What is faith? What does it look like to have faith? Is faith a matter of trust, or belief, or hope, or choice? I bet that if we took a survey of the sanctuary today – we’d probably come up with at least a dozen different definitions and understandings of faith, and they probably all wouldn’t agree with one another. Even though it’s kind of our thing, faith is a complex word and idea to define. How do we explain something that is on the one hand a gift and on the other a choice that we … [Read more...]
Return to Me: Sermon on Hosea
“Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall!” – Hosea 14:1 As a father of two young girls who love books, and love to be read to – I read a lot. Bedtime, morning, afternoon, you name the time and there is a good chance a book is being read in the house. There are undoubtedly a lot of cringe-worthy books in publication (books I eventually need to hide for my own sanity), and there are a lot of cute or funny books that we love to read, but it really is remarkable how … [Read more...]
Just a Fool – Sermon for Holy Cross Day
“For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” – 1 Corinthians 1:18 Today we are celebrating the feast of the Holy Cross, a day that is linked to the dedication of the Church Constantine dedicated, purportedly on the site where Jesus had been crucified 300 years before, and where according to legend Helena (Constantine’s mother), had discovered a piece of the true Cross during the excavation of the church, the … [Read more...]
Working Faith – Sermon on James 2
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? – James 2:1 There was once a seminarian who conducted an experiment. The seminarian wondered what the Bible would look and sound like if he took out every single text regarding ‘the poor’ in the whole Bible. The seminarian set about his task, and as Jim Wallis describes in his book God’s Politics, it took the seminarian a very long time. Barely a book of the Bible went by where … [Read more...]
Give Thanks – Sermon for Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
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...]
Sermon for Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost – John 6:56-69
“Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’” – John 6:66-67 In the age of constant media, social media, 24/7 connectivity to one another via the internet, information is constantly at our fingerprints. We can learn about news from across the world just moments after it happens. Amidst all of this information there is a glut of advice, information and wisdom concerning just about any question, any … [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...]
Invited Series Week 5 – Luke 10:1-11
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” – Luke 10:2 One of the biggest fears in the Western Church, which has grown to a fever pitch over the past few decades, is the fear of declining congregations and the corresponding decline of the seeming importance of faith and Christianity in the world. With the decline in attendance has come the grim and mournful reality of church deaths and closures, something … [Read more...]
Invited Series (Bonus Week!) – 2 Corinthians 8:7-15
“Now as you excel in everting – in faith, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you – so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.” – 2 Corinthians 8:7 Have you ever been overwhelmed by generosity? I have experienced overwhelming generosity a number of times throughout my life, but the most vivid example I remember is when my family and I were visiting Sri Lanka in the winter of 2004. We arrived in Colombo after a long flight, on the afternoon of Christmas … [Read more...]
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