I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas and that this holiday season brings you a tangible sense of peace and strength. Before you know it, we will be into another new year - 2024! It's been noted before that many people spend more time thinking about their holidays than they do their life. That's a … Continue reading A New Year Awaits …
The Christmas Story
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope this is a special and meaningful time for you, your family, and your friends. The Christmas Story Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. Let’s take a few moments today to think about this significant event, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke 2:1-22 in The Message Bible. Sometimes we … Continue reading The Christmas Story
Happy Father’s Day!
Happy father’s day to all the dads out there. Becoming a father is one of the true joys in life. Let’s take time to thank, honour and appreciate all the dads in our life today. This picture is of 3 of my fathers. In the middle is my dear dad, Kevin Conner. He never knew … Continue reading Happy Father’s Day!
The Love of a Mother
This coming Sunday is Mother's Day, a century-old tradition of taking time to thank and honour our amazing mums. Mums are special people we owe so much to - in addition to our very existence! Most mums are faithful, loyal, hard-working, loving and caring people. We honour and applaud them today. Of course, Mother’s Day … Continue reading The Love of a Mother
Happy Easter!
Welcome to the Easter weekend, 2020. What an unusual and strange world we live in right now. I hope you found my few thoughts on living in turbulent times helpful and encouraging. Easter is an important date on the yearly calendar, and especially for Christians who take this time to reflect on the death, burial … Continue reading Happy Easter!
How to Create a Culture of Generous Givers in Your Church
Over these last few years, I have been coaching quite a few pastors across Australia and a few overseas. It's a privilege to come along side these church leaders from different denominations and contexts and offer them encouragement and advice in a wide range of aspects of personal ministry and church life. One of the … Continue reading How to Create a Culture of Generous Givers in Your Church
The Christmas Season
It’s the Christmas season! People are carefully selecting gifts for their loved ones, the air is filled with the sound of Christmas carols, bright Christmas lights sparkle each night, and many are looking forward to some time off with their family and friends. For people of faith, this time of year is a reminder of … Continue reading The Christmas Season
Easter Reflections
The signs of Easter are all around us - cooler weather, school holidays, an upcoming long weekend, hot cross buns and extra church services to cater to people's faith which comes in all shapes and sizes. For many people, it is also a time to reflect on some important events that took place over 2,000 … Continue reading Easter Reflections
Are You Ready for the New Year?
Well, Christmas 2016 is done and dusted. Now it’s time to prepare to enter a new year. During transitional seasons such as this, it’s always good to stop and do three things: Reflect, Review and Re-calibrate. Firstly, reflect on the year that is about to finish. What happened? What went as expected? What surprises came … Continue reading Are You Ready for the New Year?
Merry Christmas (2016)
Merry Christmas! Last weekend, I participated in my final Christmas Carols production at the church where I have served for over 30 years. It was a fun time together - singing carols, listening to our amazing singers, musicians and creative teams inspire us, watching the bright-eyed children, and sharing about Jesus as THE gift we all need … Continue reading Merry Christmas (2016)
What Would Jesus Say to Santa Claus?
It's hard to believe we are just 10 sleeps away from Christmas! I really enjoy the Christmas season. It's a time to enjoy family and friends, way too much delicious food, some time off and a reminder of God's greatest gift to our world - Jesus Christ. Of course, most followers of Jesus know that … Continue reading What Would Jesus Say to Santa Claus?
Update on Mark and Nicole Conner
At a Special General Meeting on 6th October, the CityLife members confirmed by an overwhelming majority the unanimous nomination by the Board of Elders of Andrew Hill as the next Senior Minister of CityLife Church (read my initial announcement about leadership transition back in February 2016, in case you missed that). I congratulate Andrew … Continue reading Update on Mark and Nicole Conner
Jesus and His Mother
As Jesus was dying on the cross, he was not completely alone. There were a small group of people who loved him dearly, right there until his last breath (John 19:25-27). They demonstrated great courage just to even be there. One of them was Mary - Jesus’ mother. I am sure Mary did not always … Continue reading Jesus and His Mother
Happy Mother’s Day (2016)
[Watch this message] It’s Mother’s Day: a century-old tradition of taking time to thank and honour our amazing mums. Mums are special people we owe so much to - in addition to our very existence! Most mums are faithful, loyal, hard-working, loving and caring people. We honour and applaud them today. Of course, Mother’s Day … Continue reading Happy Mother’s Day (2016)
Easter Sunday
Can you believe it – it’s Easter Sunday! I know - it seems like we just finished celebrating Christmas. I heard one little boy once say, “Jesus was just born, are you telling me he’s died already?” In many ways Easter is the second half of God’s Christmas gift. Jesus came into the world as … Continue reading Easter Sunday