Weekly Articles

The school holidays are almost here. For some, that means travelling; for others, entertaining children or grandchildren; and for still others, enjoying the slightly quieter roads while everybody else does the travelling and entertaining. It may also mean time for a movie. So, for the next two weeks, I thought I would offer some holiday viewing inspired by our sermon series, The Seven: From Vice to Virtue. This week, here are four films corresponding to the first four pairings we have considered.

We are now halfway through The Seven: From Vice to Virtue. Along the way, several thoughtful questions have arisen. Here are three of the most important. First, what is the difference between sin, a sin and a vice?

Yesterday, 10 September, was R U OK? Day. This year’s theme is “Ask R U OK? Any Day”—because, rather inconveniently, life’s difficulties do not confine themselves to the second Thursday in September.

The story is told of a young soldier fighting for the Union during the American Civil War. It was 1864, and he had been away from his family for several years when news reached him that his father was gravely ill and unlikely to live much longer. “Please come home.” The soldier immediately sought compassionate leave, but his request was refused...

What exactly are we angry about? That is the excellent question asked by sports journalist Rana Hussain in response to the scandal that has engulfed the Sydney Swans. Five players have been suspended for the remainder of the season after a late-night gathering in a Melbourne hotel. A police investigation into an alleged sexual assault continues, but, at the time of writing, no player has been charged, and the club’s sanctions were imposed for breaches of its standards, independently of that investigation.

This Sunday we begin a new nine-week sermon series called The Seven: From Vice to Virtue. It has nothing to do with the Seven Wonders of the World, The Magnificent Seven, or even the rather less magnificent seven dwarfs. Instead, we will be exploring seven patterns of thought, desire and behaviour that Christian tradition has identified as particularly destructive: pride, envy, sloth, wrath, greed, gluttony and lust. In case you are already thinking, “This sounds like the perfect time to try another church for a couple of months,” let me try to dissuade you!