The Chronicles Of…

At least he’s got a garage…

There were some there who wanted to stop the boats of refugees coming in Australia so Jesus told them this parable:

Jesus said “There was once an orphanage that housed many children. Some orphans would find a new family in a new place if they went through the official adoption process that took many years.”

Jesus continued “One day the orphanage came under new management by evil men. One night the new managers set fire to the orphanage saying ‘we will destroy the building, kill the children and rebuild’. And there was a great and terrible fire. That night the children tried to flee the flames and seek shelter with a new family in a new place. Many children perished but some managed to escape and reached a new place of shelter that was open and spacious with many empty rooms, but the people who lived in that place said to themselves ‘Who are all these children? They have not come to us through the official adoption process. Surely they will fill up our empty rooms and spacious grounds! We must turn them back from here and ill treat them that they may warn others not to come to our land.’

So the people of that place turned some of the children around and sent them back into the fire where they perished. Others they locked in small cages for many years before also sending them back into the great fire where they too perished.”

Those standing near by were outraged by this and said “Teacher, why tell us this parable? This is a terrible and monstrous act! May the Lord bring judgment upon those wicked men and the people of that land for this injustice!”

Jesus said “Truly I tell you, you are the people of that land! You brood of vipers, you evil snakes! You enjoy this spacious land with many empty rooms!”

If you like this parable why not email it to Tony.Abbott.MP@aph.gov.au and Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au

This one is from the AFL on the weekend. This is a hit and a half!

I got sent this one on email. Nice mega church service satire. I think you’ll like them both!

“Sunday’s Coming” Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

You’re that guy… Who is too busy twittering, Facebooking, & texting on your mobile device to engage with people face to face.

You’re that guy.. who drag races people and drives like a tool just so you can be the first to the next red light.

Psalm 3: Complaint.

Theme: Battling against the odds, outnumbered, being picked on… a zipper in a world of velcro.

v5. stands out for me… the quiet calm amongst the turmoil. Assailants on every side, many are against you, many have written you off… but “I lie down to sleep and wake up again because YHWH sustains me”. Where there should be sleepless anxiety, there is a restful calm and trust in YHWH’s protection (v.3).

v7. Anger. Vindication. “Fight for me!” “punch them in the face YHWH!”. When your backed into a corner with the odds against you, this would be my prayer.

Feelings: anxious urgency and yet quiet comfort.

This looks interesting.

So in January 2008 I decided to read a psalm a day in order to teach myself to pray, and to pray more regularly… [This Post]

Well… you will notice that the “psalms” category on the right has only 4 posts… in fact I only did Psalm 1 and 2 before I fell off the wagon…

Where was the accountability eh people?!

Well, I’m starting again. I always love the Psalms, and given that I’ve been doing the Psalms course at college with Andy Stirrup I’m enthused once again to regularly reflect on a psalm daily in order to pray more godly prayers and be more prayerful.

Maybe you could take up the challenge with me? And you fellow bloggers out there might like to blog your reflections too.

This is the structure that I’m going for as i reflect on the psalms:

• What type of psalm do I think this is?
• What particularly connects with me in this psalm?(What does this psalm do to me? How does it make me feel?)
• How does the imagery help me express myself to God?
• In what situations would I find this psalm as a useful prayer?

Here is a psalm chart I made some time ago to help me think about the different types of psalms. I’ve been updating it as I go, so it’s a work in progress. If you find it useful and want to start from scratch with a blank chart, use this one.

this is amazing!

I was privy to know that the Bible Society had applied for a “Jesus. All about life” stall at this year’s Easter show but heard on Friday that the application was rejected! No Jesus at the Easter show! (Read about it here)
It’s quite a wonder to behold… No Muhammad at the Ramadan festival?

So, i think we can finally say what we had suspected to be the case for quite some time… it really is a show AT Easter rather than an Easter show.

However, It has prompted me to recognise that most Aussies probably view Easter and Christmas the way I view the the Queen’s Birthday in June. The similarities with Christmas especially are really very profound… QB: celebrates the birth of a sovereign with a public holiday on the date that isn’t actually the real birthday… Christmas, the same… But if somebody wanted to tell me the real reason for my June long weekend was because the queen was born and she is the head of the country I live in and that I should pay her homage on her birthday, I wouldost likely tell them I didn’t care. As far as I’m concerned this is my public holiday regardless of what it stands for…

Sound familar?

I’ve just completed an assignment for the Psalms and Daniel subject I’m doing at Youthworks College this semester and I’m interested to see if the assignment is useful in practice…

This is the assignment:

A friend is haunted by an event that took place in the past. You don’t actually know what happened but you know that memory of that event triggers a cycle of anger, resentment and guilt. Choose three psalms that would help your friend who feels trapped in this cycle. Explain why you have chosen these particular psalms and explain how they might be used as part of a process of helping your friend move from victim to survivor.

I chose psalms 55, 32, and 124 in response (in that order). Here’s a short explanation of the psalms I chose:

• Psalm 55 is to help you express your hurt, pain and anger to God;
• Psalm 32 is to help you deal with any guilt you feel from the saga;
• and Psalm 124 is to help you celebrate freedom the hurt and express a firm dependence on God for salvation in all circumstances.

If you are someone who is still revisited by a painful memory of a hurtful event in the past that you haven’t dealt with, I’d be interested if these psalms help aid your process from victim to survivor. Please let me know.