Last week I was at the airport waiting for my flight when I received a phone call. The call was from the airport gate informing me that I was about to miss my plane. I was relaxing at the time and my first response was incredulity. “No I am not […]
I’ve been going to church since I was eight years old. Almost every church I have attended has been a self-proclaimed Bible-centred church. But what I have observed in churches is a lot of Bible preaching, a lot of Bible studies, Bible stories and Bible songs, but very little actual […]
English poet William Cowper (pronounced cooper) lived a dark life. His mother died when he was six, after giving birth to his brother. Little William was then sent away to boarding school and was cruelly abused. His father was a distant figure. After various episodes of instability, Cowper became a […]
It is no presumption to elevate the King James Version to the level of masterpiece.1 Indeed, the voices raised in praise of the King James Version during this 400th anniversary celebration are myriad (BBC, NPR, More NPR, Buckingham Palace, major newspapers around the world, etc.). The KJV, along with the […]
We’ve been doing a study on encouragement by Mattias Media over the past few months in men’s Bible study. One study has a role-play between a regular church attender and a first time visitor. Here are some of the things that were identified in the study: Don’t let “busyness” stop […]
I worked part-time in a department store during my seminary years. The store promoted clothing from Ralph Lauren and other brands, with glossy posters and creative displays. Each brand presented a certain “look” to attract the customer. I soon became aware of the value of style. What is style? Style […]
I no longer have my first Bible. I’m not sure what happened to it, but it was one of those KJV gift and award Bibles (I probably won it in a Sunday School contest) and I think it took a fair beating. On my ninth birthday, I received my first […]
Thanks to Jason and the rest of the InFocus team for giving me the opportunity to write over the next twelve weeks. I’m excited about sharing what I have been reading and reflecting on with particular attention to the purpose of the blog: “Our purpose is to develop the Australian […]
