Starting a new series based around the book of Lamentations….titled ‘Lament’
Most say Jeremiah wrote it as he watched the city of Jerusalem be ruined by Nebuchadnezzar.
The people lost everything. Homes, family, relationships, work. Most of all though they lost their spiritual identity as the temple was trampled on.
The Holy of Holies, God’s special place, was desecrated by their attackers.

In the midst of this tragedy they cried out to God. Where are you?
This is a legitimate question. This side of heaven we don’t always know and experience the presence of God. There is a time to lament, a time to question.

But don’t give up hope.

I am loving the direction and style of these new songs coming out from Hillsong Young and Free.

Last night we held a blokes night for the ‘Machine Gun Preacher’ Sam Childers.

It was a fantastic night. About 240 blokes turned up and Eliot and Rob and the band played some great rock’n’roll music to kick off the evening.

One song they played which I love is ‘heaven let your light shine down’ A great example of a secular song being reworked to suit a spiritual purpose.

Sam Childers was an engaging, humorous and passionate speaker. He shared his heart for the orphans in Africa and how he was drawn to help them when he came across a child many years ago severely injured by a land mine. Is there anything more evil and insidious than a land mine. Its the evil that keeps on being evil, years after its original purpose is gone.

Some people criticise Sam for his forthright and decisive action in the face of evil and violence. He is not a violent man. However he has done things which he regrets. He has also stood up for the fatherless and defenseless in a way that not all are comfortable with. Personally I resonate with his passion and determination to do what he can. And do a lot he has! You can read more about his work HERE

William Seymour is known as the founder of the modern Pentecostal movement. As part of our continuing series on ‘Heroes of the Faith” I spoke on his life on Sunday.

Along with his work in bringing the work of the Holy Spirit to the Church’s attention, he also made a significant contribution to the breakdown of racial segregation. This is what I shared on Sunday….

So what do we learn from William Seymour that is important to us.
Firstly and really obviously, so obvious that it almost pains me to have to say it.
Colour, race,cultural and religious backgound means nothing to God. To distinguish on that basis is like saying to a father, which one of your children is less worthy to be your child, is your son less worthy because he is male, is your daughter less worthy to be called your child because she has red hair?
I mean how patently ridiculous and wrong it was for Christians to discriminate the grace the message the good news of Jesus, based on appearance, background.

This is what someone said of the revival that took place under Williams ministry…
African-Americans, Latinos, whites, and others prayed and sang together, creating a dimension of spiritual unity and equality, almost unprecedented for the time. It allowed men, women, and children to celebrate their unity in Christ and participate as led by the Spirit. Indeed, so unusual was the mixture of blacks and whites, that Bartleman enthusiastically exclaimed, “The color line was washed away in the blood.”5 He meant that in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, the sin of racial prejudice had been removed by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.

The Fremantle board was right to get Ross Lyon as coach. Under Ross’ excellent tutelage and discipline, the Dockers have become something the opposite of what we have always been known as, disciplined. To watch the ferocious defensive pressure of this team is astounding. No more evident than the game against Carlton where Ross’ team of forwards hounded the Carlton defenders until a turnover came, and the incredulous Brian Taylor applauded from the box.

This weeks game against the far less credentialed GWS also demonstrated the tenacity of our forward press. So getting Ross was the right move. This is a well drilled, disciplined and most of all ‘aware’ team.

How the Board disposed of Harvey, ruthlessly, without a moment of compassion, was not good. Harvey was a loved coach, and put his heart and soul into the side. Making tough decisions. He deserved better. But what it is, is what it is, and ultimately Fremantle got their man, and he was and is the right one.

However something is concerning me about my Fremantle Dockers at the moment. Crowds are low. Despite the winning run from Fremantle, we are averaging around 34,000 for home games. This is 3000 less than 2010 and only marginally better than 2012. Is it just me, or is there a decided lack of presence from the crowd? Yes we are still passionate and loud. But there is something missing. Perhaps….some of the soul has gone. Chris Connolly and Schwab, for all the criticism you might level at them, did bring passion to the side. Now I like Lyon, he has a great sense of humour and genuine toughness. So this is not a criticism of him. But perhaps in the improvement and corporatisation of the club, we have lost something which might be difficult to regain.

We are doing a series at Inglewood Community Church on ‘Heroes of the Faith”

We have tried to pick interesting people, people we may not normally talk about. Now none of these people are perfect…because are not talking about Jesus!
But here is one I have just done on a hero of mine, Pastor Brian Houston from Hillsong Church

LISTEN

Rick Warren preached his first sermon the past weekend since his son Matthew committed suicide.
Matthew struggled with mental illness for most of his life and was highly intelligent.

Ricks take on how he is processing grief was fascinating and challenging.
Often at a funeral I have heard someone say, “God needed them in heaven more” or similar sentiment.
This obviously made Rick passionate, almost angry. Other people have said things like, “we remember the good times on earth and this gives us comfort”. This was also something Rick did not resonate with. He made this statement in regard to his son, ” ‘my comfort for my son come not from happy moments on earth, but holy moments he has in heaven”. Rick was also angry that his son had been taken from him because of mental illness and the state the world finds itself in. Our world is not perfect, far from it, and sin has contributed to that. In no way was he calling his son sinful, but his son suffered from the effect sin has had on the world. And in Ricks view his son was stolen from them, after enduring pain and mental anguish on earth.

A very challenging message you can watch online.
Watch Here