Des Smith

Designed by Lyons, the Paula Fox Melanoma and Cancer Centre is part of the expanded Alfred Health campus in St Kilda, Melbourne. The Paula Fox Melanoma and Cancer Centre (PFMCC) is sited just down the road from where I live, so I am quite aware of it in the street as the Lyons-designed building with the wobbly, curvilinear form. A lozenge-patterned frit decorates the glass curtain-wall facade, deliberately disguising any floor-to-floor articulation.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Romans 8:28–29) A semi-regular editorial note I make on submissions to TGCA is related to pastoral application of the sovereignty of God. It is comforting to know that our lives are not ultimately in chaotic flux.

Preaching on Revelation is daunting. There are all the complex genre, exegetical, and homiletic issues it presents. But there is also the burden of knowing that the people you’re preaching to may have baggage that they’ll bring to your series. As a result, lots of preachers avoid it, or only preach on chapters 2 and 3 (the letters to the seven churches), which they hope will be easier to understand and apply.