Well, it’s been too long for my liking since I last sprung a pop quiz on you, so I’m going to start with one today! How did our gospel reading just now start? I’ll give you the first few words - can you fill in the blanks? Early on the first day of the week, _____ __ ___ _____ ____ (while it was still…
If you knew this coming week would be your last, who would you want to spend it with? What would you want people to see in you? What would you want them to remember? For Jesus, that final week isn’t about escape. It’s the moment He shows us who God really is. He enters Jerusalem on a donkey — the long-promised…
The King I heard an amazing story this week from a Christian friend who [is an ardent pacifist] was involved in the protest outside Nicola Willis’ office, calling for our government to implement sanctions against Israel in protest for their ongoing obliteration of Palestine? His grandmother, he said,…
In our story today we meet three young Hebrew men. They are part of the contingent of God’s people who have been captured and taken into exile in Babylon. These young men, along with their mate Daniel, have excelled themselves in the court of the Babylonian rulers. They are given new Babylonian names:…
Last week Diana helped us see what it means to live in God’s splash zone. To stand so close to him that his presence, his blessing, his love splashes onto us - and then overflows to those around us. That’s how Israel was meant to live. Chosen by God to be a kingdom of priests, to draw the nations into…
Last week we looked a little bit at Abraham and Sarah - exploring the promise God made to Abraham that “I will bless you… and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” ( Genesis 12:2–3 ) One of the challenges of trying to preach through the entire arc of scripture in 24 weeks is the sheer enormity…
Last week Hera explored the start of what we call the fall narrative - the way humanity stepped away from God’s good design and chose to have the capability to determine good and evil on our own terms, rather than God’s. A few things to remember from this story before we journey any further forward:…
I’m a worrier. I always have been. My internal world is a constant monologue of “have I got it right?” “are those I love happy?” “what if x or y or z happens?” It’s sometimes an exhausting place to be. One of these worries that comes up every now and again definitely centres around the presence of the…
Well I’ll be honest with you - the reading from Acts we had before is such a tempting prospect for a preacher! But I’m going to resist temptation, because I’ve been feeling the spirit nudging me towards the Gospel reading. Now, I love John’s gospel, but he’s got a habit of using three sentences when…
Alright, before we dive into today’s message, I’ve got something a bit different for you. We’re going to do a little experiment. Don’t worry — no one’s coming up the front, no one’s getting interviewed, and you won’t need to pray out loud. You're all safe. All you have to do is watch this video. It’s…
It’s been a while since I’ve sprung a pop quiz on you. So here we go! How many disciples of Jesus that we read about in Scripture can you name? (Celebrate or point out naming the women) THE BIG TWELVE Simon Peter (also called Peter) James (son of Zebedee) John (brother of James, also son of Zebedee)…
A week or so ago we had an interesting conversation in one of the Lent groups about whether Jesus could have “set up” many of the events recorded in the gospels to allow him to claim he was the Son of God. It’s an interesting thing to reflect on as we think about some of the difficulties non-Christians…