Narrabri Anglican Church

How do Christians endure opposition and hardship in the service of God? Christians are commissioned to proclaim the gospel to all nations and to do so in the face of opposition and hardship. The apostle Paul endured strong opposition and hardship in his gospel ministry and in his letter to the Philippian church offers tips for endurance. In Phil 4:11-13, Paul shares with the church the secret of b...

The question of the future of humanity has occupied the minds of both the religious and non-religious alike throughout history. Both camps envision a utopian future for humanity but disagree on what it will look like or even how to get there. However, both camps agree that key to unlocking that future is overcoming the problem of death. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul argues that the resurrection of Jes...

In a culture with ‘fur babies’, and calls to limit population growth by having no children, we must keep remembering God’s view of children: they are a blessing from God, part of his creation blessing and command, and they bear his image. Children are the fruition of God’s command to ‘be fruitful’ and to ‘fill the earth’ (Gen.1:28) and are born out of the ‘one-flesh’ of the first marriage (Gen.2:2...

The first humans lived in the first garden, walking daily with God. The first humans lived in the first marriage, gardening-in-relationship by God’s word. The first humans lived in the first church, on a high place from which four rivers flowed, resting with God in perfect fellowship. To realise that all three ‘spheres’ – human existence, the first marriage, and the first church – all happened in...

An interview with Neil and Seamus Hunt

Being human: Man and woman in relationship The question of how men and women should relate to one another is a live issue in our society today amplified by social media access. On this question, the Bible’s teaching focusses mainly on two areas of marriage and the church. This is helpful because marriage is the basic unit of a society and so ideas about how men and women relate to each other that...

As we examine what the Bible says about being a man and being a woman we enter into culturally-contested areas. We all know this. What is said is freighted with meaning. And who says it is freighted with meaning. To even have the speaker on this topic a man is loaded! Moreover, as a man, I recognise the strangeness of me standing and speaking on what it means to be a woman. That is why it is good...

What does it mean to be a ‘man’? It is an important question because gender – male and female – is part of the gifted embodiment of God at creation. It is external to humanity. It is part of human identity, connected to bearing the ‘image of God’. And, we have to ask what it means to be ‘male’ (and ‘female’), because that is who we are. The answers proliferate. Everything from ‘toxic masculinity’...

What does it mean to be ‘human’? It is a massive question, a question that we don’t often spend time reflecting on – it is a question we answer, often, by not reflecting but by doing, by living. In this sense, it is worth slowing down and starting to grasp what God’s word says about being ‘human’. It is a question that is prompted by two movements in our wider culture: the advent of Artificial Int...

The overwhelming sense of these last two verses of Psalm 23 are generosity – abundant, overwhelming and extravagant generosity. It captures the shepherd who lays a table for his sheep, in the wilderness, when the enemies gather – and in the future, when the enemies are vanquished. This table is not stingy or abstemious but overflowing and fattening (literally!). It captures the shepherd who pursue...

Martin Luther said that ‘the Psalter is a little Bible, and a summary of the Old Testament’ (Gibson, ‘The LORD of Psalm 23’, p.82). If this is true – and it is – then this Psalm contains, in verse 4, a summary of the key theme of the whole Bible: ‘for you are with me’. Located at the very heart, the middle, of the Hebrew of this Psalm, these five words capture the key truth of God’s revelation: th...

Psalm 23 is one of those parts of the Bible everyone seems to know, and many love. It is a poem that captures our need, and the work of God, in familiar words and images. In fact, I reckon it has become part of our secular culture, because it can be read in such a way that all it gives is warm and fuzzy feelings. However, as we read it carefully, and ask it questions deeply, we will see that this...

It’s easy to be thankful when things are going our way: when life feels steady, when there’s food on the table, when the people we love are close—it comes naturally. But real life isn’t always like that. Some days are heavy. Some seasons stretch longer than we expected. And that’s where thankfulness gets real. Not as a polite word we say, but as a choice we make. A way of seeing. A way of trusting...

How are you coping with the world we live in? Do you find it difficult to remain positive as you see the world at war internationally, politically, ideologically, even in the home? It can be hard not to get a bit negative about the state of the world. Brothers and sisters, we have a great and certain hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. We can tell of our Saviour, Jesus, who died to make us right with o...

I love Mark’s account of the resurrection of Jesus. It is no-nonsense. It deals with real world issues, like navigating grief by focussing on the daily tasks (‘Who will move the stone?’). It deals with the reality of life – the women were the first eyewitnesses. It is consistent with the rest of Mark’s biography – after all, Jesus had been very clear that he would rise and meet his close friends i...

Message from Bernard Gabbott on Friday, 3 April 2026

I suspect that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day think that they have him worked out – and so, they have God and his kingdom worked out. They have looked at what Jesus is doing. They have assessed him. And they have boxed him – and God. As Nicodemus lays all this out before Jesus, Jesus turns it all on its head. First, he points out that it is only the work of God that can bring anyone into God’...

In his prologue, John testified to having seen the glory of Jesus as the one and only son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Subsequently and beginning with John the Baptist, some have recognised who Jesus is and followed him. Towards the end of chapter 1 and into chapter 2, Jesus himself begins to reveal his glory through his words and works. While his disciples see his glory a...

I reckon that it’s a wise thing to get your Messiah right. In a world full of possible ‘saviours’, getting the right Saviour is crucial. And such a Saviour should be obviously identified, worth following and worth sharing, because they actually reveal a great reality. It was no different in John’s day. In a world where Rome ruled, and aspired to dominate all of the world, where Israel had been opp...

As we continue down the hallway of John’s Gospel, we encounter another character that leads us to the main dwelling. John the Baptist is a familiar figure to most of us, often because of his strange behaviours, strange dress and strange diet! However, John doesn’t even mention these things in his account. Why? In John’s prologue he simply says “There was a man named John who was sent from God. He...