Sermons

‘If it’s really you, Lord, tell me to step out to you on the water.’ Peter, in the storm and in the dark, utterly exhausted. (Matthew 14:28). This isn’t about showing off. It’s a group of distressed and utterly exhausted men, knowing they are about to drown, seeing a...

Matthew 14:14 When he came ashore (expecting to be alone) there was a great crowd already waiting for him. When he saw them, his heart went out to them, and he healed those who lacked strength. I find it very challenging that Jesus, wanting to be alone to process the...

I love making bread. On Sunday at the beginning of worship, with the help of my Kenwood Chef, the children and I mixed 20 g of salt, 560 mls of filtered water and 1 kg of ‘OO’ flour. Then we added the starter from 6am (1 teaspoon dried yeast, I tsp of sugar, 1 scoop...

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Romans 6:18 ‘You gotta serve somebody,’ sang Bob Dylan from his 1979 album, Slow Train Coming. ‘Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you gonna have to serve somebody.’ He was...

‘Lord, you took advantage of me. At first I liked being with you, but now it’s not so fun.’ (my paraphrase of Jeremiah 20: 7). Jeremiah had God’s Word burning inside him, and it had to come out. Except that the Word was about the consequences of breaking the covenant...

Jesus called ordinary people, who were doing ordinary jobs. In Matthew’s case, because he was a tax collector, he was not allowed into the temple to worship God. His job automatically excluded him from being part of the worshipping community. Yet Jesus comes straight...

I attended the recent Ministry Summit run by the Mission and Ministry Dept of the Lutheran Church of Australia, Qld District. I loved the presentation by Dr Mark Worthing (Luther Pastor at Port Macquarie). Here are the 10 points he made. Grace is God’s mercy for us,...

Acts 6:1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Greek speaking Jews among them complained against the Hebrew speaking Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. Growth brought challenges for the early...

Two people lie to God and want to appear like super-Christians to those around them, without changing on the inside. God judges quickly and decisively, and it cost them their lives. What might this have to say to us today and where is the good news of the gospel? The...