Be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Ephesians 5:18-20 Learning to give thanks, to be grateful is a really important life skill. From an early age I remember my parents instilling in me the importance of saying thank you, the importance of being grateful for a special gift or … [Read more...]
Imitation of Christ – Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. – Ephesians 5:1-2 It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and often that’s quite true. I remember when I first started in ministry here at Grace, I was freshly ordained and my eldest daughter regularly attended. For awhile, every Sunday evening when we went to dinner at my mum’s place, my daughter would find set of … [Read more...]
What Feeds You? – Sermon for the Eleventh Week after Pentecost
“They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’" – John 6:34 What feeds you? What are you hungry for? Before I started running I never really thought about nutrition. Food was something I enjoyed, especially sweet and spicy things, but never something I really thought much about. I didn’t think about calories or macro-nutrients or anything like that, food was just something I enjoyed, something that comforted me, something that I often consumed mindlessly. This obviously led to some … [Read more...]
The King Will Come – Sermon for Nov. 26
Today we celebrate the feast of the Reign of Christ, or for those traditionalists among you, Christ the King Sunday. So with that being the case, what’s the first image in your mind when you hear the words King or Queen? Perhaps you’re a good staunch royalist and you picture Queen Elizabeth II in all her dignified regality. Or perhaps you’re more of the history buff (I know I am!) and the first image that comes to mind is one of the great warrior Kings, like Richard the Lionheart, riding to … [Read more...]
Christ the King
Today we celebrate the Reign of Christ the King. … [Read more...]
What is… Grace Church?
Today we conclude the preaching series on Ephesians, and the question "What is the Church?" We end with more questions than answers, but I invite you to join with us as we, in Christ, seek to faithfully answer them. … [Read more...]
Let’s Talk about Sex, Baby! (and Idolatry)
Today we continue our Preaching series exploring the Book of Ephesians and the question "What is the Church?". Today we explore the modern day idols and how we as the Church can be renewed! … [Read more...]
What is the House of the Lord?
Why do you matter in the life of this Church? Why do we need each other and we all need you? This teaching is about the way God actually needs YOU and ME. God has put himself in our hands. … [Read more...]
You Gotta Serve Somebody
Today we continue our Preaching series exploring the Book of Ephesians and the question "What is the Church?". This sermon explores what it means for the Church to be a servant of the Gospel, and how we as Grace Church can live into that. … [Read more...]
Reconciliation; the doorway to peace
This is a reflection, as part of our course on The Church seen through the teaching of Ephesians, on how I have experienced reconciliation as a gift from God, a life-changing, life giving moment, (and other moments too). From that I look at how the church service actually leads you into this and challenges you to take the theology at heart and head level. … [Read more...]