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‘Let no one who is not eager for truth and peace enter here’ (Plato)

Articles on this site express varying points of view, to encourage mature thinking on serious issues. The assumption is that you will want to study a controversial topic from various angles before you arrive at a conclusion, rather than simply believe what someone told you when you were impressionable! (So some stuff here is ‘hot’. Proceed at your own risk!). See the Statement of Faith for John Mark Ministries' theological stance.

REMEMBERING OUR LOVED ONES

By and others ⋅ December 10, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

By Christine Jones   This is a message given  at St Paul’s Anglican Church Boronia. December 2011, at A Remembering Service, specifically designed for those who have lost loved ones over the year. Today we are all united by our love and our loving memories for someone we have lost. Today we are brought together, linked with […]

Caring and Giving

By and others ⋅ December 8, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

People don’t care how much you know… They want to know how much you care! Care is shown by sacrifice of time, of help, of selflessness, of love. It means giving a part of your life to someone else! ~~~ Do not rob another person of the joy of giving, by not accepting. When you […]

Thoughts to start the day…

By and others ⋅ November 30, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Teach me, good Lord: Not to murmur at the multitude of business or the shortness of time. Not to call attention to crowded work or petty fatigues. Not to gather encouragement from others, lest this should interfere with purity of motive. Not to seek praise, respect, gratitude, or regard from superiors or equals on account […]

SPIRITUAL MATURITY: CONS AND PROS

By and others ⋅ November 29, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

A whole-of-life check-up, based on Galatians 5:16-26 Paul ¢â‚¬â„¢s lists of  ¢â‚¬Ëœworks of the flesh ¢â‚¬â„¢ vs.  ¢â‚¬Ëœfruits of the Spirit ¢â‚¬â„¢ have guided Christ-followers for 2000+ years. The Evangelical leader John Stott, one of my mentors, used to pray through the  ¢â‚¬Ëœfruits of the Spirit ¢â‚¬â„¢ list every day. When Paul uses the term  ¢â‚¬Ëœflesh ¢â‚¬â„¢ he could be […]

Eucharist and thanksgiving

By and others ⋅ November 28, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

  In the Eucharist, or Lord ¢â‚¬â„¢s Supper, Jesus gave us something that he did not say we needed to  ¢â‚¬Å“think about ¢â‚¬  or  ¢â‚¬Å“agree upon, ¢â‚¬   ¢â‚¬Å“understand, ¢â‚¬   ¢â‚¬Å“look at, ¢â‚¬  or even  ¢â‚¬Å“worship. ¢â‚¬  Instead, he just said,  ¢â‚¬ Eat this ¢â‚¬  and  ¢â‚¬Å“give thanks ¢â‚¬  (eucharisteo, Luke 22:17) to the onewho gives you bread, andwho is the origin of your own […]

It’s all grace! (Richard Rohr)

By and others ⋅ November 23, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

When Job’s life is about to be taken away from him, he can say one of two things. He can curse God, as he is tempted to do, and say,  ¢â‚¬Å“God, why not fifty-one years of life? ¢â‚¬  Or he can surrender to love and say,  ¢â‚¬Å“God, why even fifty years? ¢â‚¬  Why did I deserve life […]

Choose Life (Richard Rohr)

By and others ⋅ November 6, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

  CHOOSE LIFE ¢â‚¬”CHOOSE DEATH   All religions in their own way talk about  ¢â‚¬Å“dying before you die ¢â‚¬ ! They are all indeed saying that something has to die. We all know this, but often religions have chosen the wrong thing to kill, which has given us a very negative image. In almost all of history it […]

Jesus’ faith (Richard Rohr)

By and others ⋅ October 18, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Luke tells us that Jesus walked the journey of faith just as you and I do. That ¢â‚¬â„¢s the compelling message of the various moments where Jesus needed faith ¢â‚¬”during his temptation in the desert, during his debates with his adversaries, in the garden, and on the cross. We like to imagine that Jesus did not flinch, […]

QUOTES

By and others ⋅ October 12, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Teach me, good Lord: Not to murmur at the multitude of business or the shortness of time. Not to call attention to crowded work or petty fatigues. Not to gather encouragement from others, lest this should interfere with purity of motive. Not to seek praise, respect, gratitude, or regard from superiors or equals on account […]

Shame (Richard Rohr)

By and others ⋅ October 10, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

What we call Original Sin in Genesis could perhaps better be called Original Shame, because the way that Adam and Eve describe themselves is that they feel naked. Then some of the first words of God to his newly created people are,  ¢â‚¬Å“Who told you that you were naked? ¢â‚¬  (Genesis 3:11). Next, in a lovely […]

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