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- Sermon: We have no reason to ever feel insecure
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Category Archives: Sermons
Ephesians 6:10-20: The Armour of God and the Gospel of Peace
It is in its resistance to the forces of evil, its working for peace, its prayer for the community, that the church lives out its calling as the body of Christ. So, put on your military equipment, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Continue reading
Sermon: Ephesians 5:15-20 on being wisely drunk
I seldom sing in church because I cannot sing in tune, and I am afraid of putting the rest of you off. The only worship I have experienced where people have sung joyfully out of tune was at the World Council of Churches’ ecumenical institute in Switzerland. My African colleagues reminded me that the Psalms tell us to make a ‘joyful noise’ to the Lord, (Psalms 66:1, 95:1, 98:4, 100:1) not necessarily a tuneful noise. But, as I said earlier, my heritage is Scottish Presbyterian, not African, and I save singing lustily for the car or the shower. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged apartheid, community, Ephesians 5:15-20, John Wesley, music, Nazi Germany, Saint Augustine, worship, worship service
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Jesus’ Compassionate Ministry: Lessons from Mark 6 and Ephesians 2
While the needs of the world are great, and the church is called to imitate Jesus’ compassion, none of us is Jesus. Not even collectively is the church the Messiah. In today’s scenario, we are the Twelve, not Jesus, and we can take time to rest. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Act2, Ephesians 2:11-22, Mark 6: 30-34 and 53-56, Refreshment, Rest, Uniting Church, uniting church in australia, unity, Year of Mark
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Sermon: I go down the rabbit hole of ‘predestination’
We have been blessed in Christ, chosen in Christ, adopted through Christ, obtained an inheritance in Christ, and set our hope on Christ. However God will gather others to Godself, we have become God’s own people through our relationship with Christ. Continue reading
Sermon: Strength in weakness
Both Paul, describing the thorn in his flesh, and Jesus, telling the Twelve to take nothing for their journey but staff and sandals, are making the same point. We do not share the good news of Jesus Christ using our own power. We do so in the power of God. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged 2 Corinthians 12:2-10, Apostle Paul, Mark 6:1-13, strength, weakness, Year of Mark
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Sermon: Enough for all
Each ‘daughter’ receives from Jesus what it is they need. While the delay caused by healing the haemorrhaging woman makes it appear that Jairus’ request has been denied: ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?’ both daughters are healed. The time and power Jesus gives to one is not taken from the other. Continue reading
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Tagged 2 Corinthians 8:7-15, A Christmas Carol, Apostle Paul, generosity, haemorrhaging woman, healing, Jairus' daughter, Mark 5:21-43, Poverty, Scrooge, sharing, wealth
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Sermon: Deeper Water
Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church 23rd of June 2024 Mark 4:35-41 One of the last poems that the nineteenth-century British author Emily Bronte wrote begins: No coward soul is mine No trembler in the world’s storm-troubled sphere I see … Continue reading
Sermon: Simply planting seeds
I occasionally get discouraged about my own absolute and utter failure as an evangelist. I am many atheists’ favourite Christian, which is not a title I take lightly. Often I have been told by people that if they believed in any God, they would believe in mine. Which is nice, but sometimes I wish they would consider a belief in God to be more than hypothetical. Continue reading
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Tagged growth, harvest, kingdom of heaven, Mark 4:26-34, mustard seed, parables, Year of Mark
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Sermon: Holy Spirit and evil spirits
It is hard to rightly judge enthusiasm manufactured by living men before our own eyes, whether that enthusiasm is the Jesus Movement within first-century Judaism, the excesses of Francis of Assisi, Protestantism, Methodism, the movement for the ordination of women, the struggle for churches to welcome LGBTIQ+ people, Pentecostalism, and so on, and so forth. If we are not going to join the scribes in their eternal sin, we need to be constantly open to the new things the Holy Spirit is doing, and this will demand much discernment. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged anti-Zionism, Beelzebul, families, family, Holy Spirit, Jesus'family, Mark 3:20-35, materialism, Methodism, racism, Rev. Sydney Smith, Satan, scribes, sexism, spirits, white supremacy, Year of Mark
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