Sermons
Jeremiah complains bitterly but faithfully (+ rom coms)
‘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… Read more
‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ Jesus calls Matthew (Matthew 9:9-13)
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… Read more
What might a grace-filled community look like?
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… Read more
What’s the one thing needed? Listening to the needs and still getting your core work done.
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… Read more
Mess with God at your peril. Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.
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… Read more
Gamaliel style – how to work with furious, powerful people who are heading down the wrong path.
Acts 5: 38-39 ‘So I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin it will fail…. Read more
When the tectonic plates realign – the impact of the first Pentecost on new believers.
The tectonic plates, shaken up by the Easter earthquake, resettle into a new, Holy Spirit place. Acts 2: 41 Many believed the message and were baptized, and about 3,000 people… Read more
Easter Paradoxes – Peters hits them hard with his Pentecost sermon
On Holy Thursday, Peter swore that he would never leave Jesus, and a few hours later, the cock was crowing three times to remind him he had utterly failed. Now,… Read more
Earthquakes and Easter
Whether it’s a book or a movie, If you’re like me, you probably just skip over or ignore the bits that don’t make sense. I’ve always skipped over the 2… Read more
‘Lazarus Laughed’. Reflections on the raising of Lazarus in John 11.
That was the name of a play written in 1925 by Nobel Literature prize winner Eugene O’Neil. It needed 100 actors to do properly, so it was never commercially successful…. Read more