Last Sunday we looked at one of those wonderful, yet challenging, body passages in the New Testament, Romans 12:1-8, which speak of how every one of us have different gifts, which spring from the grace of God which creates and love diversity, but which we are given so we can operate as one body. Our Old Testament passage, Exodus 1:8-22, served as a dramatic contract, what happens when we forget our oneness, when we seek to denigrate others, to exploit, Read more
Dear church Last Sunday it was the turn of those with A-H surnames to be in the church for the worship service. There were 32 of us, several below the maximum allowable under our COVID Safety Plan, so the overflow room wasn’t needed. The service was live-streamed via Zoom as usual (the new normal) with 83 people joining us on their devices for worship in that way. While we followed the new health recommendations and had no congregational singing, at Read more
It takes a long time to recover from trauma. If it is one incident, it can take from one to two years I was told by someone working with emergency response teams here in the ACT. Extended trauma may take longer. Joseph, the subject of our sermon last Sunday. had a long time to recover. Twentytwo years is the calculation of the time between when he was sold into slavery by his brothers at age 17 and when he reunited with Read more
Dear friends Belinda’s sermon last Sunday was titled “People plus God” and was based on Matthew’s account of “the feeding of the 5,000”. The single sentence that summed it up for me was: “The resulting feeding event is the combined work of divine and human agency, people and God prepared to work together.” It is a challenging thought with far-reaching implications for how we live our lives. A copy of the sermon as well as a recording of the whole Read more
I loved the picture of Ava’s pizza dough that she sent in to illustrate John’s sermon on Jesus’ parables in Matthew 13 last Sunday. And I hear the pizza was pretty good too! But I must confess that I – along with most of you – voted the mustard seed parable my favorite! (For those who missed it – the results were: mustard seed (21 votes), yeast (6 votes), hidden treasure (5 votes), pearl merchant (5 votes), fishing net (2 votes). Read more
Dear friends Last Sunday Belinda preached on the story of Jacob’s dream about a ladder stretching between earth and heaven (Genesis 29:10-19a). The LORD appeared to him in that dream and promised to be with him and bless him. Belinda titled her sermon “Surely God is in this place”, based on Jacob’s exclamation when he awoke. The sermon also quoted the day’s Psalm (105): “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?” The answer Read more
Dear Friends, It was wonderful to have a break over the last two weeks; to have time away as a family at Culburra Beach relaxing and reading books and celebrating Grace’s 18th birthday! It was also good to hear John preach on the 5th July on those very apt words for us, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest…” (Matthew 11: 28) Or, in the words of The Read more
Dear friends It was great to have a “live” congregation in the church again last Sunday, even though numbers were still restricted and only A-H’s were invited. 32 attended, with others joining in via Zoom on 65 devices. If you missed it, the recording is available on our website at https://youtu.be/DaZTnhrzHEc I led the service and preached on “You’re Invited” (from Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30). I shared the invitation that is extended to all — to joy through the mourning of Read more
Dear friends For last Sunday’s service a number of tricky technological changes were trialled in preparation for having an in-church congregation again this coming Sunday. Thanks to Steve Blackburn and Bruce Frazer especially for all their set-up work. While the changes worked better than expected overall, we will keep working on a couple of issues to ensure a quality experience for those in the church as well as those joining in remotely via Zoom. One different aspect of last Sunday’s Read more
Dear Friends, I am putting the ‘PS’ up front – so you all see it! As we are returning to larger gatherings from Sunday 5th July (just half of the congregation each Sunday) we decided to make that first Sunday with our Covid Safety Plan a little more straightforward by not having communion that day. Instead we are celebrating communion this Sunday – so please have some bread and juice ready at home this Sunday, 28th June! Last Sunday I was very fortunate to have the chance to reflect on the Read more