Unity in Diversity

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Unity in Diversity, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday August 5, 2018. The Reading was Ephesians 4:1-16.

One Body, One Spirit, One mind?

This past week, Liesl and I have been at Officer’s Fellowship – the first Officer’s Fellowship of the unified Victorian division. Now you may be wondering what we do at Officer’s Fellowship. Do we get away for a week of frivolity, where the rules are somewhat relaxed? No. Do we spend the week in deep and rigorous bible study that enriches the mind and spirit, but leaves you physically tired? No. The reality is somewhere in the middle.

Of course, this year was somewhat different. This was the first year we have had one Victorian Division. In past years, there would be a fellowship for each division – so last year, there was a retreat for officers in Western Victoria Division, Eastern Victoria Division, Central Victorian Division and the State Social Command. This year, all of those came into one – with the result being 178 officers in attendance. So it was massive. Continue reading “Unity in Diversity”

Come Away to a Deserted Place

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Come Away to a Deserted Place, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday July 22, 2018. The Reading was Mark 6:30-34, 53-56.

The many things we need to do

What’s your standard response to the question, “How are you?” Do you say “I’m Good” or “I’m Well”, or “Fine” or something else? In a couple of weeks, Liesl and I will be at Officer’s Fellowship, which will be the first one for the whole of Victoria division. Apart from being much larger than normal, and fairly crazy as a result, I suspect that with a number of catch ups, there will be the question asked “How are you” and more than a few responses of “I’m Busy.”

In today’s society, “Busy” is almost becoming a default response. Our default responses are the way that we want to be seen. How often have you responded “I’m Well” when you have a cold? And as such, “Busy” is seen as something we want to be. If we are busy, we have many things on the go. If we’re busy, we’re doing lots of things. “Busy” seems to be the ideal, much better than “oh, nothing much” Continue reading “Come Away to a Deserted Place”

The Kingdom of God is like a Seed

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, The Kingdom of God is like a Seed, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday June 17, 2018. The Reading was Mark 4:26-34.

Context is King

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “Context is King” – it’s this idea that without knowing the context surrounding a passage, you aren’t fully understanding what is happening.

As you all know, I love Star Trek. I recently finished re-watching The Original Series on Netflix. And one of the things that I love about Star Trek, and Sci-Fi in general, is that it reflects the current day issues in a futuristic context. Without understanding the context that the sci-fi was written in, you’re not fully understanding the meaning.

For example, watching The Original Series today with modern eyes is slightly jarring. The role of women in the series is often portrayed as helpless, or as administrative assistants, which did reflect the role of women in the 60’s when the show was produced. While the men wore a uniform fit for work and battle, the women were often in very short skirts. If it was made like this today, it would be decried as out of date and out of touch. Continue reading “The Kingdom of God is like a Seed”

Sabbath Living

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Sabbath Living, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday June 6, 2018. The Reading was Mark 2:23-3:6.

Improving on what God has made

We have to admit that God is pretty clever. Humans have been trying to emulate God for years, but there are not many things that we have improved upon what God has made. We have tried making humans – both through cloning and through robotics, but both have presented us with either ethical or technological problems that we just can’t solve. We have tried creating new ways at creating plants, and light, and all sorts of other things. But they all result in more problems. Even something that I might be willing to admit that we did better than God – the Tablet… still has it’s issues. I don’t think that Moses ever had issues with the ten commandments freezing, or getting addicted to playing Candy Crush on the stone tablets. He did break his stone tablets though, so maybe ours are still just as fragile.

But there is one thing that we have improved upon what God created. Continue reading “Sabbath Living”

Hope Where It’s Needed Most

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Hope where it’s needed most, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday May 27, 2018. The Reading was Luke 10:25-37.

Elizabeth Ballard of Chesapeake, Virginia, tells the story of a school teacher named Miss Jean Thompson.
Miss Thompson would greet her new students every September with the same words: “Boys and girls, I love you all the same. I have no favourites.” Of course, she wasn’t being completely truthful. Teachers do have favourites and what’s worse, they sometimes have students they just don’t like.
Teddy Stallard was one of these. Continue reading “Hope Where It’s Needed Most”

The Great Banquet

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, The Great Banquet, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday May 13, 2018. The Reading was Luke 14:12-24.

It’s 6:30am, and the temperature is in the single digits. I’m sitting on a picnic blanket on the lawns of Parliament House. To the left of me are two sisters and a friend who have travelled there from Adelaide. Next to them, a native Hawaiian who now lives in Sydney. Someone from Canberra. A couple from Newcastle. Behind me is a man recently arrived from Syria. And on the other side of the group, another man who originates from the Congo but arrived only last week into Australia from a refugee camp in Burundi. Prior to today, I had only met these people the night before as we watched the budget and shared in prayer and worship. Yet today, these people, from varied backgrounds and faith traditions, today we are family. We meet together to learn from scripture, and to be a voice for the unheard.

Over to our right, the news crews stand in readiness, ready to interview a range of politicians as they discuss this latest budget. And in front of us, a banquet table, jam-packed full of goodies to illustrate how the blessings of our abundance means that we have plenty to share with all who need it. Continue reading “The Great Banquet”

Whose Kingdom?

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Whose Kingdom?, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday November 26, 2017. The Reading was John 18:1-19:42.

Handel’s Messiah

On Friday April 13, 1742, some 275 years ago, Handel’s Messiah oratorio was first performed in Dublin, Ireland. This was a performance arranged by Handel in order to benefit three charities, one of which was Prisoners’ debt relief. The concert raised 400 pounds, giving each charity 127 pounds which allowed 142 prisoners to be released of their debts. Continue reading “Whose Kingdom?”

Now and Later

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Now and Later, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday November 12, 2017. The Reading was Matthew 25:1-13.

End times predictions

There is an endless possibility to get yourself lost on the internet. And there is a multitude of rabbit holes that are just waiting to suck you down. For example, you could start by looking to see what other movies an actress you had just watched had been in, and all of a sudden, it’s 3am, and you’ve somehow connected the Lunar Landing with the JFK assassination and how John Lennon’s soul is to blame for it all.

One of those rabbit holes are End Times predictions. Since the year 2000 and the Y2K collapse of civilisation that didn’t happen, there have been no less than 36 end time predictions, the most recent being October 15, and the next being November 19, both by David Meade, a Christian numerologist who believes that the planet Nibiru will collide with Earth first in September, but then that was wrong, so we didn’t understand his prediction, then it was October 15, but again, we didn’t understand his prediction, so now it’s November 19. Again, I somehow think that we haven’t understood his prediction. Continue reading “Now and Later”

Love… but how?

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Room for All, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday October 15, 2017. The Reading was Matthew 22:34–40

Snooker at Bethesda

For a year or so, my dad held a position at a Nursing Home near our house in Greenwood. I was in year 7 at the time, and had to take public transport home, which involved catching two busses. But some days, generally once a week, I would get to catch the bus, and stop in at my dad’s work. I really looked forward to these days. It may seem odd for a year 7 student to look forward to getting to spend an afternoon at a nursing home, but I really enjoyed it. While I was there, one of the jobs they would get me to do was to help serve the residents dinner. For those that weren’t able to head to the dining room, I would take around their dinner and jugs of water to their rooms. And I loved being able to help out in that way. But I think the bigger attraction for me was that once all of the dinners were served, and the rest of the residents were in the dining room having their dinner, I would get to play on the snooker table. I would play by myself, trying to see the highest score I could get, seeing how many I could sink in a row before missing. I would play until my dad was ready to head home, and I had the greatest fun. One of the things I especially liked doing was practicing the break. I tried to perfect where I needed to place the cue ball, where I needed to hit on the triangle, with how much force, so that whenever I broke, I could immediately sink one of the red balls. But I could place the ball in the right spot every time, I could aim at the right spot, I could use exactly the right amount of force, but if I didn’t hit the cue ball in exactly the right spot, then I would have no chance of sinking a red ball. I needed to ensure that my connection to the cue ball was right. Continue reading “Love… but how?”

Whose Image?

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Whose Image?, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday October 22, 2017. The Reading was Matthew 22:15-22.

It’s A Trap!

I think it’s no real secret that I’m a bit of a nerd. I’ve talked a bit about being a Theology nerd before, but that’s not the only thing I’m nerdy about. I love Star Trek. I love it, and I’m proud of it. I’m very much enjoying the new series on Netflix, Star Trek Discovery, and Liesl is ashamed that not only am I watching Star Trek, but I’m also watching a show that discusses the latest episode, called AfterTrek. I do love my Star Trek, but

I also love Star Wars and am really looking forward to new movie coming out in December. Before Episode VII came out, I invited friends over and we watched all six movies in one night – not sure I’ll do that again, but it was good.

I’m reminded of a scene in Episode VI, The Return of the Jedi. The Rebels have found the location of the new death star, apparently still under construction, and decide to attack it before it is operational. And in this scene, we have a line from Admiral Ackbar – who is the large orange-brown alien that looks a bit like a large prawn – and this line in recent years has gone on to have a cult following of it’s own. Continue reading “Whose Image?”