Q. 31. What is effectual calling?A. Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.Westminster Shorter CatechismWe saw last week that we need God’s Spirit to give us new hearts to be able ...  Read More

The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,    but the folly of fools is deception.Proverbs 14:8“Know thyself” is one of the most ancient recorded philosophical maxims or sayings. It’s a timeliness saying in that it’s principle is timeless. As the writer of Proverbs says, the wisdom of the prudent is to reflect on themselves and their ways. Whereas the folly of fools is to deceive ...  Read More

13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham,...  Read More

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.Ephesians 4:1-2Last week we began memorising Ephesians 4:1-3 (starting at verse 1). Now, onto verse 2.The beginnings of living a life worthy of the calling we have received is to work towards unity in humility, gentleness...  Read More

Hear my prayer, Lord;    let my cry for help come to you.Do not hide your face from me    when I am in distress.Turn your ear to me;    when I call, answer me quickly.For my days vanish like smoke;    my bones burn like glowing embers.My heart is blighted and withered like grass;    I forget to eat my food.In my distress I groan aloud    and am reduced to skin and bones.Psalm 102:1-5I rekon that a...  Read More

One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.Exodus 2:11-12You can kind of imagine how this all played out in Moses’ life. It’s probably in one of the moves about him that I ca...  Read More

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.2 Thessalonians 2:16-17Aussies are an optimistic bunch. “I’ll be right.” Often, it’s a wishful thinking kind of optimism with no solid reason for hope.Have you ever thought things would be ok? But they ...  Read More

Q. 30. How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?A. The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.Westminster Shorter CatechismOver the past twenty five years or so, I’ve invited a bunch of people to check out Jesus. I’ve explained the gospel to them, or I’ve brought them to t...  Read More

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.James 1:19-20Have you ever read one of those Christian social media responses that just made you wince? Do you have a friend who just can’t help themselves from commenting on every social issue with an u...  Read More

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summone...  Read More

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.Ephesians 4:1At school we used to get picked for teams. We were ‘called’ into the cricket team or the soccer team. Christians have been called to be a part of Jesus’ team. And that means they receive the prize that comes with being on the winning team.So how should we live? We should live a life wor...  Read More

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believersGalatians 6:10You get out of it, what you put into it. You know that phrase? I’m not sure it’s always true. But one place it often is true. Is Church. Some people come to Church to ‘get fed’. Some to tick a box. Some by force of habit. But my experience is that this approach wi...  Read More