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Trusting the God of Christmas

20.12.2019 Categories: All | Christmas Written by: Neil Percival

Trust is a precious thing, easily lost and difficult to regain. A survey taken around the time of the last Federal election found that the Australian public’s trust in politicians and the political system is at its lowest in over 20 years.

A Survival Plan for the Return of Jesus

13.12.2019 Categories: All | Advent Written by: Neil Percival

If you’ve watched any TV over recent weeks you can’t have missed the advertising campaign by the NSW Rural Fire Service – “How Fireproof Is Your Plan?” It’s all about having a plan for what you will do if a bush fire threatens your home.

Green is Good

23.11.2019 Categories: All Written by: Neil Percival

At times I feel guilty that, in the midst of a drought, my home is surrounded by green lawns that are watered each night by automatic sprinklers (we use bore water)…

Time To Listen To The Expert

04.10.2019 Categories: All Written by: Neil Percival

I had a brilliant idea the other night. If I could just come up with a way to extract carbon from its gaseous form in the atmosphere, convert it into a solid material, or perhaps a liquid, and store the resulting product deep underground…

To Normalise, or Not to Normalise

13.09.2019 Categories: All Written by: Neil Percival

On Monday last week, there was an article in a major Sydney newspaper about another mass shooting in the United States. In Texas, when police attempted to pull over a vehicle for failing to indicate, the driver shot 7 people dead and injured a further 21…

Where Is Justice?

16.08.2019 Categories: All Written by: Neil Percival

I have been in two minds about whether to comment on the debate about the decriminalization of late term abortion as the legislation has already been passed by the lower house and seems set to pass through the upper house as well…

A Bigger Picture of Reality

26.07.2019 Categories: All Written by: Neil Percival

Last Saturday marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. I was almost five at the time. I still remember it, but that may be because my parents went out and bought a television for the occasion and it was the first thing I ever watched…

The Test of a Free Society

05.07.2019 Categories: All Written by: Neil Percival

The issue of religious freedom is currently in the news. I cannot comment on the specifics of the Israel Folau case because I don’t know the facts and the legal rights and wrongs are for a court to decide. However, I can make some general observations about the value of religious freedom.

Tags: Freedom, Truth

Unity without Uniformity

21.06.2019 Categories: All Written by: Neil Percival

The statement was made to me, “If ever Christians need to be tightly united, it is now!” By my count there are at least eight Christian Churches in Young. The late James Calvert, Pastor of the New Life Church in Young, was a passionate advocate for Christian unity. I believe that a very real sense of unity does exist and it is growing.

God's Law and Man's Law

07.06.2019 Categories: All Written by: Neil Percival

I have been asked another question, this time about the contemporary relevance of ancient laws. In the secular world, laws are enacted in response to things that are of concern to society…

Tags: God's Law, Justice

Is Close Enough Good Enough?

24.05.2019 Categories: All Written by: Neil Percival

Last time I wrote, I said I’d be happy to answer any of your questions about God. To my surprise, someone wrote to me. They said, “I have always hoped to be a Christian, but I have fallen short… What are the criteria to be defined as a Christian? Is close enough good enough?”

Tags: Acceptance, Trust, Sin, Faith, Assurance

Doubt and Belief

10.05.2019 Categories: All Written by: Neil Percival

Christians have just celebrated the events of Easter - the death of Jesus and his rising again to new life. One person said to me after Easter, “I can’t be a Christian. I‘d like to believe, but what you claim is impossible.” My reply was that every Christian, if they’re honest, has doubts at some point. But doubts don’t preclude faith…

Tags: Easter, Faith, Doubt