Sermon for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Readings: Esther 7:1–6, 9–10, 9:20–22; James 5:12–20 & Mark 9:38–50 Today’s first reading was from the Book of Esther, and I thought that it might be helpful to provide a summary of the book so as to give you some context for today’s reading. The book is set during the reign of King Ahasuerus, otherwise…

Sermon for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost Readings: Proverbs 31:10–31; James 3:1–12 & Mark 9:30–37 The 2nd of October will mark the first anniversary of my mum’s death, and I still miss her terribly. My son and his wife recently announced they were expecting their second child, and my instinctive reaction was to contact Mum and let her know the good news,…

Sermon for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Readings: Proverbs 1:20–33; James 2:18–26 & Mark 8:27–38 I remember a time in my working life, long before my call to ministry, when the company that I worked for went through a significant upheaval. The Managing Director was moved to a different role in the Asia Pacific region of the company’s operations, and a retired…

Sermon for the Martyrs of New Guinea Readings: Zephaniah 3:14–20; Romans 8:33–39 & John 12:20–32 September 2nd has been set aside by the Anglican Church of Australia to commemorate the “Martyrs of New Guinea”, twelve Anglican men and women who died in Papua New Guinea in 1942–43 during the Japanese invasion and occupation of the country. They were: John Barge, priest Margery…