The sermon for December 11th 2022 is now available on the New Life web-site.
In this sermon, which is based on Isaiah 35:1-10, I talk about Restoration In All Things.
Click here to listen in your browser, here to download the mp3
Month: December 2022
Jo Nova: The coldest summer day in Australia and nobody notices
It’s funny how the BOM is always banging on about the “hottest year ever”, the “warmest winter day on record”, “unprecedented rain”, but nobody notices the coldest summer day on record. Maybe it doesn’t fit the approved narrative
#d6b15c">The coldest summer day in Australia and nobody notices
Weatherzone report that Thursday was the equal coldest morning ever recorded anywhere in Australia in summer time. Oddly, there were no preemptive emergency warnings the night before, no news stories announcing the area “might” hit a new record, no camera teams visited the scene and the BOM did not invent a Coldsnap Emergency Alert System to tell Australians to put on a jumper.
On Thursday, Perisher Valley in the Australian Alps got down to minus 7.0 C (19F) equaling the record set in Perisher in January 1979 and which was also reached at Charlottes Pass in December 1999.
Oddly, no one blamed this on climate change, or mentioned that it would have been worse if we hadn’t burnt all that coal. After all, without CO2, it would have been minus ten, right?
There were more news headlines about the heat that didn’t happen than there were about the cold that did.
While no media outlets have mentioned this cold record, many have run the story that temperatures might reach 48C this weekend and they issued plenty of warnings. As it happens the 48C was a fizzer on Saturday (the hottest was 44.9), and looks like missing tomorrow too (the forecast peak is now 45C). Hence imaginary heatwaves beat actual cold.
Apologies to Northern Hemisphere friends in winter, we know “it’s nothing”. But it is supposed to be hot here in December. Yet snow has continued to fall on Australian ski fields in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania this year with a “staggering 25cm” falling on Perisher just days before summer officially began.
From Jo Nova
Quote for the Day
God is raising up the entire Body of Christ, including you, to restore broken people back to Himself. Becky Dvorak
Today’s Bike Ride
Nice ride to Jacks Creek and Gun Club Roads
Quote for the Day
By His blood, Jesus dissolved the power of satan and all of his evil ways over us. Becky Dvorak
Reflection on 1 Samuel 16:1-23
Scripture
The Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Observation
The Lord sends Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king. Samuel takes a heifer with him and invites Jesse and his sons to a sacrifice.
Samuel looks of each of Jesse’s son’s in turn, thinking they must be the Lord’s anointed servant, but the Lord rejects each one. Finally, Jesse sends for his youngest son David, and the Lord tells Samuel to anoint him as the next king.
The Spirit of the Lord has left Saul, and he is tormented by a spirit of depression and anxiety. Saul’s servants send for David to come and play music for Saul to soothe his spirit. David becomes Saul’s armour-bearer and is greatly loved by him.
Application
The Lord does not judge us by our outward appearance, but by what is in our hearts.
People made all sorts of judgements about people they have never met based on their appearance – ethnicity, clothing, apparent wealth, and so on. In fact, the fashionable ideology of Critical Race Theory says that everything about a person is determined by race.
God looks at your heart, the “content of your character” as Martin Luther King described it. Everything else is secondary .
If you love the Lord, it doesn’t matter whether you are short or tall, fat or thin, young or old, European or Asian. These things are secondary to our love for the Lord and our desire to walk in the ways of Jesus.
Prayer
Lord, thank you that you love me for the person you created me to be. Thank you for your unfailing love. Amen.
Today’s Bike Ride
Temperature was down to 9.9 C last night. Hard to believe it is summer in #narrabri
Quote for the Day
We are highly favoured by God because of what Jesus did for us—He bled and died for us and rose from the dead. Because He chose to suffer for us, we can now come with all boldness and confidence and stand before His beautiful throne of grace and ask for His intervention in every situation. Becky Dvorak
Reflection on 1 Samuel 15:1-35
Scripture
“Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice
And submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as bad as worshipping idols.”
Observation
Samuel tells Saul that the Lord has decided to settle accounts with the Amalekites. Saul is to go and destroy them completely – every person regardless of age and all of their livestock.
Saul and his men slaughter the Amalekites, but they spare King Agag and only kill the weakest of the animals.
Samuel finds saul and confronts him about sparing the animals. Saul says they only kept them to sacrifice to the Lord. They destroyed everything else.
Samuel says that obedience not sacrifice is what pleases the Lord. Rebellion is as bad as witchcraft or idolatry.
Samuel tells Saul that because Saul has rejected the Lord, the Lord has rejected him as King over Israel. Samuel then kills King Agag.
Application
Obedience to God is far more important than religious sacrifices or heroic deeds.
We must settle it in our hearts that, regardless of the cost, we will always obey the Lord. That is what it means when we say that Jesus is Lord; Jesus is King, Master, the one who directs our lives.
Any other attitude towards Jesus is of the same category as witchcraft or idolatry.
The Lord does not want our tithes and offerings, our attendance at church meetings, or anything else. He wants me and my heart surrendered to Him.
Prayer
Lord, I see that obedience is far better than sacrifice. Please help me to yield to you in everything I do. Amen.
Today’s Bike Ride
Lovely morning for riding.
New Life Narrabri 