Newsletter (24 March, 2023)

by Pastor Reid Matthias

Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me’ (John 7:16).

In our reading today, the Jews are confounded by Jesus, who shows up late – halfway through the festival – and begins to teach in the temple court.

Imagine being one of those listening. In front of that glorious building dedicated to praising God, Jesus, the Son of God, stands unrecognisable, speaking amazing words with such deep and profound meaning. The crowd murmurs, ‘Where does he get this stuff? Who has he been listening to?’

Occasionally, I listen to podcasts on various issues. Sometimes I am astounded by viewpoints that differ from mine, but especially by how they came to see them. These people have similar characteristics: humility, tempered pace, and an ability to ask questions to understand. Generally, they are well-read and well-travelled. The opposite holds true, also. Those who annoy me the most are the ones who like to stir the pot when it doesn’t need to be. They like to hear the sound of their own voice; they have gone nowhere other than the most recent social media feed to repeat something that echoes their own opinions.

This is one of the many reasons why I truly enjoy Jesus’ teaching skills. He is humble and gentle, even with those who vex him; he responds with reason, not of his own, but from the one who sent him; he understands human nature and draws people into the discussion. Jesus reveals a mirror for people to see themselves.

As you read this section of Scripture, what do you see in yourself in the mirror Jesus holds?

It’s fascinating how Jesus holds so many things in tension – his heritage and culture with his understanding of citizenship in heaven; his ability to change creation, heal people and work miracles with perspective and how things of faith need to be heard rather than seen.

These are the things Jesus can teach us as we continue on our journey of ‘working out salvation with fear and trembling, [to understand] it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose’ (Philippians 2:12,13).

These are the things we can know about him.

Dear Jesus, thank you for opening your life, mind and heart to me so I can know you even more. Amen.

Resilience. When it comes to your kids, you’ve probably heard this word many times. From teachers, on social media posts, even from other parents on the playground – it seems that resilience is the watch word of the day. And as parents, we want our kids to be strong and good, so they can weather the storms of life.

But resilience isn’t just for kids.

As parents we’re faced with challenges every day. We have a seemingly unending list of little tasks, like making lunches and getting our kids to after school commitments on time, soothing the daily hurts – both physical and emotional – in our children.

We need to meet homework demands, push music practice, make dinners, kick footballs, and much more.

And we do all this while trying to manage our own physical and mental health and responsibilities at work and home.

It's no surprise that research shows that parents are more burnt out than ever.

But research also tells us that being resilient helps us bounce back from adversity and frustrations, and return quickly to a state of healthy functioning.

So now all we have to do is figure out how to become a resilient parent so we can teach those skills to our own kids. Introducing...

The Resilient Parent is a FREE webinar for parents who sometimes feel overwhelmed with the challenges of the parenting gig. (And I’ve never met a parent who doesn’t!)

In the webinar I’ll share:

the research behind parental burn out, and how this could be hurting you and your family

the five solutions you can take to boost your resilience and make you and your family happier, and

the tools and techniques you can use to build your own reserves of parenting resilience and help you model resilience for your kids too.

This 30-minute FREE webinar is designed for parents who are ready to leave burnt out parenting behind for good, and bring more resilience and strength to their own children.

I hope you'll join me,