The Glory of Marriage

Elaine and I just recently celebrated our 17th Wedding Anniversary. As I reflected on the blessing that is mine in my beloved wife I am reminded of the mercies of God to me in giving me such a precious gift in life.

Seventeen years have gone in so quickly in many ways, yet much has happened and many experiences have marked our lives together. We had the blessing of taking a couple of days away at San Simeon on the Central California Coast. In visiting Hearst Castle the tragic monument to William Randolph Hearst, the Rupert Murdoch of the 1920's and 1930's we enjoyed watching the amazing sunset over the Pacific, and enjoyed the quaint shops of Cambria. It was good to have time to discuss important family matters and just relax and rest.

The companionship, friendship and love that I share with my wife is more and more precious as the years go by. God has given us a glorious thing in marriage, God will bring it to an end one day, but until then we desire it to be all that God intended. How blessed I am. I love you Elaine and rejoice in what we have by God's grace.....soli deo gloria...

Enjoying Essential Christian Doctrine

We are approaching week four of our Thursday morning class and the commitment level continues to remain high. We have around 40 regularly committed. This week we will be looking at the Incommunicable Attributes of God as we move from looking at what the Scriptures teach about themselves to what the Scriptures teach about God.

One aspect of the whole subject I have been wrestling with is the concept of time as it relates to the eternality of God. Grudem's treatment is interesting but falls short in my judgment. Is it really accurate to say there is no time with God in eternity past? Does communication between the three persons of the Trinity in eternity past demand no concept of time at all or time in a manner we cannot fully grasp? Surely it is the latter? However I do freely confess understanding past, present and future in an eternity before the world began is a difficult concept. Certainly in terms of time as we understand it, God created it. Yet surely for the eternal God-head to communicate there must be some realm of past, present and future involved?

I am left to follow Calvin and Paul's example and bow in wonder, awe and amazement at the great anf glorious God who is and was and is to come and who in the fulness of time sent His own Son to save us from our sins.....

Essential Christian Doctrine Class Gets Going !!!

It was a great encouragement to have 30 of our folks turn up at 6:00AM in the morning to study the Word of God.

We began a class on 'Essential Christian Doctrine' yesterday morning, Thursday 4th June at 6:00AM. We will be using Wayne Grudem's edited text 'Bible Doctrine'. I was so encouraged to see the hunger amongst our younger people for this instruction, may the Lord meet with us week by week through the summer and build us up in Him to impact our city for His glory and the triumph of the gospel !!!!