Gospels-Acts
Mark 9:30-50
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- Written by: George Hemmings
Death & Discipleship audio (5MB)
This morning we remember those who served, and who gave their lives, in not just the Great War, but in all wars. We remember and give thanks for their dedication and service, their bravery and commitment. I know there are some here who have lost friends or family to war, or who have experienced it firsthand for themselves. I know it’s a little early, but let’s stop and take a minute of silence to reflect, to remember and to pray.
Mark1:1-11
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
A Hope Fulfilled, Then and Now audio (6MB)
Mark 1:1-11
It's now just over 15 years since Mulder and Scully first appeared in the series 'The X-Files', asking "Could there be something out there?" Mulder believed that the 'Truth is out there' but Scully wasn't quite sure. Of course, although the questions they were raising echoed those of lots of people, they weren't new questions. People have always wondered about life beyond this material existence. There's too much in our experience that we can't explain without having some sort of supernatural or spiritual explanation. That's why 'The X-Files' seemed to strike a chord with so many people.
The people of John the Baptist's day were asking similar questions, wondering whether God was still with them, or whether he'd ever speak to them again. Today we're going to think about the similarities between Then and Now.
First the Longing, Then and Now then
A Message of Hope, Then and Now and finally
Its Promise, Then and Now
Mat 18:21-35 - The Nature of Grace
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
The Nature of Grace Audio
I think we can all relate to this story. We empathise with the poor servant who only owes a few dollars and is thrown into gaol by the culprit of the story. We feel the sense of powerlessness of the poorer servant. We feel the outrage of the other servants as they see this injustice being played out. We cheer when the master finds out and justice is finally done.
I wonder though, how often we find ourselves identifying with the unmerciful servant. Do we ever wonder whether Jesus is telling this story to warn us?
Do you see how the story starts? Peter has asked Jesus a question. It’s a question that arises from the previous discussion. There’s a danger with a catchy story like this. It’s so easy to take it out of context; to read it as a stand-alone event when it’s not. You see, Jesus has just finished talking about the question of discipline in the church. What do you do if someone in the church offends someone else? What do you do if someone is doing something that the Church considers sinful? How do you deal with that person? And the answer Jesus gives is that you first gently confront them in the hope that they repent and are restored to fellowship with you. If that doesn’t work you take a couple of witnesses along and only if that fails do you take it to the whole church.
Matt 1:18-25 (Christmas 2011)
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Immanuel - God With Us audio (3MB)
Well here we are again on Christmas Eve hearing the same old story once again. I wonder do you feel like it’s a bit like television in December - just another repeat? Nothing new in it. No new insights to get you going?
Or do you approach the retelling of the Christmas story with excitement as you’re reminded once again of just how amazing these events really are?
Do you stop and think again how incredible it is that God could become one of us?
Let’s do that now as we think about what we’ve just read from Matthew’s Gospel.
Joseph has heard the news from Mary that she’s pregnant and reacts as you’d expect him to: he decides a quiet divorce will solve the problem. He doesn’t want to disgrace her publicly so he decides to keep the details private. People will probably think that they just didn’t get on so he divorced her.
But then an angel appears to him in a dream to reassure him that Mary has remained faithful to him; that the baby is a miraculous child, brought into existence by the work of the Holy Spirit. So Joseph changes his mind and quickly marries her. Nothing new there is there? We’ve heard it all before countless times.
But let me ask you, do you think Joseph was too quick to believe what he heard in that dream? Would you have changed your mind that easily? I mean it might just have been a bit too much goat’s cheese that he’d had for dinner that had him dreaming a weird thing like that.
Matt 10:5-34 - Trust in the Lord
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Trust in the Lord audio
I wonder if you’ve ever had the experience of suffering for your faith. I think for most of us that would be a rare occurrence. Though of course suffering for your faith can take lots of forms. In Australia it rarely comes in the form of physical suffering, though it certainly does in other parts of the world. In Australia it’s more likely to be in the form of disadvantage in employment, or being shunned by friends, or being mocked for your beliefs. In the public arena it often takes the form of being sidelined or ignored in public discourse in political policy making.
