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Tag Archives: forgiveness
Sermon: Thank goodness for Peter
There is a lovely line in a poem called A Vision of Piers Plowman, written in about 1400 by a man called William Langland: ‘And all the wickedness in this world that man might work or think/Is no more to the mercy of God than a live coal in the sea.’ That is what this epilogue to the Gospel according to John tells us; no human crime, sin or failing can outweigh the graciousness of God. Continue reading
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Tagged A Vision of Piers Plowman, Acts 9:1-20, Apostle Paul, Apostle Peter, Easter 3, forgiveness, John 21:1-19
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Sermon: Two brothers
We often fail to live as the people God creates us to be, and then we repent that, but that doesn’t mean that we need to try to earn our Father’s forgiveness. As this parable shows us, all we need to do is come to ourselves in whichever far country we have exiled ourselves, and return home. The Father will come running to welcome us. Continue reading
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Tagged forgiveness, judgement, Lent 4, love, Prodigal Son, welcome, Year of Luke
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Sermon: Do as you would be done by? Not necessarily
A world in which people of every faith and of none treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves would undoubtedly be an improvement on the world as it is. But that is not what Jesus is asking of us. Instead, Jesus tells his followers to treat others as they have not treated us Continue reading
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Tagged forgiveness, love, Luke 6:17-26, Sermon on the Plain, Year of Luke
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Sermon: It’s all about love (I know, I know; I keep saying that. But it is!)
‘God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them,’ (1 John 4:16) writes the Elder, summing up in one sentence what I try to say ever single week. Continue reading
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Tagged 1 John 3:1-7, First Letter of John, forgiveness, love, sin, The Elder
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Sermon: Forgiveness
That’s the bedrock conviction of the Christian faith. There are no unforgiveable sins. There are no unforgiveable people. Continue reading
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Tagged Acts 7:55-60, Desmond Tutu, Easter 5, forgiveness, Miroslav Volf, St Stephen
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Sermon: Why I disagree with Israel Folau
It is only when we accept that God’s love is for us and for everyone that the news of the empty tomb becomes for us not simply an idle tale but the beginning of new life. Continue reading
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Tagged Acts 10:34-43, death, Easter Sunday, forgiveness, Isaiah 65:17-25, Israel Folau, judgement, love, Luke 24:1-12, resurrection
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Sermon: Forgiveness, not sacrifice
Sermon for Williamstown Uniting Church ANZAC Service – 22nd of April, 2018 Have any of you seen the recent film Good-Bye Christopher Robin? It flashes forwards and backwards between the two World Wars and the period between them. It begins … Continue reading
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Tagged A. A. Milne, ANZAC Day, Christopher Robin, forgiveness, John Curtin, reconciliation, World War One, World War Two
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Sermon: In which Avril, surprisingly, preaches about Mothers’ Day
When the Bible wants to tell us exactly how tenderly God loves us, God is compared to a mother. Continue reading
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Tagged forgiveness, Isaiah 49:13-18, Jesus was a feminist, John 7:53-8:11, Mothers' Day, Psalm 131, sexual impropriety
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Sermon: Forgiveness and Mercy
‘And all the wickedness in this world that man might work or think/Is no more to the mercy of God than a live coal in the sea.’ Continue reading
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Tagged A Vision of Piers Plowman, Acts 9:1-20, Apostle Peter, Easter 3, forgiveness, John 21:1-19, Mercy
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