INSPIRE NEWSCAST

Today’s Inspire Newscast is a very special one, coming out a week before Christmas. It’s the whole story of Christmas from beginning to end in chronological order.

We’ve probably all heard bits of the story each year, as well as a whole lot of other stories about elves and Santa, and all sorts of other magical creatures. But I suspect that most of us haven’t head the whole story that’s recorded in Matthew and Luke’s Gospels in the Bible.

My friend Dr Richard Moore, a Greek and New Testament scholar who taught me Greek 40 years ago, has translated the New Testament into Australian English and has produced a unique translation of The First Christmas. Members of the congregation of Perth Baptist Church have brought the story to life in their own reading of Dr Moore’s translation.

While the entire reading goes for 24 minutes, I would like to encourage you to grab a coffee and take the time to listen to the story right through to the end. It’s a wonderful story that needs to be heard in a year when most of us need a message of hope.

Having said that, it’s not always an easy story to hear. There’s references to genocide, refugees, political treachery and homelessness, so be warned, this isn’t a nice story about a cute baby and cuddly lambs.

Please share this video on your socials so that as many people as possible get to hear it.

The new Western Australian Museum is the talk of the town in Perth at the moment, but this week I visited a much smaller museum in Guildford.

The Museum of Natural History and the Academy of Taxidermy is a fascinating experience. Michael Buzza has been doing taxidermy for more than 40 years, but it is his passion to protect our planet that really brings the place to life.

Michael and his wife Lara, are fascinated by the natural world, so Michael takes every opportunity he can to restore dead animals to a condition where they appear to be alive. This process enables the public to see wildlife, and even endangered creatures, and learn about how they died and what they can do to protect them in the future.

It was a privilege to meet Michael and Lara and visit their museum. Check out this week’s video and share it with your friends. It’s a great place to take the children and grandchildren during the upcoming holidays.

To see earlier Inspire Newscasts check out my YouTube channel.

It was a real privilege to meet the guest of this week’s Inspire Newscast, Paul Duff. Paul’s been around Bluegrass music for a lot of years and Bluegrass Parkway is apparently the longest,continually active bluegrass band in Australia.

But Paul is not just a musician (is there such a thing as “just a musician”?). Paul builds mandolins and has developed an international reputation for producing replicas of the F5 mandolin produced by Gibson in the 1920’s.

One of the things I loved about meeting Paul was his humble approach to producing the very best quality product, and it came out of a love for both the instrument and the music that it produces. He’s been building mandolins since 1982 and clearly his passion hasn’t dwindled in that time.

Please watch this five minute video and enjoy Paul’s story – and listen to a bit of bluegrass in the process.