It’s a moment rich in pathos as the wizened apostle pours his heart out to the Philippian believers. The words flow simply from his pen: “To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” It is doubtful Shakespeare himself wrote anything so poetic. Yet beneath the poetry rests

I posted at InFocus yesterday morning on the honest epitaph. Funerals are awkward things. At a time when people are most attuned to the hard realities of truth, we often sigh as speaker after speaker tries desperately to make a halo fit around the horns of the dearly deceased. I’ve

It was 19 February, 2013 when Mum and I walked into the police station in Cairns and reported decades of crimes that had taken place in our home over the forty years leading up to that day. A few weeks ago, more than ten years later, we finally closed that

This prayer is designed for use in a worship gathering of a Christian assembly. By praying for those in poverty, we can help to shape our thinking about those in poverty in ways which are compassionate and Christian. This prayer is adapted for use in an Australian context from a

The Apostle Paul instructed an early Christian leader: I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.1 Scripture enjoins us to pray

Welcome to my new website! This website will have two functions going forward. First, it will serve as an online home for my writing. Second, it will serve as an archive for the best articles published at InFocus over the years. InFocus began in 2005 as the official blog of

Question: “How do you reconcile the angry, wrathful God of the Old Testament to the loving, good God of the New Testament?” It’s a question that I’ve wrestled with and am often asked about so I’ve decided to compile a small list of resources to address it. These are sermons

A number of months ago, David Strain wrote an open letter to “Thomas,” a fictional seminary student struggling with same-sex attraction. I appreciated the tone of his letter. It was a welcome contrast to Phil Johnson’s handling of the topic to which I offered a somewhat salty—but no less intellectually

Let’s face it. Conservative Christians tend to be wary of the social sciences such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology. I have many friends in church leadership who view the soft sciences with moderated suspicion at least. Others reject them overtly. And this feels reasonable because, it is argued, the social

Moments ago I saw the news of an American megachurch pastor, Andrew Stoecklein, who took his own life after a battle with depression and anxiety. Almost immediately the commentary on Facebook began. As a pastor who battles mental health struggles, I feel compelled to insert a few thoughts into the