The Heidelberg Catechism - The Foundations Of Our Faith

Arrival..... The Fleet arrived between 18 and 20 January 1788, but it was immediately apparent that Botany Bay was unsuitable. On 21 January Phillip and a few officers travelled to Port Jackson, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to the north, to see if it would be a better location for a settlement. They stayed there until 23 January; Phillip named the site of their landing Sydney Cove, after the Home Secretary, Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney. They also made contact with the local Aboriginal people. They returned to Botany Bay on the evening of 23 January, Phillip gave orders to move the fleet to Sydney Cove the next morning, 24 January. That day there was a huge gale blowing making it impossible to leave Botany Bay. It was decided to wait till the next day - 25 January. During 24 January they spotted the ships Astrolabe and Boussole, flying the French flag, at the entrance to Botany Bay; they were having as much trouble getting into the bay as the First Fleet was having g...

Proverbs 1:1-7, 2:1-17  1Corinthians 1:18-31   James 1:1-7 The Greeks were full of famous philosophers. Can you think of some Greek philosophers? Socrates, Aristotle. Plato. Pythagoras. Pythagorean theorem. A squared plus B squared equals C squared. Yes, and that's exciting?! Not! Democritus, Parmenides, Cicero. Atomism, for example, the idea that all of matter is made up of little particles called atoms.  Greek philosophers were the first ones that thought that up. And Epicureanism, Platonism, realism, stoicism, hedonism: Life is about pleasure. Let's eat and drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe." Now, that's an amazing statement . The Greeks were looking for wisdom, they were looking for God as well. Plato had statements about God and they were trying to find him through their intellectual achievement...

Have you ever felt  "spiritually out of joint?" An extreme sense of this loss of purpose and meaning in life is found in the writings of French secular philosopher, John Paul Sartre "That God does not exist I cannot deny; that my whole being cries out for God I cannot forget." One is left with a sense of emptiness and distress when this po sition is deeply contemplated.  Over recent years a more individualistic sense of meaning and fulfilment and its associated core issue of "how, indeed, can life be fulfilling?" has become the feature of Western culture and society. When pursued as a personal, self-oriented, self-actualised goal, fulfilment may appear to be incredibly ego-centric. And so self-destructive.  The pursuit of selfish goals seems to undermine all of our best endeavours, and bring its own bag of frustrations. In our study last year of the book of Ecclesiastes, we came to understand that the opposite to the desire for 'fullness' is some...

Is anything too hard for the Lord? Call to Worship:  Luke 1:26-38. Law and Grace Reading:  Genesis 18:1-14 Bible reading:  Jeremiah 32:17-28 Nothing is too hard for the Lord. Benediction  Ephesians 3:19-21 Is this a promise to everyone on their 80's that if they want to have a baby they can have a baby? Quite often at this time of year, messages will come across facebook etc "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" It almost seems like  a prosperity gospel promise:  Whatever you want you can have it.. because "is anything too difficult fr the Lord to do?"  Can He give you a Mercedes Benz?   One that goes.  Is anything too difficult for the Lord?  Or better yet, can I have a better job please Lord? "Is anything too difficult for the Lord?" Well the answer is obviously that there is nothing too difficult for the Lord. The Lord can do whatever He likes! Look at Jeremiah 32: "And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the m...