Sunday 22 November 2020 – The Shepherd King
Readings: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 and Ephesians 1:15-23 (NRSV) Introduction I’ve been reading some interesting stories during the week, about kings in disguise – kings who disguised themselves as commoners so that they could more freely move around amongst their people. Some of these stories are ancient myths or legends, some Read more…
Sunday 15 November – Serving God, Serving Others
Serving God, Serving Others Readings: Psalm 123:1-4 (NRSV) and 2 Corinthians 1:1-4 (NRSV) Do you feel like praising God today and expressing your trust in God? Or are you lamenting today and crying out to God to do something? Or a bit of both? Whichever of those options you just Read more…
Sunday 1 November 2020
Psalms of communal Lament – Psalm 137 On Friday morning, just as I was about to start this sermon on the communal psalms of lament, our third in this series, I had a call from BaptistCare who are writing a short piece on this church’s support for Tara’s Angels, the Read more…
Sunday 25 October 2020 – Lamenting disorientation
Psalm 13:1-6 (NRSV) Introduction A well-known verse in Ecclesiastes tells us that there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (3:4) The trouble is, most churches today can celebrate well, but aren’t very good at lamenting, at least Read more…
Sunday 18 October 2020 – Psalms of lament: Psalm 88
Psalms of Lament – Psalm 88 As I was preparing for this sermon and this short series over the next three weeks on the psalms of lament, a song by the Christian musician, Ken Medema, kept coming back to me. If this is not a place where tears are understood, Read more…
Sunday 4 October 2020 – The Ownership Contest
Rev. John Morrison _____________________________________________________________________________________ Reading Matthew 21:33-46 (NRSV) Introduction Jesus told many wonderful parables during his 3 years of public ministry. Today we are looking at one of them, often called the Parable of the Wicked Tenants. I’m inclined to call it the Parable of Contested Ownership though, Read more…
Sunday 27 September 2020 – Move over, make room.
Philippians 2:1-13 This passage from Philippians invites us to reflect on the virtue of humility. But I have to confess I struggle with the actual living out of this virtue – at least in a consistent and deepening manner. Can I suggest that maybe we all experience the same. I Read more…