THEME: Our attitudes toward, and our use of, money We can trust God in all circumstances and with all aspects of our lives. In the midst of enemy occupation and on the brink of exile, the prophet Jeremiah trusts that God has a promising future for the Hebrew people and their homeland. A seemingly irrational...
THEME: The Merciful Master and his Shred Manager Stewardship runs through today’s readings. How we manage our time, talents, gifts, and service matters, for all that we have and enjoy in this life are gifts from God. Stewardship is, after all, a kingdom activity. Jeremiah implores us to hear the cry of the poor. The...
THEME: Jesus has a heart for the LOST Joyful – relationships are being restored. God encounters great joy in seeing the human family flourish. The Gospel reading this week speaks of the joy when lost things are found. Jesus used the image of a lost sheep and a lost coin to describe the joy in God’s...
MESSAGE: Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost 4 September 2022 THEME: The demands of discipleship – take up your cross Imagination: What do you think of when you hear the word SPRING? What do you think of when you hear the word Disciple/Following Jesus? A few weeks back we have been seeing in the Scriptures of knowing...
One word, perhaps, sum up the Lectionary readings this week: humility. In the face of a culture in which we are all encouraged to ‘value ourselves’, to ‘reach for what we want’ and to ‘not let anyone stop us’, this can be a difficult, even ridiculous, word. To claim that true, vibrant, authentic life is...
THEME: Unshakable Kingdom A Heart of Compassion If you pay close attention to the world around you, if you really open your eyes and look closely at the life of those who surround you, you will undoubtedly start noticing how much brokenness and suffering there is in our world. We tend to focus on our...
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK – Everliving God, increase in us your gift of faith, that, forsaking sin and all that hinders us, we may run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one...
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK – TRUST – temporal/eternal – scarcity/abundance. Living God, Judge of us all, you have placed in our hands the wealth we call our own: through your Spirit give us wisdom, that our possessions may not be a curse, but a means of blessing in our lives. Grant this through Jesus Christ...
The Gospel reading sets the tone for this week’s theme. There can be no question that the work of faith, of receiving God’s grace, and of following Christ in worship and service, is a lifelong journey of perseverance and faithfulness. And it is because of God’s faithfulness toward us that we can even contemplate this...
Rev Tania writes: This week it’s all about listening – to God’s word – and to living it out in compassion, integrity, and justice – which requires listening to others. This can be harder than it sounds with all the noise that bombards us each day. That’s why the discipline of worship is so important....
