Word on Wednesday with John Mason

The wisdom books stand apart from the main narrative of the Bible, asking questions about our experiences of life. Job asks 'How do we make sense of suffering, especially the suffering of the seemingly innocent?' The Song of Songs explores God's gift of the joys of love and sex. Proverbs provides a framework for street-smart and successful godly living. Ecclesiastes asks, 'What's the purpose of li...

Another year has passed, and now another has begun. With the rapid and seemingly endless passing of the years and seasons, and with our experiences of life, how do we make sense of it all? Ecclesiastes chapter 3 provides answers and encouragment.

Articles over Christmas and the New Year often call for a reawakening of the meaning and application of the true Christmas story. However, driven by the trickle-down effect of writers who say that God is dead, our culture tells us that the Bible is fanciful andfictitious. But this conflicts with the historical evidences for the life of Jesus. Find out more in this podcast for the New Year.

Most people who reflect on life ask themselves, at some stage: 'What's it all about?' The book of Ecclesiastes is one of the wisdom books of the bible. In the opening verses of the book, the writer asks, Vanity of vanities ... vanity of vanities! All is vanity. The podcast reflects on the opening chapter of this book.

Articles over Christmas and the New Year often call for a reawakening of the meaning and application of the true Christmas story. However, driven by the trickle-down effect of writers who say that God is dead, our culture tells us that the Bible is fanciful and fictitious. But this conflicts with the historical evidences for the life of Jesus. Find out more in this podcast for the New Year.

Catastrophic events such as occurred at Bondi in Sydney, challenge us to see life with new eyes. Many are now looking for leaders to chart a course to preserve life and secure livelihoods. Isaiah wrote about a special leader whom God would raise up. Find out more in this podcast.

Why is it that in this age of so much scientific and technical achievement, appalling and deadly terrorist attacks, such as the one at Bondi against Jewish people last Sunday, December 14, occur? Clearly humanity has a problem. Why then, if there is a Creator God, doesn't He do something to clean up the mess? Find out more in this Christmas podcast.

Last Sunday afternoon, at least fifteen Jewish people were killed by gunmen and some twenty nine seriously injured at a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach, Sydney. In a world that is divided, where anger and hatred can dominate, is there anywhere we can find comfort and hope?

On Sunday afternoon, fifteen Jewish people were shot dead by gunmen and some twenty-one injured at a Hanukkah event at Bondi in Sydney. A great anti-Semitic evil was perpetrated. In a world which is increasingly divided, where anger and hatred increasingly dominate, is there any hope for the future? This podcast reflects on the significance of the season of Advent and the return of God's King and...

It's said that familiarity breeds contempt. Christmas celebrations can at first fill us with excitement and awe. But with the passing of the years, we can become indifferent and sometimes even cynical about them. How many of us have become so familiar with the account of Jesus's birth that its reality and true meaning no longer touches our hearts? Find out more in this podcast.

Advent calendars are becoming increasingly a pre-Christmas feature of our culture. In a November 26 2016 Spectator UK article, Ysenda Maxtone Graham spoke of Advent as a season of "death, judgment, heaven and hell. I relish the frisson of gloom, the foreboding and fear of judgment you get at Advent," she wrote. Isaiah the prophet, writing in the 6th century BC spoke not only of the first coming of...

We do everything we can to deny the passing of time. We pay attention to the marketing of products and exercise routines that supposedly delay the ravages of the passing years or even reverse the process. But we can't stop the advance of time. Jesus doesn't beat about the bush when he addresses the realities of time and our troubled world. In this Advent Season, this podcast focuses on his words a...

Uncertain times challenge us with the bigger questions of life and whether a good and caring God does exist. Jesus' words in Matthew chapter 5 are helpful: "Do not think I have come to abolish the law and prophets. I have not come to abolish but to fulfill." Find out more in this podcast.

Hallelujah, which means Praise the Lord! is an exhortation which forms the bookends of the last five psalms. Hallelujah is a word of praise which challenges us to ask, Who is God that we would want to praise Him? Find out more in this podcast.

Do you have any regrets? In Psalm 51, David lays out his confession to God following his affair with Bathsheba. It is timeless in its application as it also speaks to us about ourselves and about God.

The Bible is a book without pictures. This is because there is an impenetrable mystery about God. How can we begin to grasp God's awesome majesty, holiness and power? Because relationship is at the heart of God's nature, we come to know him through words. In Psalm 139 the power of words brings us into the presence of God.

We usually expect personal testimonies to be about conversion experiences. However, testimonies from God's people about God's ongoing work in their lives can be very encouraging. Psalm 116 gives us a rare glimpse of such a testimony.

"Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done" are the words of an old Christian song. How easily we forget to thank God for all the good things he provides for us. But there is something else we often forget. King David wrote about it in Psalm 103. This podcast reflects on David's words.

CS Lewis once observed, "I think we all sin by needlessly disobeying the apostolic injunction to rejoice as much as by anything else." Yet rejoicing is not only an apostolic injunction. A number of psalms in the Old Testament Psalter pulsate with exhortations to sing our praise to the LORD with joy in our hearts. Find out more in this reflection on Psalm 96.

The opening lines of Psalm 95 read: O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving. How often do we express our gratitude to the LORD? Do we thank him daily for his countless mercies? This podcast reflects on the significance of thanksgiving in our relationship with God.

One of the things I love about the Bible is its earthy realism. It understands the world we live in - the good and the bad, the grief and the joy. It also understands how we feel about life's injustices. Find out more in this week's podcast.

Depression is a reality experienced by many people. Psalms 42 and 43 testify to this. In both Psalms the writer asks why he is depressed. 'I believe' he says. 'Why then do I feel as I do?' Find out more in this week's podcast.

Many people these days experience depression. It's not something new and should not be lightly dismissed. Psalms 42 and 43 reveal lessons from the experience of the psalm writer which can help us. Find out more in this week's podcast.

Twenty four years after the events of 9/11, it is easy to put aside the hideous, evil acts that cut short lives of people going about their daily affairs. However, it can never be said that the Bible knows nothing about catastrophic events - and not least human evil and its devastating effects on this world. Psalm 46 introduces themes we often overlook. Find out more in today's podcast.

Christians, especially in Northern Nigeria, are reckoned to be the most persecuted people in the world. Our hearts cry out with the repeated words of Psalm 13: How long, O LORD ...? Our sense of right and wrong and our cry for justice suggest we live in a moral universe. Find our more in this week's podcast.