Topic: Grace

The stories of Moses, Elijah and Jesus on various mountain tops reveals a process of God’s self-revelation as the one who loves us and suffers for us.

The Ascension is not a story about the absence of Christ, but of Christ’s extraordinary presence with us everywhere and always.

As Woody Allen said, 90% of success is just showing up, and in the resurrection, Jesus really shows up!

The forgiveness encountered in Jesus is extravagant and all-inclusive, but those who determinedly reject and demonise the Spirit’s winds of change can cut off their own access to it.

God’s people are called to generously share their gifts, but also to humbly receive the gifts that are offered to us from unexpected sources.

When God is moving to do something new among us, it almost always seems scandalous, immoral and offensive to many, and is just as likely to involve those who are regarded as morally suspect.

The coming kingdom culture confronts the world’s violence by redemptively suffering and absorbing it, not by reciprocating it with even greater violence.

We can face the unknown future with confidence because we know that the one who holds the future loves us and can be trusted.

The culture of God’s beloved Son is born at the cross and takes root amidst a hostile world, spreading forgiveness and hospitality.

Christ’s gratuitous forgiveness and acceptance always manage to scandalise us, but it is our willingness to embrace them that saves us.

God delights to welcome everyone, and is not interested in who is better or worse, but we imagine God to be an elitist who mirrors our tendency to pick and choose and only accept the best.

A sermon on Luke 10: 38-42 by Sylvia Sandeman Some… read more