Micah 5:1-5 Christmas Peace - 2014
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- Written by: Ruth Newmarch
The Prince of Peace audio (4MB)
If you could have anything for Christmas, what would it be? It would be peace, right? Peace in the CBDs of the world's cities to have a coffee, peace in our homes - the beating-heart of our nation, peace in neighbourhoods instead of the consequences of ice addiction, peace in every school so innocent children can learn, peace to travel by air without fear, safety on public transport ('stand with me'), peace in our jobs from workplace bullying, peace about our health or our future - just peace...peace on earth.
As we look closely at Micah 5v1-5, we're going to find the way to this level of peace is not quite what we might think.
The way to peace on earth is found in at least three ways here in Micah: firstly – we're not to look for it – the state of peace, like in Buddhism, but for a person. Secondly, the way to peace is not by wresting power but receiving it. Thirdly, the way to peace is to understand its timeless quality.
Micah 6:1-8 - The Kingdom Lived
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- Written by: Ruth Newmarch
Kingdom Lived audio (6MB)
Micah 6:1-8
A grim statistic haunts South Africa. The South Africa Medical Research Council reports that a woman is killed by an intimate partner every eight hours. In response, a development agency has a program called Channels of Hope, tackling gender inequality. Recently two young academics, one a Melbourne woman, have been evaluating the success of this program. They've found themselves wrestling with the argument that religious and secular spheres don't mix. This is not true to the lived experience of people they've interviewed.
Micah 4:1-4; 5:2-5 - Kingdom Restored
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- Written by: George Hemmings
Kingdom Restored audio (6MB)
Micah 4:1-4
Before we came to St. Thomas’, Sarah and I were at Deep Creek. It had been Sarah’s home church for about 12 years and after we were married I started a student placement there. So when Deep Creek decided to sell their old pews to buy new seats, we leapt at the chance. We had grand plans for it, but the pew sat in our garage for a couple of years until this past summer, when we finally got around to restoring it. Now to be fair, we’d tackled a number of other projects in the meantime. Over the years we’d restored two cabinets, a dresser and two cots. (Not to mention having three kids!) So we kind of knew what we were doing.
I wonder if you’ve had any experience restoring or rebuilding something? Taking something that was broken, or worn, or used and bringing new life into it. Maybe you’ve tried tackling something bigger than a piece of furniture, like a house. Or maybe just seen it on TV.
Micah 2:1-11 The Kingdom Defiled
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- Written by: George Hemmings
Kingdom Defiled audio (4MB)
Micah 2:1-11
It doesn’t take a genius to realise there’s something wrong with our world. I mean, I guess on the surface things look pretty good. We live in an age of wealth and prosperity, of innovation and exploration. Our day to day lives are pretty peaceful. Sure we’ve had our share of questionable leaders in the past, but the current guy’s better than anyone we’ve had in the last 30 years. Who’d want to go back to having Ahaz as King of Judah? He was a king who didn’t walk in the way of the Lord, if there was ever one. There were shrines going up to Baal everywhere, pagan sacrifices in the temple. There was even talk that he made his sons pass through fire like the you know who do. We’re lucky Hezekiah survived and took the throne after Ahaz died. Talk about chalk and cheese! He’s nothing like his father. You can tell Hezekiah’s a man after God’s own heart, he’s working to clean up the streets of Jerusalem and restore right worship in the land.
Daniel 6 - Politics in the Lion's Den
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- Written by: George Hemmings
Politics in the Lion's Den audio (7MB) (NB this audio is from the 2pm Mandarin service and currently includes the Mandarin translation)
Daniel 6
It feels like every time we turn on the TV we're reminded that the world is full of conflict. Some conflicts are small, but many are huge. Some conflicts are so big they involve entire nations, even the whole world. If you turn on the TV tomorrow morning at 5:00am you'll see one of those nation, in fact world-wide conflicts. Argentina and Germany are facing off against each other to see who will claim the World Cup! Throughout Daniel we’ve seen a more important conflict being waged, the conflict between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Man. The conflict continues on multiple fronts in Daniel 6, between the people of the kingdoms, between their laws, and between the Kings themselves.
