Bruce Staley

During his teenage years Peter faced the tragedy of the untimely death of a close friend. This event led Peter to lose all sense of trust, belief and faith in God, and thus began a long absence from church. Several other very unpleasant events along the way and Peter began to struggle with life. Peter was employed in a variety of jobs including railway driver, builder, picker, boiler attendant and work in a blacksmith shop. The urge to wander took Peter into the Australian outback where he travelled for nine years with his faithful four-legged companion, Molly. Molly's faithfulness was displayed when she sat beside an old sick koala for three days before it quietly passed away. Peter was in a remote part of the bush when the battery in his vehicle died. It was three weeks, completely stranded, miles from anywhere, when help arrived from an unexpected source. There was no modern communication technology available. However, a kindly Aboriginal man on discovering Peter's predicame

Counting Your Contentment Cash was the final sermon topic of our Pastor for Children and Families before she concluded her ministry at one2one Church of Christ. I was taken by the profoundness yet simplicity of Kay's presentation based on Philippians 4:11-13, I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Previously each of the children in  the children's ministry were involved in constructing a duct tape wallet the making some contentment cash for their wallet. The cash was cards and the children were invited to write on the back of the cards the things they were thankful for. Remember the words of Jesus when he explained that the kingdom of God belongs to little ch

Church boring? How can an encounter with the majestic, awe-inspiring, living God ever be considered boring? God is not dull and following Jesus is a daily adventure. The problem may lie with the setting, the style and content of our worship. However, it may also lie wthin ourselves. We need to engage our minds, in fact our whole person needs to be involved in the worship experience, all of our senses, sight, touch, sound, smell and taste. When you worship come expectantly into God's holy presence. “Let us go to his dwelling place, let us worship at his footstool,..." Psalm 132:7 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name. For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. Psalm 86:9‭-‬10 NIV I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High. Psalm 9:2 NIV Acknowledgments: R C Sproul, Meeting With God , for the inspiration for this post. Andrew Thomas, Photographer,  for

Neil attended our Discovery group recently. In my post, Disruptive Grace, I mentioned I met Neil at a pedestrian crossing which I was about to cross to attend our Discovery group held in a local cafe. Later that week I was able to meet Neil again. Here's our text messages, Hello Neil, Nice to meet you on the pedestrian crossing near the entrance to the Botanical Gardens this morning...I would like to get to know you more, maybe Thursday afternoon, to see if I can help in any way? Let me know and we can arrange a convenient time and venue. Bruce 😊 Thursday afternoon is fine. Would you like to come for a cuppa at my house or would you like to meet somewhere else. Thanks for your lovely message. See you on Thursday. Please confirm the place to meet. Cheers Neil  A cuppa at your house would be lovely. How about 2 pm? While visiting Neil and his family and I was able to explain in more detail what I was doing on the day we met. So I invited Neil to attend our Discovery group as my gues

Our Discovery group recently concluded it's deliberations on the the Old Testament book of Jonah. It's an amazing story resulting in a whole city, the city of Nineveh, seeking God's forgiveness. In a recent post, Disruptive Grace, I wrote, "The disruptive grace of God has not been and is not confined to biblical times. The Spirit of God continues to bring disruptive grace today. People's lives are dramatically changed, individual people, communities and nations around the world are radically and fundamentally changed." And while Jonah is another biblical example of God's disruptive grace a read of Steve Addison's, Movements that Changed the World , will quickly give you a historical view of the movements of the grace of God up to the present day. During these movements individuals, communities and nations are influenced by the Spirit of God and remarkable change results. God said to Jonah, "And should I not have concern for the great city of Ninev

Day Six: My August Interlude for 2017 has come to an end and I return home to Ballarat -it's purpose of personal rest, relaxation and reflection has been fulfilled. During my daily wanderings, from my base in Torquay, along the surf coast from Lorne to Barwon Heads I have been inspired by my observations. Listening has been a constant companion -listening to the voice of the God of creation, the one true God, the Rock of my salvation. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its w