Archives: <span>Sermons</span>

The last Sunday in Advent offers a creative juxtaposition of images. In the Old Testament God’s promise to David is spoken through Nathan the prophet. It’s a fascinating exchange in which David seeks to align God with his own agenda by building God a house. But, in reply God refuses, offering instead to build for...

We continue to journey with John the Baptiser this week – with a focus on John’s Gospel. The emphasis here is on John’s message and his refusal to allow himself to become the focus, while calling people to prepare for God’s restoration. Add to this, the themes of liberation and deliverance that are proclaimed in...

All Saint’s Day – Today we honour those holy men and women who have gone before us in faith and have done so in a glorious way. The readings this week, All Saints Day, seem to point to a direct correlation between the way we live and the blessings we receive. Revelation 7:9-17 In the...

20th Sunday after Pentecost (A) – Anglican Parish of Maroochydore, 18.10.2020  Matthew 22, 15-22   So, Friends, how are you enjoying the election campaigns that are flooding our media?!   You can flick between what’s happening in the USA, where Donald Trump and John Biden are trying to outdo each other.  And then turn your attention to all-female version of such a political battle,...

What have we gained by accepting God’s invitation to the banquet? What have we lost? Are we healed, strengthen, given courage, inspired, challenged by declining God’s invitation? We still maintain that the demands of living in today’s “day and age” determine our responses. Isn’t it wonderful that God does not use excuses to exclude us...

Last week we heard of the living Water of God that flows into every nook and cranny, this week the central image is the Law, and on how some are excluded from God’s life because they have allowed the Law to become stagnant, repressive and legalistic. In the Exodus reading, the Moses journey continues, with...

MESSAGE – Sunday 27th September 2020 17th Sunday after Pentecost Context: What are these things? He had just entered Jerusalem and ‘cleansed the Temple.’ Turning over the tables of the money changers Healed the blind and the lame. Children shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David” Chief priests and legal experts were angered, “Do you...

This week we will be asked to listen to the tough, but life-giving Gospel message of forgiveness. In a world of conflict, terrorism, and serious inequalities the idea of forgiveness can sound naive. But without forgiveness, we doom ourselves to repeating cycles of violence, division and scapegoating of one another. The parable of the unforgiving...

Remember, Restore, Renew God’s Covenant in community A vivid memory from childhood television viewing is the scene that always terrified me during my family’s annual viewing of the classic movie, “The Ten Commandments”: the Angel of Death passing over Egypt, killing every firstborn, bringing tragedy to every Egyptian household, including Pharaoh himself, but leaving the...

What does God’s call mean for us? What can we expect when we receive God’s call? These are the questions at the heart of this week’s Lectionary, and they flow beautifully out of last week’s challenge. The clear progression is from Moses’ own personal salvation (last week) to his call to go back and save...