For many years I’ve trained youth ministers and leaders about the importance and impact of their ministry.

But now, as a parent of teenagers of my own, the significance of youth ministers on the teenagers has arrived very close to home.

Read my tribute called ‘Thank you, youth leaders’, in today’s sydneyanglicans.net.

Jesus’ first words after his resurrection were to her, as he asked “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

His question showed that the resurrection of Jesus was a twist in the plot of his life that she never expected.

And this showed that she misunderstood the death and resurrection of Jesus.

But for us who understand the resurrection of Jesus, the empty tomb is the place of hope.

Listen to my sermon at Engadine Anglican Church on Easter Sunday, 8th April 2012.

In this sermon from Isaiah 1 we see failure upon failure. We see the failure of God’s people to love God. We see the failure of God’s people to love one another. And we even see what seems to be failure of God, himself.

Yet, despite this apparent failure, there is hope.

Listen to this sermon originally preached on 1st May 2011 at Sylvania Anglican Church where I highlight the hope found in the fulfilled promises of God.

And so this is why we pray that it won’t happen. We ask our Father to “Lead us not into temptation, but (to) deliver us from evil.”

Listen to this deeply-personal sermon on this phrase in The Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6:13 where I talk about a number of temptations that affect us, and discuss practical ways to survive them. Preached at Sylvania Anglican Church on 28th November 2010.

In the second talk from a series on The Lord’s Prayer, we look at what this phrase means, and why it’s so dangerous. And hopefully, by the end of the talk, you’ll see why it’s such a great thing for us to pray to God.

Listen to this sermon on Matthew 6:10, the second phrase from The Lord’s Prayer, as preached 6pm on 31st October 2010 at Sylvania Anglican Church.

What will that day be like? Should we fear it? How can we prepare for it?

Listen to this sermon on 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 preached 6pm 26th September 2010 at Sylvania Anglican Church.

For this reason, I want to TWIST the arm of the congregational leaders in our churches. I want to TWIST the arm of the rectors, assistant ministers, wardens, and anyone who has a key role in our churches.

I want to TWIST your arm to encourage your church musicians to be a part of one of the TWIST (‘The Word in Song Together’) music events this year run by Emu Music and Youthworks.

To read the full sydneyanglicans.net article, click here.

For more details about TWIST, click here!

As we put together the various hands-on training seminars, I’ve been trying to reflect on what the various issues are that our everyday, garden-variety church bands need to grow in.

Have a read of my sydneyanglicans.net article to see my list, and feel free to add any suggestions in the comments, or email me directly.

Here’s the link: http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/ministry/modernministry/the_bare_essentials_of_church_music/

Plus, if you’re keen to find out more about the conference, then visit www.twistconference.com for the details. It will be a great weekend of encouragement plus practical training in music ministry.

A special welcome, too, to Andrew Nixon in his new role heading up this ministry. I’m praying it’s a great year of ministry with his awesome team.

If you, or someone you know, is thinking about Year 13 this year, then there’s still time to enrol. Don’t miss out on a year that changes lives forever.

In my presentation I made that point that our church houseparties (as we commonly refer to them) are often considered to be events that primarily develop community, rather than outreach.

Yet, thinking that defines an activity of the church as achieving only evangelism or discipleship is unnecessarily narrow.

Read my full thoughts in my latest article at www.sydneyanglicans.net