

 ¹¹Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Introduction

Let me ask you this today. Are you happy with your life? Are you content? Most of us are not. As individuals, we are continuously seeking for that something that will make our life better. That bigger TV, a newer car, that elusive lotto ticket that will make us millionaires and everything will be OK. All our problems will be gone.

As a society, we are constantly looking at ways to better our lives. We use science and technology to Click Here to Read More...