Love is a many splendored thing.
Love lifts us up where we belong.
All you need is love. Or in the words of Anna from Frozen – "Love is an open door."
There are countless songs that centre on Love – love for children or siblings, love for friends, romantic love. And probably just as many that speak about heartbreak.
But what is Love, really? And how do we receive it and pass it on as a Gift of this season?

A message by Samantha B

If you were to survey a group of parents, chances are that the highest response to the question, " I just want my child to be ..." would be "I just want my child to be -happy".

So today, if you find yourself chewing on life's gristle, then, according to the Life of Brian, "give a whistle" and "always look on the bright side of life".

Or perhaps if we reflect on the tension around achieving happiness with the philosopher, Sheryl Crow, "If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad. If it makes you happy, then why the hell are you so sad?"

We discover that pursuing the emotion of happiness can be superficial. When, what we really need to do is go much deeper.

A message by David T

2000 Years ago, the world was far from a peaceful place. Herod the Great, the cruel king of Judea, died, sparking a frantic struggle by his sons, those who had survived their father's murderous tendencies, to fill the power vacuum.

But 2000 years ago, something else happened. A child was born. This child had a vision. A vision that threatened the oppressive systems of the day. One that prioritised justice and righteousness for all, not just the elite few. Just like many who had gone before him, he ended up nailed on a cross, the price one paid for challenging the principalities and powers of the world.

A message by David B

What does hope look like for you? For some, hope looks like a lottery ticket or a Scratchie.

For me, hope looks like McLaren in Formula 1. Bruce McLaren, a Kiwi racing driver, founded McLaren F1 in 1963. I became a fan, being introduced to F1 and the team by the Melvins, who attended the first church I pastored at Enoggera in QLD in the late 90s. That was perfect timing because it also coincided with when they stopped winning constructors' championships.

But I lived in hope, and last year and this year McLaren won, and I continue to hope that either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri will win the driver's championship next weekend.

We can find hope in all sorts of places. What gives you hope, and how do you give hope to others?

A message by David Toscano.

This morning, we begin with a well-known story, and it goes like this:

Once upon a time there was a hare who lived in the forest. He was a speedy runner and loved to race others to prove he was the fastest.
“I’m so fast, no one can beat me” He would say to anyone that would listen.
One day, Hare was boasting about his talent when a small voice said,
“You’ve never raced me.” It was Tortoise.
“YOU, the slowest in the forest? Race ME?” Hare laughed. “This is going to be the easiest race ever.” Hare said, “First one to reach the end of the meadow on the other side of the forest is the winner!”
The other animals in the forest set up a starting line and one shouted, Ready Set Go!
As soon as the race began, Hare hopped off into the distance, quick as a flash. But tortoise barely moved from the starting line. When Hare reached the big oak tree on the edge of the meadow, tortoise was nowhere in sight. Hare was so sure of himself and his ability that he decided he had time to rest for a while under the shade of the tree before he finished the race. But Hare fell into a deep sleep under the tree and didn’t notice as tortoise plodded on by into the meadow towards the finish line.

When Hare woke up, he looked up to see that Tortoise was close to the finish line, and though he was fast, he was not fast enough to beat Tortoise. Tortoise won the race.

Now, this story was said to have originally been told by a great Greek storyteller called Aesop as a fable around 600 BC – a short story with a moral life lesson attached – Pride goes before a fall.

A message by Samantha Barlow

For around 9 months of the year, we might like to see magpies as fun and playful.
Then, for the other three months, some of us experience the magpie, like Max Sherwood did at Lake Illawarra, NSW, a few years back - filmed by his dad.

The Magpie, Australia's angry bird! With the unfortunate reputation of menacing people who dare step out of line, leading to some losing an eye or worse.
And while the aggression might be natural behaviour for an angry bird, but as people, do we really want to have the reputation for being an angry people?

A message by David Toscano

Let's test your associations between colours and emotions. While there is some variation, there are general common or popular views around the various colours and our feelings."

Red- passion or anger
Blue-sad or depressed (Beyond Blue)
Yellow- joy
Orange-loneliness (as per the tv series Big Bang Theory) nothing rhymes with orange
Green- with envy

Interesting to note that the logo here is NVIDIA's, the global American semi-conductor company and a leading global manufacturer of high-end graphic processing units.
While they were originally playing around with the letters NV for Next Version or NVision, they settled on the word nvidia from the Latin word invidia "in" meaning upon or against and "vidia" to see or to look. Invidia is the Latin word that has become the word envy - to look with ill-will.
And while you might want the Nvidia graphics chip in your computer, do you really want envy in your heart?

A message by David Toscano

Australia- where we turn nicknames into an art form, especially on jobsites.

Hopefully, you have never been called one of these:

Morphine - slow-moving dope.
Lantern - not really bright and always has to be carried.
Bushranger - always holding others up.
Mastercard - takes the credit for someone else's work.
Perth - always 3 hours behind everyone else.
Wheelbarrow - only works when pushed.
Wicket-keeper - puts on the gloves, then stands back.
Sensor-light - only works if someone walks past.
Blister - turns up when all the hard work is done.

And while some turn sloth into a career, diligence should be core to a Jesus follower's DNA.

- A Message by David Toscano

https://youtu.be/MeL3lZidpUQ