Missed church on Sunday? Want to revisit something that was spoken about last Sunday? Read the reflections that were given at last Sunday’s (and previous) services.
21 May 2023
Introduction We’re now six weeks after Easter. Next Sunday is Pentecost. It will be a Together@10 Service. I believe we will have a wonderful celebration of the day that the church was born. If you can, wear something that has the colour red in it. Let us pray… Our text for this morning is John 17:1-11. Now John Chapters 14-17 are known as Jesus’ Farewell Discourse. In it, he takes his disciples aside and prepares them for his departure, instructing…
7 May 2023
Text: John 14:1-14Title: The Way Introduction: This text is frequently read at funerals, and for good reason. It contains promises that are profoundly comforting in the face of the death of a loved one. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and…
16 April 2023
…and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews… The disciples were afraid that those who had killed Jesus were possibly on a campaign to find, arrest and execute Jesus’ followers. So they locked themselves away. In the midst of this fear, Jesus comes and says, Peace be with you. Clearly the disciples were afraid. But it is also probable they were angry, angry because Jesus was dead. Jesus’ greeting is…
9 April 2023
Introduction A florist mixed up two orders on a busy day. One was to go to a new business, the other to a funeral. The next day, the guy with the new business stormed into the shop, “What’s the big idea?” The flowers that arrived for our reception said, “Rest in peace.” The florist responded, “Well, if you think that’s bad you should have seen the people at the funeral who got the flowers that said, ‘Good luck in your…
2 April 2023
Introduction We have a long gospel reading for today – Matthew Chapter 26 verse 66 to the end of Matthew Chapter 27: a total of 127 verses. It begins when Judas agrees to betray Jesus (26:14-16) The Last Supper (26:17 – 30) Jesus Predicts Peter’s denial (Matthew 26:31 – 35) Gethsemane (26:36 – 46) Jesus arrested (26:47 – 56) Jesus before the Sanhedrin (26:57 – 68) Peter disowns Jesus (Matthew 26:69 – 75) Judas Hans himself (Matthew 27:1 – 10)…
26 March 2023
The challenge of not knowing becomes the challenge to seek truth. These two ideas sit together, live together like identical twins. At times, they sing from the same hymn sheet, in perfect harmony. At other times, strained, uncomfortable, as they travel, as we travel different paths. To not know is to seek to understand. It is in the understanding that we search here and there, we talk with others, we listen, we create, in our own mind, a story. We…
19 March 2023
Text: John 9:1-41 Title: Who is Really Blind? Introduction Who sinned? Who is responsible? What can account for this tragedy! It is a common enough concern when things go wrong. There must be somebody to blame! Or do you think that is a primitive way of thinking? Is it a kind of superstition? If it is, it is a very persistent superstition. It is not easy to get away from, even in the modern world. Whether superstition or not, when…
12 March 2023
INTRODUCTION During 2020 and 2021 I wonder if any of you may have revived your love of jigsaws or developed the new hobby of puzzling jigsaws… to get through the long weeks of enforced hibernation? I was secretly thrilled to have the luxury of time to rekindle my love of jigsaws after many decades away from this hobby. Then maybe in your households it became a shared activity where families or friends connected to your bubble or within 5 km…
5 March 2023
Text: John 3:1-17 Title: Are You Born Again? Introduction There are a few catchphrases that I dislike: “God is good.” Or “God has a plan for you.” Or “Are you born again?” Do you have any Christian catchphrase that you dislike? Truth be told, ‘Are you born again?” is probably is the one that irritates me the most. Let us pray… John 3:1-17 is one of the favourite passages of the Bible, but also one regularly misunderstood. “For God so…
26 February 2023
Lent 1 Text: Matthew 4:1-11 Title: In the Wilderness Jesus Said No Introduction You all know that English is my second language, right? I speak Mandarin, Fujian, Teochew, Cantonese, and Japanese. Sushi, Toyota, Tempura, sashimi, Honda, Tokyo. Anyway, I think my English vocab is reasonable. Do you think you have a good vocab? Anyone who can spell this word gets this prize. Any volunteer? pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis A difficult word, isn’t it? However, I think there is another word that most people…
19 February 2023
Today is Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before Lent begins. And Transfiguration is one of those… weird festivals in the church calendar. It’s not as well-known as Christmas and Easter. It’s not as easy to define as Pentecost or Good Friday. LET US PRAY… When you look at this image, what do you see? There are two faces as well. I just didn’t see it at first. Then he showed me – here is the nose, the chin, the eyes,…
5 February 2023
Text: Matthew 5:13-20 Title: Salt, Light & Law Introduction The Gospel reading for the 5th Sunday after the Epiphany utilises two beautifully simple yet effectual symbols to encourage Jesus’ followers to engage in the world they live in with purpose. Matthew Chapter 5 verses 13 – 20 consists of three images or metaphors: Salt, Light and Law Starting with salt – 13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be…