by Andrew Corbett | 2024 Feb,16 | Pastor's Desk
We can be reasonably certain about many things. In fact, without this certainty about life, none of us could function. We can be certain that tonight the sun will ‘set’. Tomorrow the sun will ‘rise’. After the February 28th it will be February 29th. This year there will be international unrest and much political instability in many parts of the world. In the coming months global warming will be identified by politicians as the source of floods and wildfires. Several high profile international celebrities will die this year. Archaeologists will make a discovery that will require some aspects of history to be rewritten. And you will certainly have one of the most memorable moments in your life in the coming days. You see, there are clearly some things we can be quite certain about. However, there are some aspects about our future that we cannot be certain about, yet in those moments we can be certain about what we should do.
by Geoff Hill | 2024 Jan,26 | Pastor's Desk
As a church, this year’s theme is coming closer to Christ by getting to know Him better. I feel that I am “the least qualified person” to tell anyone how this is done — but someone else has already claimed this distinction – the apostle Paul. After decades of hearing directly from Christ, seeing extraordinary miracles, being taken to heaven temporarily, planting churches across the Roman Empire, he could still say I would give anything to really know Christ – even if it meant suffering like He did! (Phil. 3:7-10). Therefore, I could say: If you do this or that, you will then know Christ better – but in my view, it’s not as easy as that! How we develop our relationship with Christ is shaped by several factors including our personality, our life experiences, our physical health and fitness, and our relationships with others (especially our parents and particularly our father). In fact, I believe that there is a relationship between how we have learned to build relationships with others (and notably how we have learned to relate to those who are closest to us) and how we then proceed to have a relationship with God. Even though I have expressed my lack of qualifications in telling anyone how to have a closer relationship with Christ, I still can, like one hungry beggar to another hungry beggar, offer you a few of the morsels of food that I’ve been able to find.
by Andrew Corbett | 2023 Dec,8 | Pastor's Desk
Do you like meeting new people and forming new friendships? Some people do. Some don’t. Those that do are usually the ones you see in a social setting (such as a party) who, if they see someone on their own, feel they should be the one to go over to that person and involve them in a conversation. Such people are naturally friendly and seem to make friends quite easily. They find starting conversations with others easier than most and seem to somehow have the knack of making people feel at ease. But these people are rare. In fact, good friends are hard to find these days. However, they may become less rare if everyone who is unfriendly or friendless reads this short article and discovers how to become a good friend.
by Andrew Corbett | 2023 Jul,7 | Pastor's Desk
There may be some who come from a banking or accounting background who will already be familiar with one aspect of how this mysterious word fiduciary is used. But when used of a local church, it has a much broader application than its application to banking or accounting. For those who have a slight grasp of Latin it will be obvious to them that this word’s first syllable, fid, comes from the Latin fidere which means ‘to trust’. Technically, it is a Latin word – fiduciarius, from fiducia ‘trust’ which has been anglicised (translated into English) as fiduciary. For a banker or an accountant it means that someone is trusting them with their finances. But for a church it means much, much more because it involves being trusted with things worth much more than finances.
by Office | 2023 Mar,17 | Pastor's Desk
Our relationship with God is built and sustained by trust in Him. We come to faith by trusting and accepting what has been done on our behalf. We continue in faith by the same trust in what has been gifted to us. We will surely have moments of challenges and difficulties – be it physical, social, financial, relationship, work/business etc where doubts and uncertainties surround. May we find strength in the knowledge that God does care, even when we do not fully understand.
