Sermons
Archives for April 2022
Date Based Archive: April 2022
Year C – Easter Sunday – Passing the message on
17 April 2022
No one expected it – not one single person. What we celebrate here today was totally outside of the realm of belief of every single disciple even though Jesus had told them over and over again that it would happen, that he would be killed and that on the third day he would be raised from… Read more
Year C – Good Friday – The 7 last words of Jesus
15 April 2022
Father forgive them for they know not what they do. There is a lot going on in the world today that gets our anger to boiling point. Whether it’s the war in the Ukraine, domestic violence, the looting that was going on in flood regions. I’ve mentioned it before that people often will say that… Read more
Year C – Maundy Thursday – From darkness to light
14 April 2022
Maundy Thursday begins our journey through the darkness of Good Friday to the light of Easter Sunday. Maundy Thursday is itself a night of sadness. When we celebrate Holy Communion which was first celebrated on that first Maundy Thursday the words preparing the bread and wine begin with the words – Our Lord Jesus Christ… Read more
Year B – Good Shepherd Sunday – Sheepish Behaviour
25 April 2021
To be called a sheep is not a very flattering thing. It is a term usually used when referring to a person who doesn’t think for themselves but just blindly follows everyone else. Sadly this is often how people see Christians – as sheep. People who blindly follow a religion without thinking for themselves. People… Read more
Year B – Good Friday
1 April 2021
Today is a day that weighs heavy on the church. Each year on Good Friday, we hear the account of Jesus’ gruesome death; Each year we experience those same emotions that accompany Jesus’ death: the anguish and disbelief. We hear the same details – the same bible readings – but each year it seems to fit a… Read more
Year B – Maundy Thursday – 1st April 2021
1 April 2021
A lot of things have changed in the way we do worship in this past 12 months. And Maundy Thursday is no exception. Much in our bible reading tonight would not be allowed under Covid restrictions. First there was the celebration of the very first Holy Communion service together. If we look at artwork depicting… Read more
Year B – Easter Sunday – 4th April 2021
1 April 2021
I will never forget last Easter Sunday. There were just 4 of us at Ringwood for that day. We had our organist playing the organ instead of recorded music. We had a member providing real flowers and reading the bible readings. And we had a third person who doubled up filming and reading the prayers And… Read more
Year A – 3rd Sunday of Easter – What our eyes don’t see.
26 April 2020
Three words in our Gospel reading today reflect so much of our society. Three words that sound so sad they make you want to cry. We had hoped. Three words with so much anguish – We had hoped. 2 disciples are on the road to a town called Emmaus. They are saddened. Now even though… Read more
Year A – 2nd Sunday of Easter – God is in control – even if you don’t see it.
19 April 2020
Over the Easter period I spoke at length about the effects of the Pandemic and its effects on us particularly the isolation that has been placed on us as we quarantine ourselves to try and stop the spread. So I thought I would perhaps focus on something else. But when I read the Gospel reading… Read more
Year A – Easter Sunday – Fear and Joy
12 April 2020
If we could sum up the feeling of the world at present I believe the word “fear” best sums up how people are feeling. Fear of catching COVID-19 Fear of the economic cost Fear of keeping my job. Fear of how long this is going to go on for. Fear of inadvertently breaking the rules… Read more
Year A – Good Friday – The 7 last words of Jesus
10 April 2020
Father forgive them for they know not what they do. I was watching a special on TV last week about the Coronavirus and the presenter said – let’s get the world through this pandemic and as soon as we’ve beaten it we’ll find out who is responsible and make them pay for it. Is that… Read more
Year A – Maundy Thursday
9 April 2020
I wonder how Jesus would have coped under today’s restrictions. Washing his disciples’ feet. Gathered together – 13 of them – sitting close together. Passing around a common cup for Holy Communion. Breaking bread and passing it on to one another. They dipped their hands together into a bowl. Even Judas would betray Jesus with… Read more
Year A – Palm Sunday – Built on the rock
5 April 2020
Hasn’t life changed? If we go back just a couple months ago life was never better. I had just arrived back from my 2 week cruise and excited that we had rebooked our next cruise. Coffee shops and wine bars were filled with people celebrating life with not a problem in the world. But then… Read more
Year C Easter 2-Obeying God’s authority rather than human authority
28 April 2019
The sporting world has been divided in recent times regarding the punishment dished out on Rugby League player Israel Folau. In case you missed it, Folau posted a quote from the bible that offended some people because he said unless they repented of their sin that they would end up in hell. Irrespective of whether… Read more
Sermon Easter Sunday – Who believes this nonsense? (Main Service 9am)
21 April 2019
Before I have my tea at night I like to watch the News headlines to see what’s been happening in the world. If I’m home in time I like to watch the Channel 10 news. But because I don’t like to miss the start of the news as I turn it on a couple minutes… Read more
Yeac C Easter – Believing is seeing (Easter Sunrise Service)
21 April 2019
Seeing is believing – or is it Believing is seeing. In this case at the tomb of Jesus it is definitely Believing is Seeing. Mary has come to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body for proper burial. She arrives and doesn’t “see” Jesus body so she doesn’t know what to believe has happened. Seeing doesn’t… Read more
Year C Good Friday – Our empathetic Saviour
19 April 2019
When tragedy strikes it’s interesting to see the different responses from our leaders. When the terrorist attack happened in Christchurch last month, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern came out with obvious grief and hurt in her voice and demeanour. It was similar some years back during the Queensland floods when the Premier at the time, Anna… Read more
Year C Maundy Thursday – Loving by example
18 April 2019
Children are really good at watching their parents and imitating them. So as parents we always need to be careful about what we say and do around young impressionable children so we teach them right. When you see a child misbehave or use swear words in public you actually look at the parents and blame… Read more
Easter 2 (Year B) – Not living in fear
8 April 2018
Our first reading from Acts seems so different to our Gospel reading from John. Both give an account of Jesus’ disciples gathered together after his death and resurrection – but what a difference there is in their character. In Acts we read: With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the… Read more
Easter Sunday (Year B)
1 April 2018
Do you know what the 10 greatest fears are: FEAR OF FLYING FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING FEAR OF HEIGHTS FEAR OF THE DARK FEAR OF INTIMACY FEAR OF DEATH FEAR OF FAILURE FEAR OF REJECTION FEAR OF SPIDERS FEAR OF COMMITMENT I was rather surprised to see that fear of spiders was so low down… Read more
Easter Sunday Dawn Service-Our Lives Rebooted (Year B)
1 April 2018
Every now and then as I’m working on my computer it begins to slow down and get really sluggish. Things take longer to process – programs take longer to open. And I realise that what I need to do is turn it off and turn it back on again to refresh it. Sometimes our lives… Read more
Recognising Jesus by faith.
30 April 2017
Have you ever stopped to think about how amazing God’s creation is? I find the colours and variety in nature amazing. God could have created a world full of bland experiences but chose to have colour and beauty imbedded in his creation. God could have chosen one type of fish, one type of bird, one… Read more
Eternal Life – not a scam
16 April 2017
Rarely a day goes by when I don’t receive an email trying to lure me into a scam. They range from Lotteries that I have won that I did not enter. Or beautiful Russian women that somehow got my email address and tell me how much they want to meet me. Then there are the… Read more
Seeing by believing
16 April 2017
The resurrection cab be a confusing story and apparently was equally confusing for those who were present at the time. Mary Magdalene, whose life had been transformed by Jesus, came to the tomb early in the morning. Despite what Jesus may have said about rising from the dead, it is clear that Mary had come… Read more
Destined to die – destined for eternal life.
14 April 2017
At our community meal a few weeks ago I was chatting with one of our guest who was enjoying his cup of coffee after his meal. We have lots of chats about politics, religion and sport – the 3 topics that you say you shouldn’t talk about. As he was sipping his coffee I made… Read more
True Evangelism
13 April 2017
Evangelism is a word that is on the tips of the tongues of all churches. Churches are feeling the pressure of declining memberships and are looking at ways to attract new members. There are many reasons why people no longer feel that church is part of their life. People are too busy for church. Church… Read more
Quick Change
9 April 2017
There is a saying that if you don’t like Melbourne weather, just wait half an hour and it will change. I’ve found myself these past few weeks starting off the day with jumper and heater – only to be ripping them off before midday and putting the air conditioning on and then getting home and… Read more
Jesus, the final Word.
2 April 2017
Today’s gospel reading is again a very long reading but at the heart of message is the question or statement made by both Mary and Martha and also the crowd to Jesus. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Mary came where Jesus was and… Read more