The Real Christmas Story: how well do you know it?

The count is on. Itā€™s two weeks until Christmas! The decorations are going up, the light shows are starting, and the community Christmas carols fill the weekends. Like most people, I grew up with ā€œrealā€ Christmas story depicted by the classical nativity scene where Jesus was born in a…

[Press Release] Luu family welcomes E. M. Luu

On Thursday, 26 November 2015 at 2:48pm the Luu familyā€”currently residing in Brisbane, Australiaā€”welcomed into the world, Emily Maree Luu. Emily arrived with great gusto after a four-hour labour, weighing in at 3.03kg (6 lb. 11 oz). Julie (mother) progressed through the labour valiantly, though wanted…

Live in the world: a warning from John (Part 2)

I love my car. I love my technology and gadgets. I love my food. I love my family. I love my friends. And letā€™s be honest, Iā€™d struggle if God asked me to give up these things. I would, but itā€™d be hard. Yet, there are more…

Live in the world: a warning from John (Part 1)

There are times when I think it would be so much easier to enter a monastary to grow and practice my faith. Shut away from the world, removed from the problems of materialism, and distanced from the trials and temptations of living in the world. Do not love the world…

Words of encouragement: timeless assurance

I love Joseph. Heā€™s now two years old. My greatest concern is how I will equip Him in life and faith. 10 years ago, this was a distant thought; instead I was challenged by the secularist university around me and how I would live out my faith among my…

Knowing God: a new, old commandment

The reality of God was never something Iā€™ve really questioned. Sure, Iā€™ve doubted the nature of God, the person of God, and my relationship to this God. In the end, the deciding question for me was whether this divine being would have any implications for my life. Beloved,…

What is Propitiation? A definition and meaning in the Bible

Propitiation. Maybe this is the first time youā€™ve heard this word. Maybe youā€™ve heard it a number of times, but donā€™t know what it means. Itā€™s certainly not a word I understood for a long time, and really, Iā€™m still coming to fully understand the…