โ€œThe vital breath of the churchโ€: Prayer, personalism and spiritual power in the thought of G. H. Morling

Prayer, worship and intimacy with God feature strongly in George Henry Morlingโ€™s evangelical approach to spirituality. In a diary entry dated 19 August 1928, Morling famously states, โ€œThere must be a very strong stand taken for doctrinal-experimental truth.โ€[1]ย His commitment to this principle prompted him to seek a balance between what he viewed as rival extremes …

The winds of ultimate change

Today is the second Monday of Lent and, among other things, it is a time of waiting, reflecting, and expectancy. What is it that you are waiting for today? In popular cartoons, God is often depicted as a stern old man with flowing white beard, sometimes sitting on a cloud, sometimes surrounded by strange little …

The winds of change and renewal

The winds of unwelcome change blow harsh through all our lives. Last week we looked at the challenge of negotiating the changes that come our way. Today I want to continue that theme, and reflect on the relationship between change and personal renewal. Long ago the psalmist wrote these words: As a deer longs for …

The winds of change and me

Last week I quoted the refrain of an old hymn, โ€œAll may change, but Jesus never,โ€ and I talked about the consistency and reliability of Jesus. Today I want to talk about the first phrase in that refrain: โ€œAll may change.โ€ SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA - 2018/09/01: Upward view of giant sequoias in Sequoia National …

Jesus and the winds of change

As a young child in Wollongong, I learned a lot of hymns and songs at Sunday School, in church, and at home listening to Burl Ives LP records.   Burl was a challenge to my tiny mind, since as well as revivalist hymns he also sang patriotic American songs, and colonial Australian songs such as …