A wise minister I knew of placed a large number ‘9’ above his desk. Learning from him, I have post-it note with a ‘9’ on my office wall. ‘9’ is a reminder to give thanks. Jesus and the Ten Lepers It comes from an incident in Luke 17. Jesus is travelling between Samaria and Galilee —foreign […]

In July, Charlotte, Sam and Noah went to Fiji with Year 13 for a month of mission. Together, their purpose was to encourage and support the local church, and to partner with them in sharing Jesus with those they met. What is Year 13? Year 13 makes the most of the crucial first year out […]

God is never afraid of the hard questions. He welcomes us asking the big ones. Read through the Psalms and see how the Bible gives space for those that even sound accusing (eg: Psalm 13:1, ‘How long, O LORD? Will you forget me for ever? How long will you hide your face from me?’). Like the Psalmist, our community asks Big […]

A devotion on love: 1 John 4:7–21  What does true Christian love, true “agape”, look like?  1 John is one of the best places in Scripture to think about the love that propels us to love our neighbour. In this letter, John has already tested his people’s love twice — in 2:7–11, making sure it comes from the true light of […]

Hello to the good folk of Wollongong and Corrimal! If you could sit down and have a conversation with God, what would you ask him? It’s part of our human nature to wonder or question the way things are in our world, and why we exist. Perhaps you’d ask something along these lines… Whatever your […]

St Michael’s has been a great trainer, sender and supporter of people going into Christ’s harvest field. That’s what Harvest: Next Steps in Focus [Wednesday, June 24th from 6:30-9pm at Wollongong Hall] is all about – to continue as a church praying, raising up, sending and supporting God’s people into Christ’s massive harvest field. Now […]

How God took a quirky kid from Coffs Harbour and made him a catalyst for the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus across two continents and throughout many parts of the world 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote the poem ‘Who am I?’ from the confines of a Nazi concentration camp.   He expresses the disconnect between his confident appearance & his inner trembling.  It’s uncertainty we all know, to varying degrees.  That mismatch between who we feel we are, how we present to others & who we imagine should be.  Which – if any […]

We were made to worship and pray — but that doesn’t mean it comes naturally.  There’s a common assumption that prayer should be instinctive. If your heart is full enough (or desperate enough), it will simply overflow into prayer. And if it doesn’t, there’s no way to learn and grow in it.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and theologian, called this out as a […]

Picture this; you’re tasked with taking 54 teenagers to an off-site conference, over a whole weekend, with 2000 others, in temperamental weather conditions, and facing the prospect of limited sleep. What emotions are stirred in you?  For many; fear, anxiety, and stress. For the leaders of St Mick’s Youth excitement, joy and anticipation (and yes, admittedly a little fear, anxiety and […]

‘Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13).   Jesus’ words have particular resonance this April. April’s first weekend, we remembered with a public holiday how Jesus himself, lovingly laid down his life for the world.  This final weekend, we remember with another public holiday how soldiers past & present laid down their lives for the nation.   Both sacrifices […]

A great question.  I was in the cathedral, stacking chairs with the doors open mid-week.  A friendly passerby had seen the doors open.  His parents married here.  He thinks he might’ve been baptised at St Michaels.  So he wandered in.  ‘How is the religion thing going?’    I was able to tell him it’s great.  But we’d always welcome others to find out more. It’s great for a number of reasons. To share just two:  […]

Blessing Others: Let’s share Christ in our community  As Easter approaches, it is good for the church to pause and remember why we gather. We meet because God called us to Himself through the death and resurrection of His Son. We gather to grow in our love for God and for one another—but also so that the love of Christ might […]

With International Women’s Day coming up, I wanted to share a book I’ve found both encouraging and thought-provoking: Jesus Through the Eyes of Women by Rebecca McLaughlin. It’s one of those books that makes you slow down and look again at familiar Gospel stories. McLaughlin explores the women who met Jesus — the ones who […]

Have you ever thought about how many times in the New Testament the Christian life is compared to the physical training of the body in earthly, temporary pursuits? This is just off the top of my head: There are many more instances (that I will try to cover in future minister’s letters), but for now […]

It’s wonderful to grow in our knowledge of God’s word. But thankfully, God wants more, – and better – for us than just knowledge. In Colossians 1:9–10, the Apostle Paul shares God’s desire when he prays for believers: “…since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask […]

Passing Australia Day, the year really has begun!  The ‘Summer break’ is over.  I start a new year refreshed from an extended break on long service leave.    I enter a new year with an increased reserve of thankfulness, & my prayer is that I maintain my gratitude.   As we start a new year, I’m reflecting & praying over our […]

I am sure that you are as appalled as I am by the tragedy at Bondi this week. The darkness that seems ever-present in our poor planet has come home to us, to somewhere as quintessentially Australian as Bondi Beach, and we grieve at such acts of hatred. Lord Jesus, have mercy. How can we […]