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Author Archives: avrilhj
Sermon: Kindred in unity
I believe that we will be able to live together in unity as kindred. That is not naïve optimism. It is faith based on what God has managed to do in the past. Continue reading
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Assembly Working Group on Doctrine response to Prof James Haire
Prof Haire’s response to the Report reveals a superficial and selective reading and, at times, a misreading or misrepresentation of its content. Continue reading
Posted in Reflection
Tagged Fifteenth Assembly, marriage, marriage equality, same-sex marriage
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Sermon: The importance of good biblical interpretation
Bad Biblical interpretation has been used by Christians to justify the most appalling crimes against humanity: slavery; the Holocaust; apartheid. We must read the Bible carefully, in context, and through the lens of Jesus’ commands that we love God and neighbour because the alternative is terrifying. Continue reading
Sermon: So, you want to have a king …
In the same way that we can be certain that the author of Samuel was wrong to attribute a desire for genocide to God, we can be certain that there are things that we believe about God today that will later be revealed to be wrong – because we are human and, as the Apostle Paul wrote, we currently only ‘see in a mirror, dimly’. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged 1 Samuel 8:4-20, genocide, King David, King Saul, kingship, Prophet Samuel, reading the Bible, Year of Mark
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Sermon: Jesus (mis)reads the scriptures
The Pharisees are shocked at Jesus’ apparently cavalier attitude to the laws governing the Sabbath. Modern Christians are shocked at Jesus’ apparently cavalier attitude to biblical interpretation. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Bible, biblical interpretation, Mark 2:23-3:6, sabbath, Year of Mark
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Women Celebrating Justice: Reflection for the Victorian Country Women’s Association
In 1928 when the CWA opened ‘rest rooms’ throughout Victoria it was overturning an injustice that meant that women couldn’t travel far from home. We all know how important it is for women to have access to toilets; even today some girls leave school when they start menstruating because they don’t have access to water and toilets. So well done to those very first members of the CWA! Continue reading
Posted in Reflection
Tagged 1 Samuel 2:1-10, Country Women's Association, CWA, Hannah, Justice, Luke 1:39-56, Magnificat, Mary, Visitation, women in the bible, women's history
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Sermon: Is Isaiah a role model for volunteers? (National Volunteer Week)
In the same way, Isaiah keeps prophesying even though he knows he will fail, and we keep offering our best efforts to the church community to which God has called us even if we don’t know what success would look like. It’s counter-intuitive, and it’s why volunteering is the wrong word. Instead we should talk about ministry, or service, or even about acts of love. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Isaiah 6:1-13, Isaiah 6:1-8, National Volunteer Week, volunteer
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