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Tag Archives: Hope
Sermon: Street marches
Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church Palm Sunday, 24th of March 2023 Psalm 118:1-2 19-29 Mark 11:1-11 After hearing today’s gospel story, of Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem the week before his death, I am a little surprised that the Roman powers … Continue reading
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Tagged Hope, Mark 11:1-11, Palm Sunday, political protest, Psalm 118:1-2 19-29, street marches, Year of Mark
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Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church Advent One, 3rd of December 2023 Isaiah 64:1-9 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Mark 13:24-37 Happy New Year! Today, the first Sunday of Advent, the church is beginning both a new church year and a time … Continue reading
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Tagged 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Advent 1, apocalypse, Apocalyptic, Hope, Isaiah 64:1-9, Mark 13:24-37, suffering, Year of Mark
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Sermon: It’s not the Rapture
I have wondered whether it makes sense to preach hope and a God of love in such a world. But then I remember that the world has always been like this, and that the church not merely can but must preach hope and a God of love through every crisis. Continue reading
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Tagged 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, death, Hope, life after death, life before death, Living a good life, Matthew 25:1-13, rapture, UNHCR, Year of Matthew
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Sermon: Death and Life
The funeral service used to contain the reminder that ‘in the midst of life we are in death,’ which apparently comes from a battle song by tenth-century monk Notker the Stammerer and, while that might strike our twenty-first-century ears as morbid, it is simply a fact. If we accept that, today’s reading can offer us comfort. Continue reading
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Tagged death, Easter, funerals, George Herbert, Hope, John 11:1-45, Kevin Hart, Mourning, resurrection, William Shakespeare, Year of Matthew
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Sermon: The Peaceable Kingdom
How can we look at everything that is happening around us, the homes and livelihoods destroyed by what is usually God’s good gift of water, the thousands of people who have died of covid19 in Australia and the millions who have died around the world, and say that God cares about creation? The author that we know as ‘Third’ Isaiah, from whom today’s reading from the Hebrew Scriptures comes, had the same challenge. The description of God’s holy mountain as a place where all creation is renewed seems completely unrealistic. But there was nothing fanciful in what Isaiah was doing. Continue reading
Sermon: God’s priorities, according to the Prophet Jeremiah
It would take a great deal of faith to hold on to that hope while sitting in the ruins of Jerusalem, or while in exile in Babylon, just as much faith as it takes us to hold on to the hope of God’s justice when we look at the world around us. It is much easier to hold on to this hope in community than to try to do it alone and here in Australia, despite anything politicians or the media might say, we do have the great privilege of being able to meet together for worship and to share the words of God with each other. So let us encourage each other in our persistence, as we pray without losing heart. Amen. Continue reading
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Tagged Babylonian Exile, Christian persecution, exile, Hope, Jeremiah 31:27-34, Luke 18:1-8, Persecution of Christians, prayer, Year of Luke
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Sermon: Hope in a time of pandemic
As we realise our vulnerability, we are offered reassurance. When we are tempted to despair, we are given hope. Continue reading
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Tagged Advent, Advent 1, Hope, Jeremiah 33:14-16, Luke 21:25-36, Parousia, Psalm 25:1-10, Year of Luke
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Sermon: Life and death and Lazarus
It is a story about death and darkness and mourning; about life and light and rejoicing; and so it is an almost uncannily suitable story for us to hear during this pandemic, as the world faces the prospect of thousands upon thousands of deaths from COVID19. Continue reading
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Tagged covid19, death, grieving, Hope, John 11:1-45, Lazarus, Lent 5, Mourning, resurrection
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Reflection: For Bill
We are gathered here to commend Bill to God, certain that God will receive him with love. Continue reading
Sermon: Christmas Day
Let’s remember those ‘copping the hypocrisy, racism and hate’; those abused by church leaders; LGBTIQ teachers and students at religious schools. Let’s remember that in each one of these people we see Jesus’ face. Continue reading
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Tagged Christmas, Christmas Day, Hope, Joy, love, Maureen Watson, Peace
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