From Ben’s Desk

I have recently been deeply challenged by ladies. Not the ladies in the church or those who keep me in shape at home, (ie. my wife and 3 daughters), but the ladies who have been challenging me recently, have been 2 ladies in the Scriptures, in the books of Ruth and 1 Samuel. Ruth’s life,…

We have all been shocked and saddened by the tragic accident on the Gold Coast where 3 men and a woman lost their lives at the Dream Park adventure park. It has come as a greater blow to us knowing that those people were just there having fun with their families when this tragedy occurred….

This morning after the worship service, we will be holding our AGM. The reports were made available last week and hopefully you may have had opportunity to read them already. As I was reading through the church reports I was made aware once again of the army of volunteers who give so much time and…

International Sunday is always a highlight in the life of our church. Over the years I have always looked forward to celebrating our wide diversity as a church. The N.T. refers to the church as the body of Christ. There are 2 things that strike me in this very appropriate image of what the true…

I once read an article that said that the Hallmark greeting card company gave free cards to USA prison inmates on Mother’s Day and also on Father’s Day. It noted that that Mother’s Day cards would run out and they would have to supply more, but the Father’s Day cards were hardly used and there…

I read an article in the Herald this week about a fisherman in the Philippines who went out on his boat fishing. When he tried to pull in his anchor he found it was stuck. As he was in shallow water he dived down and freed the anchor. On retrieving it he found that something…

You may have seen on TV or heard about the 5000m women’s heat at the Rio Olympics. The NZ runner, Nikki Hamblin, fell and brought down the USA runner, Abbey D’Agostino. Abbey was up first and helped Nikki up, as they set off to catch up to the pack of other runners. But after a…

The Rio Olympics gets under way this weekend with great excitement. Rio has worked hard to clean up its sprawling city and polluted waters. The cost of getting ready for this world event has taxed the country to the limit and has cost an estimated $5 billion. 85000 soldiers and armed police have been mobilised…

The news this past week has shocked me deeply. An 84-year-old priest was murdered in cold blood in his church while he was going about his ministry. This happened in a small town in France in front of a small but faithful congregation of worshippers. This is a new all-time low for ISIS. France is…

As you know I have recently returned from an exciting two-week mission trip to China. Getting there was full of challenges with lost luggage and missed link up flights; however, once there and settling into my accommodation, which was very basic, I had a wonderful two weeks teaching the word of God. In the first…