Sermons
Our weekly sermons
Love is at the heart of everything
I Corinthians 13 and doing a personal check-in with the God of deep love. For the confession of sins on Sunday we did this reflective check-in, as a way of being more aware of what is getting in the way of us being more loving, and what we might be invited to let go...
The Word of God – notes on a Lutheran Understanding – Pastor R J Mayer.
I’ve typed out these handwritten notes from my father, Pastor Reiny Mayer, former college chaplain and Qld District President. He has been part of the Lutheran Church of Australia since the beginning in 1966, and has been part of the sometimes fierce debates on what...
Trusting that peace is real, even in a place of pain.
The Peaceable Kingdom.’ Painting by Edward Hicks The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. Isaiah 11:6 American Quaker, Edward Hicks, painted this...
Leymah Gbowee (Nobel Peace Prize 2011) and ‘shedding the weight’, so that people can work for peace.
Isaiah 2:4. They will beat their swords into ploughshares…nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. In 2002 when Leymah Gbowee received a word from God to gather the women of Liberia to pray for peace in the middle of a...
Luke 19: 11-27 The Parable of the Horrible Ruler and the 10 gold coins. I don’t think this is a picture of Jesus at work.
In this parable, Jesus talks about a nobleman, who goes away (think distant Rome) to be appointed as ruler. He is hated by his people, so they send a counter-delegation, which fails. In the meantime, he gives a significant amount of money to 10 senior officials,...
When your security gets trashed hold on to Christ.
Stand firm. You will be given the wisdom you need at the right time. The disciples were excited about how grand and wonderful the temple was. They thought it was rock solid and would always be there. Jesus, looking 30 years into the future, knew that the Jewish people...
Non-violence. Leymay Gbowee, a Lutheran Superhero.
May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the people. Psalm 149:6-7 These sorts of verses cannot work for us as Christians because the words of Jesus are just too powerful....
Lost and found. Lost sheep, lost coin, brave shepherd, determined and successful woman.
Lost sheep. The burden on the shepherd was to restore the sheep, or at least bring back it’s remains if it had been attacked by a wild animal. The shepherd does this, proving himself diligent and brave, and protecting his reputation as honest. The shepherd put his own...
Count the cost, pick up your cross, follow me, hate your family. Yet Jesus still goes viral.
It seems crazy. Jesus is saying these very provocative, in-your-face things, and yet crowds still follow him. He knows that he will soon give up everything he has and is, to die on the cross. No one else sees that coming. That is the cost that Jesus willingly pays, to...
