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Tag Archives: love
Sermon: Joining the church
But as Martin Luther King is quoted as saying: ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice,’ and so, over the centuries, the church has discovered that apartheid is wrong, that women are the equals of men and (at least in the Uniting Church) that LGBTIQ+ people are to be welcomed and celebrated. Each time the church recognises that no one created by God can be called unclean or profane, the church is closer to living in a way that reveals God’s love to the world. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Acts 11:1-18, Apostle Peter, baptism, gentiles, John 13:35-35, love, the new commandment
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Reflection for Mothers Day
On this day when some of us are mourning the loving mothers we once had who have died, others are regretting the mothers who were unable to love us as they should, and yet others are grieving their own inability to become parents, it may comfort us to remember that in Jesus we have a Mother who is always with us and who will always love us. So on this Mothers’ Day let us celebrate and give thanks for the God who is our Mother as well as our Father. Amen. Continue reading
Posted in Reflection
Tagged God as Mother, images of God, Jesus as Mother, Julian of Norwich, love, motherhood, Mothers' Day
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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
Posted in Sermons
Tagged forgiveness, judgement, Lent 4, love, Prodigal Son, welcome, Year of Luke
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Sermon: “All shall be well”
As we lament over the pain of the world, and pray for its healing, as well as doing our own small part towards caring for the vulnerable, we can hold on to the reassurance offered to us by a fourteenth-century mystic. Because we know that at the core of the universe is love, we believe that ‘all will be well and all will be well and all manner of thing will be well’. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Abraham, comfort, Genesis 15:1-18, Julian of Norwich, Lent, Lent 2, love, Luke 13:31-35, 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
Posted in Sermons
Tagged forgiveness, love, Luke 6:17-26, Sermon on the Plain, Year of Luke
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Sermon: Maybe we’re the answer
One of the commentators I read this week said that Jesus might have initially been reluctant to do anything because ‘the expectation that Jesus be a cash and goods dispenser is both ridiculous and corrupting’.[3] But maybe his mother’s response to Jesus’ words is a reminder of the importance of trust and persistence. Maybe we should, like her, keep prodding God to do something in situations of need and poverty, because we know that God wants a world abundance and generosity. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged abundance, generosity, John 2:1-11, love, miracles, PNG, signs, UnitingWorld, wedding at cana, wine
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Sermon: Small and insignificant
Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church 19th of December, 2021 Micah 5:2-5a Luke 1:39-55 This week we were finally able to hold a memorial service celebrating the life of Marcelle Maisey. Jenny Preston presided, and she preached on the Bible … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Elizabeth, love, Luke 1:39-55, Mary, Micah 5:2-5a, Proverbs 31, woman of valour, Year of Luke
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Very short reflection on baptism
The Uniting Church baptises babies and children without asking them to make any promises because we recognise that in baptism, as in all else, the initiative lies with the God who loves us and calls us here today. Continue reading
Posted in Reflection
Tagged baptism, love, religious discrimination, religious freedom
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Sermon: In which Avril rabbits on about love yet again, because it IS all about love
And if God is love, as our faith tells us God is, then even our smallest loving actions will contribute to filling the universe with love and so with God. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged 1 John 5:1-6, Desert Fathers, First Letter of John, friendship, Gospel according to John, John 15:9-17, Julian of Norwich, love
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Sermon: Christianity means something (liberation and love)
How can we discern that we are on the right path, that the spirit leading us is the Holy Spirit and not simply the spirit of the age? By testing everything against the life and ministry of Jesus, and through love. If it is not loving, loving in truth and action rather than simply word and speech, it is simply not Christianity. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged 1 John 4:7–21, Christian women, John 15:1–8, love, prosperity gospel, slavery, women, women in ministry
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