Episode

Safe as houses! That’s what we say, isn’t it! Here at the start of 2 Samuel 7, David is feeling safe as houses. He has, as we mentioned last week, been declared king over all Israel, he has captured Jerusalem and made it his capital, he has acquired more concubines Read more…

Our reading today is a strange story! On the whole it describes a joyous occasion – David dancing before the Lord with all his might! But there are awkward interjections – the death of Uzzah while steadying the ark and the contempt of Michal, David’s first wife, expressed at the Read more…

Acknowledgement Yuma – Welcome! As this is the start of NAIDOC Week, I want to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we are meeting on, the Ngunnawal people and other families and groups with connections to this land. We give thanks for their ongoing culture and the contribution they Read more…

This morning, we continue thinking about the Baptist Mission Australia theme of Mending; how we are invited to join with God in mending a beautiful, broken world. It is also Mother’s Day which has made me wonder what advice Mary might have given Jesus about being part of God’s great Read more…

Do you know what an earworm is? That song or bit of a song that gets stuck in your brain. Having grown up in the church, it is very hard to read this passage in Acts without that line, “walking and leaping and praising God” repeating and repeating in my Read more…

I want to start with a little exercise this morning… If I asked you to complete the line, “No one on their deathbed ever said, “I wish…” how does the line end? (I wish I had spent more time at the office/I wish I’d spent more time at work/I wish Read more…

There are several stories in the New Testament about Jesus’ disciples being caught in storms on lakes. Journeys by boat – any kind of journey – have always been perilous. But in the Australian mindset, we are positioned on the land. “We will decide who comes to this country and Read more…

It feels like a while since I read – in full – story of David and Goliath. (And in case you’re thinking I chose this passage deliberately at this moment when we are in a David and Goliath struggle with the Association, can I say – no – it is Read more…

1 Samuel chapter 8 and following chapters are some of the most anti-monarchist passages in The Old Testament. It wasn’t until late in the week – when it was too late to change the readings – that I realised the irony of preaching this passage on the eve of King Read more…

Over the last four weeks we’ve explored the Baptist Mission Australia theme of ‘Mending’. We heard Beth Jackson speak about that beautiful Christmas tree ornament and God’s ‘renewing’. On Mother’s Day I spoke about ‘relating’; how God’s love is a love that urges us to live bigger, shine brighter and Read more…