Readings: Acts 1:6–14, 1 Peter 5 & John 17:1–11 There are two sayings that I often find myself repeating. The first is “patience is a virtue”, and the second is “all things come to those who wait”. I’m not 100% certain why those particular sayings have stuck with me, but I suspect they were things I heard my grandmother say in her…
Readings: Acts 17:22–31, 1 Peter 3:8–22 & John 14:15–21 For as long as I can remember, I have always believed in God. Even during the years of my young adult life, when I stopped attending church, I never stopped believing in God. My belief was, and still is, that God is the source of all creation. This was the fundamental belief of…
Readings: Acts 7:55–60, 1 Peter 2:11–25 & John 14:1–14 One of my daily spiritual readings for this week, was on the topic of fear. The author suggested that we don’t always admit to our fears; that we act as though we aren’t under their influence. He also went further to claim that our fears can actually hold us back; that it can…
Readings: Acts 2:42–47, 1 Peter 2:1–10 & John 10:1–10 Our first reading this morning, from the Acts of the Apostles, describes what life was like in the early church. It was a community with “all things in common”, a community that pooled its resources and shared those resources among the community, especially with those in the community who were in need. It…
Readings: Acts 2:14a, 36–41, 1 Peter 1:13–25 & Luke 24:13–35 The first reading this morning, from the Acts of the Apostles, continues on from last week’s reading. Once again, the passage is from the very first sermon that Peter gave, after he received the gift of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The crowd that Peter was addressing, was largely…
Readings: Acts 2:14a, 22–32, 1 Peter 1:1–12 & John 20:19–31 In this Season of Easter, we continue to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and each of our readings this morning, deal in some way either directly with the Resurrection, or with the ongoing effect of what the Resurrection means for the world. Our first reading this morning, from the…
Readings: Acts 10:34–43, Colossians 3:1–4 & Matthew 28:1–10 Shortly, we will renew our baptismal promises as part of this morning’s service. The reason we do this is symbolic, because historically, the rite of baptism took place at Easter. Candidates were required to undergo a three year period of preparation for baptism, which was known as the catechumenate. Writing to the church in…
Sermon for Palm Sunday Readings: Isaiah 50:4–9a, Philippians 2:5–11 & Matthew 21:1–11 In today’s first reading, Isaiah tells us something of what it’s like to be a prophet. He starts by acknowledging that the talent he possesses, is a gift from God, and not something that he can take credit for himself. And he recognises that God has given him that talent,…
Readings: Ezekiel 37:1–14, Romans 8:6–11 & John 11:1–45 What a wonderful set of readings for today! The story of Lazarus is among my favourite stories from the Bible, and Paul’s Letter to the Romans was my favourite unit of study when I completed my Bachelor of Theology. And I’m sure that most people are familiar with the ‘Valley of Dry Bones’ from…
Readings: 1 Samuel 16:1–13, Ephesians 5:8–14 & John 9:1–41 Appearances can often be deceiving can’t they? I remember a number of years ago, when attending worship at what was then my home parish, a certain young man started coming to church regularly on a Sunday morning. He looked completely different from everyone else in the congregation. He had multiple piercings in his…