Worship Reflections by Rev Dr Con Apokis
12 January 2025
PRACTICAL SPIRITUALITY FOR COMMUNITY Spirituality of the Roster, Chaos & Disillusionment Spirituality of the Roster 2 Timothy 4:9-22 Do your best to come to me soon, Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry. I hare sent Tychicus to Ephesus. ‘3when you come, bring the cloak that…
5 January 2025
PRACTICAL SPIRITUALITY FOR COMMUNITY Spirituality of Enthusiasm & Pseudo-Community 2 Timothy 4:9-22 Do your best to come to me soon, Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry. I hare sent Tychicus to Ephesus. ‘3when you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas,…
Christmas Day 2024
Reflection Christmas Day 2024 Introduction Does Christmas with its messages of love, peace and goodwill bring out a better you or even the best in you? We know that this is less likely than maybe we would like it to be – why? Because research has been done with those most amenable to Christmas – children lllustration: Beliefs and Behaviour (14 December 2024 New Scientist) We know this from the latest research on Santa Claus. Does belief in Santa Claus encourage…
22 December 2024
Can You Hear the Angels? (Advent 4: Peace) Micah 5:2-5a 2 But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah,from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel,whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. 3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labour has brought forth;then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel. 4 And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the…
8 December 2024
Advent 2 Love Can you hear the angels? Messages we need to hear today. Love. Introduction Illustration: Asking for Flowers How do you keep nurturing love? Sally and I have had this phrase Asking for Flowers! A spouse, traditionally the woman, asking for flowers as token of love. A parent asking the children to visit them more regularly especially on Xmas day! A friend asking for more time and contact. A neighbour asking for overhanging trees to be pruned. Commonwealth Bank…
2 December 2024
Reflection Rev Dr Con Apokis Introduction Illustration: The re-election of Trump Sorry to begin with a moan. I am so disappointed with you all – to return after our break in Japan back to MUC to find you let Trump get re-elected! What happened! How did you manage that?!? I know you think it is unfair to land that at your feet – who else is there to blame? The problem of hope is that it constantly needs to be…
20 October 2024
Baptism Illustration: What is the most important or defining moment of your life? I love cricket. In my last years I had gravitated to being the keeper. This one week I arrived five minutes late and got told I was now the captain. Now this was not good news because we had not won a game as a team in eighteen months. Last season we once scored 11 runs all out and on another occasion a team scored 518 with one…
13 October 2024
All I ask is the chance to prove that money can’t make me happy (Spike Milligan) Mark 10:17-31 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ 18Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19You know the commandments: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall…
6 October 2024
Marriage: God’s Solution to Loneliness, Lust and Laundry (Mark 10:2-16) 2 Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ 3He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ 4They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ 5But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. 6But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” 7“For this reason a…
11 August 2024
If Jesus is the Bread of Life – What Happens If You Don’t Like Bread? (John 6:35, 41-51) 35 Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ 42They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we…
4 August 2024
How Does Jesus Feed You? (Mark 6:35-44) 30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the…