St Jude's Articles

What can we say, and what can we not say when it comes to the deep sadness of grief and suffering? In my experience often the words spoken, or the brief bible verse out of context written on a sympathy card, are well intentioned but tend to entirely miss the mark in what is needed for the person in the midst of a profound trial or sadness. It can feel a little like Job’s less than helpful friends surrounding him in his despair vainly trying to explain or account for his experience.

We hear and say the Lord’s Prayer all the time, but there is a richness to be enjoyed when it is carefully considered. Jesus’ prayer from Matthew 6 can act as a tuning fork for the heart even from the opening lines, realigning our fears and motivations, reorienting our gaze towards a loving father and heavenly king.

Grief is an experience that all of us will encounter in our lifetime. It is a very challenging season for the person who has lost a loved one and it can also be hard for those who wish to support the grieving.

It's winter. It's cold. And if you go to one of our traditional services, you'll be all-too familiar with the heater's impeccable timing in breaking down right as the first cold snap hits (update: it’s fixed now!). It’s tempting to stay in bed and watch the sermon on YouTube from the comfort of your lounge with a blanket and a big cup of tea.

Only recently (at 45!) did I really begin to understand the value of habits. By experience I learned that; sport + an aging body = physical pain. That forced me to think about how to strengthen my body for the sports I still wanted to do. What I came to understand is that the benefits of habits are built up over time. In other words, daily habits prepare and protect us for future struggles.

We believe that, God himself speaks with power and authority through His living Word! That means that at the heart of our growth in maturity as believers must be personal, faithful, and careful Bible reading and prayer. However, the Bible’s vast size and diversity can make distilling its truth a daunting task.

I've been struck afresh by a niggling question: how could the religious leaders get it so wrong? Especially the teachers of the law: their job was to study and teach the Scriptures — the very Scriptures that testified about Jesus — yet the very best of them only manages to get himself 'not far from the kingdom of God'

I was speaking with a young man who was figuring out ‘what team’ he was in. By team he meant church denomination. I was encouraged by his willingness, yet he had found some odd and wrong teachings from bad sources on YouTube.

At its heart, St Jude’s Bowral is a bible-believing and a bible-teaching church. But what does that actually mean? Every legitimate church gives a central role to engaging with the Scriptures. The reading and exposition of Scripture has been part of Christian gatherings since the time of the apostles, just as the reading and reflection upon the Hebrew Scriptures was a central part of synagogue gatherings before the time of Jesus.