Worship Reflections from 2026
Pentecost 22 25 October Family@10
SLOW READING: NEIGHBOUR-LOVE We all know that Jesus says to love our neighbour, but perhaps you’re not aware that he is quoting a much-maligned book of the Bible, Leviticus. Leviticus sets out how to live as God’s distinctively holy people. As such, it touches on every area of life. We live in a very different place, time and culture, and many of Leviticus’s provisions now seem harsh, weird or unnecessary to us. But the instructions concerning neighbour-love continue to speak…
Pentecost 22 25 October Fellowship@10
REFLECTION Love is all we need Jesus was a great storyteller. You only have to read the accounts in the Gospels describing the crowds who followed Jesus. The people walked out of the towns and villages, sometimes quite long distances, just to hear him speak. Witness the thousands who became part of the “Jesus feeds the 5000” story. But Jesus was not only a charismatic storyteller, he was also well versed in Jewish law. Part of the friction between Jesus and the Pharisees was because…
Pentecost 21 18 October
Matthew | Death & taxes Fellowship@10, 18 October 2026 Alison Sampson ~ Matthew 22:15-22 and other texts Nothing in this world is certain except, they say, death and taxes. And, of the two, some of us seem to hate taxes more. This was certainly as true for first century occupied Palestine as it is for us now. To everyone’s horror, Jesus calls a taxman to discipleship (Matthew 4); and he’s later condemned for eating with tax collectors (Matthew 7). Then…
Pentecost 20 11 October
Philippians | In the midst of suffering, joy Fellowship@10, 11 October 2026 Alison Sampson ~ Philippians 4:1-9 Someone called me the other day, a bit bothered because I don’t always look happy. Indeed. I’m deeply saddened by the deaths, the debilitation and the other losses which are happening at the church. I’m sickened by the current political climate, in which a billionaire’s pet party offering nothing but fake news and hate looks to dominate the state election. I’m appalled by…
Pentecost 19 4 October
Exodus | Ten commandments? No, ten signs of life Fellowship@10, 4 October 2026 Alison Sampson ~ Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 Sadly, it’s true: I’m one of those perverse people who can’t stand being told what to do. If you tell me to do something, then because I’ve learned a modicum of politeness I’ll grit my teeth and nod, and because for decades now I’ve been training myself to slow down and actually listen, I might even do it. But underneath…
Pentecost 17 20 September
Exodus | What we need is here Fellowship@10, 20 September 2026 Alison Sampson ~ Exodus 16:2-15 What a time we’re having. Our beloved friend and organist has suddenly and unexpectedly died; our dynamic placement minister has suddenly and unexpectedly resigned. We’ve had too many funerals and too few baptisms; too many leavings and too few celebrations; things are falling apart. I think it’s fair to say, many of us feel like we’re in some sort of wilderness. MUC was fresh…
Pentecost 16 13 September
Matthew | Saint Dolly & the art of forgiveness Fellowship@10, 13 September 2026 Alison Sampson ~ Matthew 18:21-25 Just a couple of weeks ago, Dolly Parton died, and the world is in mourning. One little story helps illustrate why. Her singing career kicked off in 1967, when she was invited onto The Porter Wagoner Show. Porter was the star, Dolly was the sidekick, and when she sang solos she was booed. So Porter asked her to sing duets with him,…
Pentecost 15 6 September
Exodus | God of freedom Fellowship@10, 6 September 2026 Alison Sampson ~ Exodus 3:1-15 First, a quick refresher on conflict in the church: When conflict happens, deal with it. Talk to the person who has offended you. If that’s unhelpful, try again with a witness. If that, too, gets you nowhere, then go through a formal church process. If the church process finds a problem, then remove that person from any position of authority or leadership, but treat them with…
Pentecost 14 Frontier Services Sunday 30 August
Keith Hendry a friend and Bush Chaplain What is a Bush Chaplain? I have asked myself these past weeks. I have some difficulty trying to imagine what this role might involve. I can always create a story. But then, I can share my story of my friend Keith Hendry. A wheat and sheep farmer from Western Australia. I first met Keith when Joan and I arrived at Elcho Island in 1969. A tall man around 6’3. well built in his mid-40’s. His curly hair thinning, a…
Pentecost 13 23 August
Matthew | The keys to the kingdom Fellowship@10, 23 August 2026 Alison Sampson ~ Matthew 16:13-20 Welcome, welcome to our wonderful city! This beautiful shrine is to the shepherd god, Pan. The guardian of the flocks, as you know, he’s always one for the ladies. Fellas, lock up your daughters! Pan doesn’t always do consent; we wouldn’t want a ‘situation’ now, would we? On your left, you’ll see a marble temple. This exquisite building was erected by King Herod in…
Pentecost 12 16 August
Matthew | Rethinking Joshua Fellowship@10, 16 August 2026 Alison Sampson ~ Matthew 15:10-28 ‘I’m from one of the oldest families,’ he said. ‘We’ve been here since the beginning.’ And with that he effectively erased 60,000 years of continuous living culture, just as his Irish ancestors had tried to erase the people from the land. He’s a lovely guy, straightforward and well-meaning, and totally oblivious to what he had just done. This is what happens when you’re raised in a colony.…
Pentecost 11 9 August
Genesis | Joseph’s amazing technicolor …. Fellowship@10, 9 August 2026 Alison Sampson ~ Gen 37:1-4, 12-2, with allusions to Matt 14:22-33 Most of us went to Sunday School; we know how it goes. Lucky Joseph gets an Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat, travels to Egypt, and saves the world with the blessing of Elvis. It’s a musical, a Veggie Tale, a children’s story, and thus it is very effectively de-fanged. If, however, we choose to read as adults, we might notice a…
Pentecost 10 2 August
Genesis | Wrestling with God Fellowship@10, 2 August 2026 Alison Sampson ~ Genesis 32:22-31 How often have you been there? Everything is ticking along nicely when, boom! you find yourself flat on your face. The longed-for thing is no more. The relationship falls apart. The lump you tried to ignore turns out to be cancer. Your children move away, your loved one dies, your house becomes shockingly empty. Things were going so well when it happened. It’s unlooked-for, unwanted, a…
Pentecost 9 26 July
Genesis | Daddy’s angel, mummy’s devil Fellowship@10, 26 July 2026 Alison Sampson ~ Genesis 29:15-30 A perceptive young girl said to me once, ‘I’m daddy’s angel, and mummy’s devil. But my sister’s mummy’s angel, and daddy’s devil. It’s a bit difficult, really.’ Then she shrugged dismissively, but I thought ‘difficult’ was the understatement of the year. Those sisters fought every day in every possible way as they lived out their assigned roles and competed for their parents’ affections. Things were…
Pentecost 8 19 July
Genesis | Deep in the weeds with Jacob Fellowship@10, 19 July 2026 + Alison Sampson Reflecting on Genesis 28:10-22 & Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 What wonderful promises! God will give Jacob land to plant roots and descendants to spread across the earth like dandelions. God will ensure the earth will be blessed by him and his countless offspring. And God will bless him, protect him and stay with him until these promises are fulfilled. I should be all starry-eyed, but quite…
7 June Pentecost 2 Family@10
Genesis | The joint inheritance Family@10, 7 June 2026 Alison Sampson, reflecting on Genesis 12:1-9 ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household, and go to the land that I will show you… ’ says God to Abram. ‘I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed by you … To your descendants I will give this land.’ And while Abram entered the land with some…
31 May Ascension
Matthew | But they doubted … Fellowship@10, 31 May 2026 Alison Sampson, reflecting on Matthew 28:16-20 It might shock you to hear this, but there are days when I find it hard to identify as Christian. There are days when I struggle to hold onto faith. And there are days when I wonder what on earth I am doing with my life, preaching these few and futile words. For I look around and see nothing but chaos and a world…
17 May Ascension Fellowship@10
Theme: The Goodness of Christ. Fellowship@10 Sunday 17 May,2026 Today, we heard a reading from Acts chapter 1 verses 6 to 14. It tells the story of Jesus appearing to the disciples shortly before he ascends to be with his Father in Heaven. My focus today with be on Acts 1 verse 8 where we read these words “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria,…
17 May Ascension Family@10
Acts | Just look around! Family@10, 17 May 2026 Alison Sampson, reflecting on Acts 1:6-14 There he was, living and walking and eating among us. There he was, hanging on a cross. And there he was, among us once again and explaining the scriptures and breaking bread. And then he simply … disappeared. Again and again people say that God is absent. A woman dies, her children are young: where is God? A longed-for baby is stillborn: where is God?…
10 May Easter 6
John | Her mother’s voice Fellowship@10, 10 May 2026 Alison Sampson, reflecting on John 14:15-21 Last week I caught up with someone who told me a sad story. She’d been cleaning up her mother’s place when she found some old letters her mother had written. I would like to tell you how much her mother had praised her in these letters, but I can’t. Instead, the letters were venomous. ‘My daughter is so difficult. She’s so brittle, so defensive, so selfish.…
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