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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Sermon: Jesus’ female ancestors
I lived through a ‘think of the children’ scare campaign as a young gay woman; I do not appreciate politicians, political candidates, and neo-Nazis replaying it with trans people today. Continue reading
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Tagged 2 Samuel 11:1 – 12:25, Advent, Advent 1, Bathsheba, Book of Ruth, Genesis 38, LGBTIQ, matthew 1:1-17, Queer People, Rahab, Ruth, scare campaigns, Tamar, transgender, Year of Matthew
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Sermon: Losing our lives
I have also mentioned the Census numbers, because every church in Australia needs to take them seriously. They could be seen as evidence that Christianity in Australia is dying. I do not believe that it is. I believe that Christianity is becoming what it always meant to be: the salt, not the whole meal; the yeast, not the whole loaf. Continue reading
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Sermon: Be afraid, very afraid – or reassured and encouraged
The prophets told the people of Israel again and again that in order to be the people of God it was not enough for them simply to worship God, no matter how carefully they followed the requirements for such worship given in the books of the Law. To truly belong to God, the people of God needed to live out their calling in justice, and in caring for those most in need. Continue reading
Sermon: The faith and generosity of Hannah
Both Hannah’s and Mary’s songs are deeply political songs about the way God wants the world to be; a world in which the hungry are ‘filled with good things’ (Luke 1:53), in fact the ‘hungry are fat with spoil’ (1 Samuel 2:5); a world in which God lifts the needy from the ash heap to sit with princes (1 Samuel 2:8) while the proud are brought down from their thrones. (Luke 1:52) Both Hannah and Mary sing of a world overturned. Continue reading
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Tagged 1 Samuel 1:4-20, 1 Samuel 2:1-10, Advent, courage, generosity, Hannah, King David, Magnificat, Mary
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Sermon: On not blaming the poor for their poverty
The end of the Book of Job does not simply return Job to the situation he was in at the beginning. He has been transformed by his experiences, and so have his friends, and so, hopefully, have we. Continue reading
Sermon: Not just those like us
this encounter between Jesus and a Gentile woman can remind us of the words attributed to John Wesley: ‘Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.’ Continue reading
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Tagged Afghanistan, asylum seekers, Hieu Van Le, James 2:1-10 14-17, Mark 7:24-37, refugees, women in the bible
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Not really a sermon about Michal
The pious answer is that it is not about who David is, but about who the Lord is. The Lord remains faithful to David regardless of David’s wrongdoing. That answer makes sense if we are reading the books of Samuel through the eyes of David, but not if we try to read them through the eyes of Michal or Bathsheba. So, I do not have an answer. I just do not want Michal to be forgotten. As the lectionary leads us through the deeds of the great King David, remember his wives. Continue reading
Sermon: A story without an ending
I suspect that the reason the resurrection was announced first to women was because too often women have not been believed when they speak, women’s testimony has not been taken seriously. The God who created both male and female in God’s own image might be making a point. Continue reading
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Tagged covid19, Easter Sunday, Fear, Gospel according to Mark, Mark 16:1-8, resurrection, women
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Sermon: The powerlessness and ugliness of God in Jesus
If we ignore the crucifixion’s horror we lose that solidarity between God and suffering humanity. If we make Jesus too attractive and powerful, we might think that ugly, suffering human beings are not part of the world that God so loves. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged crucifixion, death, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John 3:14-21, Jurgen Moltmann, Lent, Lent 4, Numbers 21:4-9, resurrection, The Crucified God, ugliness
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Sermon: Totally depraved; dearly loved.
Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting ChurchSecond Sunday of Lent, 28th of February 2021 Mark 8:31-38 There is a joke I have started using on social media when discussing distressing news of human beings doing wrong. People ask how something so … Continue reading
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Rev Doc Geek 