Give Us Today Our Daily Bread

Sunday, 18 January 2026 by

Bernard Gabbott - Sunday, 18 January 2026

Give Us Today Our Daily Bread

The last Federal election was described as the ‘cost-of-living election’… but, to be truthful, every Federal election has this aspect—and we worry constantly about how to afford this, whether we can have that, where will this come from. And the first request of the Lord’s Prayer that ties directly to us confronts this head-on: we are dependent upon God for our daily needs, and our eternal future… and he never fails to provide what his people need to pursue his kingdom. In this sense, the order of the Lord’s Prayer flows naturally—it begins with an address that moves to the vision of God that we desire the world to see, and out of this we call for his rule and reign in our lives (and in this world) to begin… and, as we pursue our obedience to his rule and reign, we recognize that he gives all that we need to pursue that kingdom. It could be summarized in another, balder way: if the cost of living is so high (namely, Jesus), then our Father will certainly not neglect what we need to live...

Scripture References: Matthew 6:9-13, Psalms 130:1-8, Exodus 16:1-20

From Series: "Prayer"

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Sunday, 8 February 2026
What is our Culture?
from Bernard Gabbott
‘Culture’ is as simple as ‘the way we do stuff around here’. It covers not just what a mob of people do, but also why they do those things. It covers both what a mob proclaims (about who they are) and what they practice (how they live it out). Every mob of people has one. It is worth thinking about our culture as we start the year. And that is the purpose of this short two-week series. This week, we are looking at our ‘Titus-culture’ – the culture we have inwardly, as God’s mob, who do life together. At the heart of this culture, which we see Titus establishing in Crete, is ‘sound teaching’ – the good news of God’s salvation in Jesus, which creates a people for God that are completely transformed. This ‘sound teaching’ is preserved, nurtured, passed on across generations, as men and women meet together, talk together, and encourage each other. It is the proclamation that creates the practice that is ‘the way we do stuff around here’.
Sunday, 1 February 2026
The Danger We Face
from Bernard Gabbott
The last request that Jesus outlines in the Lord’s Prayer completes our picture of who we are as God’s children—we need his provision, we need his pardon… and we need his protection. The request for God to ‘lead us not into temptation’ sits parallel with the request for ‘the evil one’ to be kept at bay. Both are a plea for spiritual protection, for God to walk us away from the allure of sin and the work of the devil. And in both areas, we must be alert to the very great danger we face, a danger that we can often be unaware or unwilling to confront. And in both areas, because Jesus met the devil and commanded him to ‘go away’ - and then beat him at the cross—we have complete confidence that our Father hears our prayer, and can and will act on it. And in both areas we are given all that we need to resist temptation and flee the devil—just look at the suit of armour that Jesus has tried and now given us (cf. Is.59:15ff; Eph.6:10ff).
Sunday, 25 January 2026
God's Forgiveness
from Bernard Gabbott
‘Forgiveness’ always makes for a headline in our world. Just recently, online, there was a headline proclaiming the remarkable nature of ‘forgiveness’ that was offered by a sibling of one of those killed at Bondi. Our world marvels at such a notion… but ‘forgiveness’ is central to nature of God’s kingdom. And so it is central to the relationship between God and his children. That all being said, how do we define ‘forgiveness’? What does ‘forgive’ mean? How does our forgiveness by God affect our relationships with each other? All of these questions are connected to the next request that Jesus outlines in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors’. As we read this request, please be aware of two truths. First, this is a request spoken our Father—the relationship with our Father exists, and is displayed in how we live that out. This request is not one of ‘condition’ but of ‘consequence’. Second, please note that this request captures the essential vertical-horizontal nature of being children of God—it starts with God (vertical) and plays out with others (horizontal).