Sermons

Many of the stories of Jesus’ life, such as the entry into Jerusalem, can only be properly understood in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and so the church has a vital role in the revelation of the gospel.

Moments of transfiguration show how much more lies beyond our mundane perceptions – of Jesus, of the world, of ourselves.

With the coming of the Christ, our deepest longings and yearnings will be fulfilled.

God does not wish our suffering and struggle to continue, but is ready to gather us in his arms, and calls us to prepare for his arrival.

Christ’s call to respond to his presence in the needy is a call for the church to embrace a lifestyle of radical communal hospitality (but we have often used it to justify empires built on the labour of guilt-ridden, over-extended, under-prepared Christians!)

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.