Preacher: Nathan Nettleton

Although all in the church may appear equally worthy, it is those who live the life (inward and outward) of the Kingdom now who are prepared for its coming.

Jesus summarised the way by saying “Love God with everything you have and love your neighbour.” We find that easy enough to accept as the answer to a question but much harder to really live by.

All that is required to inherit all the fullness of the Kingdom is to accept the invitation and throw yourself wholeheartedly into the celebration.

There are all sorts of things that can make us look impressively Christian, but the only thing that matters is to deeply know Christ and to enter with him into the experience of his suffering and resurrection.

Sin is a seemingly objective force for evil within us that can only be addressed when it’s out in the open before a merciful God.

It is true that God is love, but God’s love is so tough, demanding and uncomfortably interactional that we will sometimes experience it as harsh, unpredictable and unreasonable.

God calls the most ordinary people to be his followers and through following we become a blessing to others.

In the aftermath of the Port Arthur Massacre, we need to see what it means to follow Christ through the valley of death.

Baptism is a public affirmation of our openness to the God who transforms us and calls us to continue the mission of Jesus.

If we live as though Christ was reigning now, we will always be ready for what he is about to do.

In a world where both monarchy and presidential democracy have lost touch with the needs of the people, Christ shows a Kingship that is expressed in solidarity with our suffering and raises us to royal dignity.

Our doubts and questions are welcome to God so long as we are not using them to avoid Christ’s question to us – “Will you follow me?”