A Different Perspective Official Podcast

How often have we all tried to change something in our lives – something on the outside – only to discover that the problem goes far deeper than that.  It's a problem on the inside. It's just great to catch up with you again today with a different perspective on life. The soul is something that seems to get quite a lot of attention these days. Body and soul, soul food, resting the soul, soul journ...

As we contemplate the year ahead, we can't think for too long without thinking about our relationships. The good ones.  The mediocre ones.  And, the downright destructive and hurtful ones too. It's just so good to be with you again today, looking forward together at the year that lies ahead. And as we think about that year, all the good things and the difficult things that are going to come our wa...

Balance – if only we could get some balance back into our lives.  It can be tough can't it?  But the way we spend our time – well it comes from the priorities we set – deliberately, or unknowingly. It's just great that you can join me again today. I was driving along in my car just the other day. And I drove past a newsagent. You know how they have the newspaper headlines on the signs outside the...

Sometimes, our heart can be aching – if only I had enough to give more money to the poor and the needy.  And so the next thing we do is go and buy something useless on the credit card. Hmm. In recent years there's a new word that's appeared in the vocabulary of sociologists. That word is Affluenza. It's about the high social, personal and environmental cost of over-consumption. The bloated sluggis...

So often – we can be looking for a miracle – and yet we forget to manage the mundane.  We want God to bless our lives – yet the house is a pig sty and we wonder why we're depressed. It's just great to catch up with you again, this year. There is something intensely satisfying about being clean. You know, you come home you're hot and you're and you're sweaty and you get in the shower, clean. Fantas...

A lot of people spend a lot of their time imagining how good life would be, if only this…or if only that.  In fact, you can spend your whole life living that way. Until finally, you wake up and realise, you were supposed to bloom where you've been planted. This week, as we've been standing on the threshold of yet another New Year, we've been taking a look at the newness that God brings when we dec...

Have you ever been exhausted to the core? It's like there's nothing – nothing left on the inside. What we almost need is a new inside. A new life. Some mighty, new spirit within us. Is that even possible? Well, with the new year just beginning it is such an important time for each one of us to decide whether we want this year to be different from the last one; whether somehow we want to break out...

It's funny how we embark on each new year with great expectations of new things – and yet, we never take a look at ourselves. Our attitudes. How we function on the inside. That never changes. So why would anything else change? Have you ever heard this? Dit dit dit, da da da, dit dit dit, you may recognise it, it's Morse code. Dit dit dit is an "s" , da da da is an "o" and dit dit dit in an "s" aga...

Sometimes we head off into the new year with great expectations – and yet, we just don't look after ourselves.  Our body.  What we eat.  Exercise.  Sleep.  And so what happens, is that our bodies let us down. One of the things that I notice from time to time is how easy it is to over spiritualise things. There seems to be two opposite ends of the spectrum, two extremes if you like. Over spirituali...

At the beginning of a New Year, one of the things that plays on our minds a bit is the notion that we're just caught in the same old rut.  Hmm.  I wonder – well, I wonder what God's take is on that. Well, as we sit here on the threshold of yet another year. I don't know, my hunch is that, for many of us, there are mixed emotions. On the one hand, there's a sense of anticipation, a sense of hope at...

Well, here we are standing at the threshold, the beginning of another year. Who knows how many of these you and I have left. But while we do have a new year ahead, I want to share some good news with you. Some great news. Some really … fantastic news. Are you ready? So, what are your plans for this year? Maybe you're planning on changing jobs or studying or maybe you're planning a great holiday or...

You know, over this Christmas-New Year period, I've been praying for you and everybody else who listens to this program – that the coming year will be a year where you're set free from the things that have enslaved you, because freedom, as it turns out, is just about the biggest gift that God can give us. This is just such a wonderful time of the year. The sense of a new start, a new beginning and...

One of the things that this bit of a pause between Christmas and New Year affords us, is some time to draw breath and decide what we're going to do differently next year. So … as you stand on the threshold of a new year … what are you going to do differently next year? Here we are in this funny week in between Christmas and the New Year and I thought (together) we might look back on the year that'...

As you look back on this last year, I wonder … what would you have done differently? It's worth thinking about, because whilst you can't wind the clock back and do them over, a bit of reflection can help you think about how you're going to handle things in the new year ahead. Well, here we are in this week between Christmas and New Year. It's a funny kind of week, really, looking back on the year...

Well, here we are in that funny little week between Christmas and New Year.  It's kind of a time for looking back and a time for looking forward.  So – looking back on it, how did this year go? It's great that you can join me again today, right here, on " A Different Perspective" . I always think that this week between Christmas and New Year, it's an interesting week. The big rush leading up to Ch...

Well, Christmas is done and dusted. We're in recovery mode … heading out of this past year into the next, starting to think about what lies ahead. And that's appropriate because Christmas marks a new beginning. Christmas marks the beginning of a new life. And that new life is something that God wants you to have. After all, that's why He sent Jesus. At this time of year, we've all experienced thos...

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like, to have been there on that very first Christmas, when Jesus was born into this world? In one sense, it would have been very ordinary. A little village, Bethlehem. People all around. Business as usual. But in another sense … it would have been totally, mind–blowingly, gobsmackingly amazing! There's a bunch of guys in the Bible who I envy. Now I k...

Christmas isn't always a happy occasion. In fact, for many, it can be quite a horror. Especially if you have to spend time with people you don't like. People who, perhaps, have hurt you in the past. So, question, how much are you looking forward to tomorrow? You know one of the really bad things about Christmas Ð I'm sorry to talk about bad things the day before Christmas but there are not many pl...

Travel is a hassle. It's okay if you're going on the occasional holiday. That's fun. But if you're always on and off planes, in and out of taxis and hotels like I am, then yep, it's hard work. So imagine you're on a long trip, you finally get to your hotel … and they tell you that not only are they fully booked, but there's a convention in town, and there's not a single room to be had anywhere. I...

Over the last thirty years, I've done a lot of travelling. It's hard work. The wear and tear on your body is quite a thing. But it's even harder when you're not fit and well. And that is the very journey that Mary had – almost full term in her pregnancy – heading into that first Christmas. Now I know that this is not going to come as any great surprise to you but I have never been pregnant. Someth...

The other Sunday, the pastor at my church was talking about dying. He made the point that people's greatest fear is to die alone. I'd never thought of it that way, but it makes a lot of sense. So … what does this have to do with Christmas? Well, as it turns out … everything! I know, it's kind of a weird perspective from which to come at the story of Christmas. But hopefully as we chat together, it...

I don't know if you've ever thought of this, but on the surface of things, Christmas is a crazy idea! I mean, what exactly was God thinking by sending His Son to become a man – and to be born in some drafty, smelly shed out the back of Bethlehem. Yeah, absolutely, on the surface of things, Christmas is a crazy idea. I mean stand back and think about it … God's God, He created the whole universe. O...

One of the problems that many people have is reconciling the supposed wonder and joy of Christmas, with the humdrum realities of their lives. How … how do you do that? How do you take this Christmas message and make it real in your life? That's what we're going to be chatting about today on the program. There is something incredibly powerful about 'business as usual' . If you think about how your...

You know that first Christmas … it didn't just happen. It wasn't like God hadn't told His people that He was going to send them a Saviour. It's just that … well, they were so focused on the here and now, they really hadn't stopped to consider the big picture. I guess when it comes to this whole Christmas thing; we see it from where we sit. And for most of us, our perspective (our take on Christmas...

Well … here we are again. It's December. It's almost the end of another year … and it's almost Christmas time. Again! Happens year after year. Christmas. Question is … what do you make of it? What do you do with it? It's an age-old problem. Christmas. I don't know if you've ever thought of this but Christmas is a real problem for guys like me, preachers I mean. Year after year, we have to crank ou...