Narrabri Anglican Church

04/06/2026

Being us: who we are as humans:
man and woman in relationship

So, what does marriage look like, what is it?

It is the living breathing daily example in this world of the love that Jesus has for his mob (Ephesians 5:22-33), so that God's mob can return to what he created them to be: gardeners-in-relationship.

And, just like in gardening-in-relationship, man and woman have clear roles, neither of which is based on value or worth but established in the creation design of God back in Genesis 2... and this thread of created order runs right through the life of the single person, the married person, and people in God's mob.

Can I also make very clear that, in this created design, there is no place for abuse or violence or manipulation or control - in God's design, domestic violence, coercive control, emotional and verbal abuse and manipulation are out of place and wrong. These sins do not represent the good news of Jesus which marriage is designed to display.

Prayer:
Father, thank you for marriage - one man and one woman in covenantally committed relationship for life. Thank you that it points to Jesus. Amen.

03/06/2026

Being us: who we are as humans:
man and woman in relationship

Time and time again, over the last three weeks, we have seen that it is Jesus alone who can restore the image of God on the people of God - on any person, no matter what they have done (Rom.5:12-19). To trust in Jesus (in what he has done and who he is), to repent of sins, and to depend solely on Jesus - that is the way in which people who are rebels are brought back to God (1 Peter 3:18).

And so, any marriage, any relationship, any damage or sin done in relationship - all of these can be put right, and restored to what God created, in Jesus alone. This is crucial for anyone to understand, because all of us will stumble in relationships.

But, as this is done, relationships are brought under the right rule of Jesus. And so, they reflect his design: marriage is between one man and one woman in covenant commitment for life; domestic violence has no place in any relationship; all relationships are about gardening-in-relationship so that God's rest is restored and sustained.

Prayer:
Father, thank you that Jesus can restore any relationship, and forgive any sin. Amen.

02/06/2026

Being us: who we are as humans:
man and woman in relationship

The beauty of the relationship between one man and one woman - and the magnificent privilege of doing so to bear the image of God - should not be minimised. It is the commitment of one man to one woman, forsaking all others. It is this relationship that lies at the heart of the picture that Genesis 2 finishes with... and it is this relationship that is rent asunder in the fall of Genesis 3.

As man and woman willingly overturn God's creation order, God remains steadfast. And his judgement affects, forever in this world, the way man and woman relate in this relationship. The roles are now not 'in partnership' but 'in enmity'. The roles are combat roles. The roles are now opposed to each other, but the design, and the image of God, is not lost.

This explains so much about our world...

Prayer:
Father, please forgive the enmity that lies at the heart of male and female relationships. Amen.

31/05/2026

Being us: who we are as humans:
man and woman in relationship

You can find yesterday's sermon here: https://narrabrianglican.org/resources/sermons-talks/

It is striking how much of who we are comes back to Genesis 1-3. Man and woman are made in the image of God - equal but different - equal in worth and value before God, and different in their roles in 'gardening-in-relationship'. And this order doesn't change through the Fall.

Moreover, two aspects seems to stand out about humanity: gender and relationship.

First, the genders - male and female - exists in creation, as part of the image-bearing-of-God, and they exists through the Fall.

Second, the relationship that is at the heart of the creation blessing - to be fruitful, to multiply, to garden God's world - is between one man and one woman - and this brought out in the covenantal commitment poem at the end of Genesis 2. And this, too, carries through the Fall.

Prayer:
Father, thank you for making humans male and female - equal, different, complementary, and to be in relationship. Amen.

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 ...

28/05/2026

Being us: who we are as humans: woman
The hope for all women - and men - lies in Genesis 3:15: one offspring from the woman will crush the snake, as the snake bites him. This one offspring is Jesus - and Romans 5:12-19 reminds us that, just as through one man's disobedience death comes to all, so through the one man's obedience, righteousness and life can come to all.

This is the case for women as it is for men - for 'all'. And Jesus himself 'helps' such a return to gardening - he returns any who trust in him to the presence of God, back to rest (1 Peter 3:18).

This means that, connected to Jesus by faith, any woman can have the image of God restored in her so that she is restored to 'gardening-in-relationship'.

Prayer:
Father, thank you that you made us man and woman, to garden together. Amen.

27/05/2026

Some stuff worth reading...

Encourage wisdom in your under-shepherds... https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/agentic-ai-pastor-church/

Helpful analysis... and encouragement... https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-cinema-lacrosse-and-the-brutal-truth-about-christianity-in-australia/

The cinema wants your money. That’s fine. But lacrosse doesn’t want your money. Lacrosse wants you. They know that if they are to have a future they don’t need consumers, they need players. And you don’t become a good player without discipline, training and commitment. (From 2016)

27/05/2026

Being us: who we are as humans: woman
The essence, then, from the order of creation, of what it means to be a woman is this: to be the helper for gardening, so that the rest of God is sustained.

And this is brought out in the tragedy of Genesis 3.

First, as the serpent talks in verse 1, the order of creation is being turned on its head. As the woman initiates the action of taking from the tree, she turns the order on its head. And as the man stands silent, he abdicates his role in apathy. It is a role of gardening that he has done - the woman's reply in verses 2-3 displays this. But, as the snake speaks, the woman takes, and the man stays silent, the creation order is inverted.

Second, the entry of the LORD God into the garden in verse 8 starts to re-establish the order. He questions the man - the responsibility lies with him, and so the creation order is re-established. The form of the judgement finalises the re-establishment. And the judgement of the serpent and the woman brings enmity into the gardening. It is no longer gardening-in-relationship but combat gardening, as enmity enters between the woman and the snake, and the woman and the man.

Third, this creation order - one of role and NOT of value or worth - is emphasised again in verse 20, as the man names the woman, and as she is identified as the mother of all the living.

Prayer:
Father, forgive our sin. And enable us to garden. Amen.

25/05/2026

Being us: who we are as humans: woman
As we move into Genesis 2, and the 'point of view' seems to change, we gain a helpful perspective on what it means to be a woman.

Man is created. Man is planted/placed in the Garden planted by God. Man is provided for, protected by the prescription of God's word. Man is given the task of 'gardening': working and watching over God's creation.

We know this is the task of the man and the woman - this was made clear in Genesis 1:26ff. And there, such a task was connected very clearly to 'bearing the image of God'. In this sense, to garden the creation is to display God to the world - his fundamental unity and equality, and his difference. Man and woman, together, are 'like' God, reflecting his nature to the world, and that is why male and female together are so critical.

So, as the assessment of the LORD God in Genesis 2:18 is made clear, this is not just an assessment of 'not good' in terms of physicality or capacity or even having children - it is, fundamentally, a statement about reflecting/bearing the image of God in/into the world: without a helper who is like him (but different to him), man cannot do this.

And so, the LORD creates the woman - to be the helper for the man, in his job of gardening. She is like him ('bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh') but she is different to him. This difference is not a difference in worth or value (after all, she is made in the image of God), but a difference in role.

Prayer:
Father, thank you for the privilege of bearing your image in the world. Amen.

25/05/2026

Something worth reading...

The discussion around A.I. continues to encourage us to consider who we are, and how we become who we are...

The moral and anthropological issues in AI use in education and writing.

24/05/2026

Something worth reading...

Take the time...

What’s the time? We watch it, we waste it, and we pass it. It seems like there’s not enough of it, and we don’t know where it goes. Time matters....