Joshua 5 - Achan & Ai
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- Written by: Heather Cetrangolo
Achan And Ai audio (10MB)
During the week I represented a man in a family law mediation. He had recently separated from his wife, and we were negotiating for him to have contact with his children. It’s hard to imagine, for those of us who haven’t been through it, what it would be like to be negotiating with total strangers, about how many hours a week you are allowed to spend with your own children … especially if you have been in a Christian marriage.
The couple in this case were both practicing Christians – active members of their church. There hadn’t been any violence or abuse or adultery in the marriage. The relationship had simply broken down irretrievably for no obvious or striking reason … although they were, as many couples are, under financial pressure and pressure from extended family … my client finds himself in a situation he never imagined he’d be in … sitting with me in the Legal Aid Dispute Resolution Centre, praying, that he will still be able to have a relationship with his kids.
As I sat in the mediation and listed to the mediator carry on about what children need after separation … and tolerated the discussion that canvassed everything but what God might have to say about it all … I wondered … why are we here? Why are two believers even subjecting themselves to this process? - arguing against each other before an unbeliever? (and Paul says this in 1 Cor)
This couple haven’t broken the law. Why has the church palmed them off to the civil authorities? Why can’t we help them internally? Or are we so ashamed when we fail, when our people divorce, that we’d rather not get involved?
I noticed that the woman who ran the mediation was watching us very intently. Watching us pray. Watching our behaviour … and the world does have its eyes on the church, and people watch intently to see exactly what we do when things go wrong.
And the world wants to know …
Proverbs 1. 1-7
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- Written by: John Altmann
What kind of teacher is God?
When you think about God and his words in the bible, do you think – boring, uninteresting, not really able to hold my attention and teach me anything?
There’s a lot of information in the world now isn’t there? And the rate at which information is being created is astonishing. [8am – How many of you have used the internet? Who feels a bit overwhelmed by the amount of information out there and how do you find your way around it?] [10am – While I’m preaching this sermon there’ll be around 12,000 hours of new video material uploaded onto YouTube! That’s a lot to keep up with. Do you ever think about the fact that if when you start a university course today by the time you finish it most of what you learnt will be out of date!]
Is God responsible for all that information? Does God want us to have to just learn more and more? Does he want to overwhelm us with information or does he have somewhat different priorities for what he wants us to learn from him?
Christian Attitude: Judgment vs. Grace
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- Written by: Garret Edwards
Judgment vs. Grace Rom. 2:1-5, Matt.18:21-35
I’ve always loved that song. Relient K are really great at expressing the wonder of grace I think. ‘Cos we’re all guilty of the same things, we think the thoughts whether or not we follow through.’ ‘I know that I have been forgiven, and I hope you can forgive me too.’
Judgment and Grace, we all know the topic well. We all know that judgment is something that we need to be very careful of carrying out. We all know that grace is the gift we’re now expected to give to others.
Do you remember looking at the difference between religion and the gospel a few weeks ago? Do you remember what that difference was?
What’s the opposite of a hard earned prize of legalistic rituals and stringent moral behavior that religion offers? The free gift0f Radical Grace! Do you remember that?
Joshua 3: Two Kinds of Memorial
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- Written by: Heather Cetrangolo
Two Kinds of Memorial audio (4MB)
Lately, when I look in the mirror, there are a few things that bother me.
I notice that my top lip has a particular dip in it that is exactly like my mother’s. I also have a slight overlap in my front-two teeth just like she does.
I’ve noticed that I have the exact same forehead as my Dad’s Mum, and that my hair is starting to resemble my Dad’s long frizzy hair that he had in the 70’s.
And sometimes, when I’m being cheeky, I do this thing with my mouth that my grandmother on my Mum’s side does.
And it’s not only when I look in the mirror. Every now and again I catch myself in the middle of a passionate speech about something that is only moderately important, and I notice that I’m overreacting and I think, “I just sounded exactly like my Dad.”
And when I’m at kid’s club and eighteen kids arrive, and Annette has to leave suddenly, which means I have to cook … I noticed myself kind of panic and rush around in a manner that strongly resembles my mother.
And the problem with all of this, is that it totally ruins the promise I made to myself as an adolescent, that I was not going to be like my parents … that I was going to be my own person.
Joshua 2 - Rahab
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Joshua 2 - Rahab audio (4MB)
Joshua has received the call of God. If he’s to be a good leader he needs to show courage. But he also needs to show wisdom. They’re still on the east side of the Jordan, not yet in the Promised land and he’s working out what to do first. So before embarking on a campaign of war he decides to find out the lay of the land. So he sends a pair of spies to check it out.
But before we look at this little spy adventure let’s just stop to think about what they’re about to do and why. In Deut 31 God tells them, through Moses: “3The LORD your God himself will cross over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. ... 4The LORD will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them.”
At first glance this seems like a terrible thing the Israelites are about to embark on. Their mission is to drive out the inhabitants of the land; to utterly destroy them. Yet as we see in that passage it’s actually God who’s doing the destroying. It’s God who’s going before them to dispossess that people of the land.
Series: 06: Joshua
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Joshua
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1. The Foundation of leadership |
Joshua 1 |
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2. Rahab |
Joshua 2 |
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3. Two kinds of Memorial |
Joshua 3:6-4:18 |
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4. Jericho |
Joshua 5:13-6:27 |
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5. Jericho and Ai |
Joshua 7:1-8:2 |
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6. Mt Ebal and Mt Gerizim |
Joshua 8:30-35 |
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7. The Gibeonites |
Joshua 9:1-27 |
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8 Caleb |
Joshua 14:6-15 |
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9. The Cities of Refuge |
Joshua 20 |
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10. Joshua’s Farewell Challenge |
Joshua 24:1-28 |
Joshua 1 - The Foundation of Leadership
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Joshua - The Foundation of Leadership audio (4MB)
Today I want to talk about leadership. How can we develop it in ourselves? How can we recognise it in others? But first let me ask you, do you want good leadership in the church?
I trust that you all said an emphatic yes to that! Well then, let me tell you how you can get it.
Choose leaders who have been called to leadership by God, choose leaders with courage, devotion and obedience to God and be people who in turn are obedient, courageous, loyal and encouraging of your leaders.
Let’s look at today’s passage to see how these three sets of conditions come out in the history of Joshua.
Three Partners in Leadership
The first thing to notice is that leadership here involves a 3-fold partnership, between God, the leader and the people.
