Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

Have you heard of Ash Wednesday? And Black Saturday? These are the names of two infamous and deadly bush fires, in 1983 and 2009 respectively, that have left an indelible impression on the ‘land down under.’ Bush fires are not unusual in this bone-dry continent. However, the yet unnamed ‘Bush Fire Season 2019-2020 ’ is shaping up to be the worst on record. To give some perspective: Ash Wednesday Fires of February 1983: Affected the Australian states of South Australia and Victoria, burning 418,000 hectares or 1 million acres, destroyed 2,400 houses and killed 75 people. Black Saturday February-March 2009: Affected State of Victoria, burned 450,000 hectares or 1.1 million acres, destroyed 2029 houses and 2000 other structures, and killed 173 people (including respected Melbourne newsreader Brian Naylor). 2019-2020 Bush Fires - Burning since September 2019. New South Wales and eastern Victoria are worse affected, with 12 million acres or 50,000 square kilometre...

Sunday is coming and it is time to prepare the sermon. What shall we preach? The short answer is: The Word of God (II Timothy 4:2?). Not just preach about the Word but from the Word. The ideal is that every sermon is Word-based, Spirit-anointed, Christ-centred, and God-honouring. And, it is important that the Word preached is the Word received by the preacher. Downloading prepared sermons from the internet is not fresh manna. Hungry Christians are complaining about what is preached. Here are some of the options: 1.        Motivational messages: These can encourage people in practical areas (how to be successful, raise good children, build self-esteem) but tend to ignore basic sound doctrine like repentance, faith, sin, the resurrection and last judgement. 2.        Politics: The pulpit is used to exhort people to back a political cause, often though not always from the left. Such sermons will often be...