Posted in sermon, tagged Christmas 1, RCL, sermon on Monday, 31 December, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Sermon for Christmas 1
Psalm 148
Matthew 3.13-23
We live in an uncertain world. It’s a beautiful world—as Psalm 148 says, it’s a world of mountain ranges, great trees, wonderful animals, glittering stars… But it is an uncertain world. We can’t tell what’s around the corner.
Mary found that out for sure, as did Joseph. Their lives were turned [...]
Posted in reflection, tagged callistemon, rainbow lorikeet on Monday, 31 December, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Over the past few weeks, I have been regularly delighted by rainbow lorikeets feeding in the callistemon flowers. I see them in the church’s garden, and from my bedroom window. The splash of colour, and their lack of fear when I walk by, have gladdened my heart on many occasions. Sadly, they’ll soon be gone [...]
Posted in reflection, tagged Christmas truce, Joyeux Noel, movie on Sunday, 30 December, 2007 | 1 Comment »
For Christmas, Karen gave me the DVD of Joyeux Noël, the 2005 film about the Christmas truce, which occurred in a few places in 1914 between British/French and German troops stationed on the Western Front. It’s a wonderful film, full of humanity. We’ve just finished watching the film with Ben and Sam. The picture above [...]
Posted in sermon, tagged RCL, sermon on Thursday, 27 December, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Sermon for Advent 4
Matthew 1.18-25
There is a shockingly widespread ignorance of the Christian story today; and it’s an ignorance that even includes the Christmas story. Some years ago, a teacher friend was telling Karen and me that she had been talking to her colleagues in the staff room. Christmas was getting near, and a student [...]
Posted in reflection, tagged Ephrem the Syrian on Thursday, 27 December, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God…
And the Word became flesh and lived among us,
and we have seen his glory,
the glory as of a father’s only son,
full of grace and truth.
John 1.1, 14
O Lord, your mother
is a cause for wonder;
you joined yourself [...]
Posted in sermon, tagged Advent, His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass on Thursday, 20 December, 2007 | 2 Comments »
Sermon for Advent 3
Isaiah 35.1-10
Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
‘Be strong, do not fear! Isaiah 35.3-4a
These words could have been written for John the Baptist. Last week, we saw him confronting the very powerful religious authorities of his time. We see him [...]
Posted in humour, tagged Nintendo Wii cartoon on Wednesday, 19 December, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I love Dave Walker’s cartoons!
Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.
Posted in books & reading, tagged His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass on Wednesday, 19 December, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Apology: My main problem is that I don’t have the background in philosophy to actually debate Philip Pullman, the atheist/agnostic/whatever author of His Dark Materials, a fantasy trilogy in the teenager’s section of your local bookshop. (The three books are Northern Lights (The Golden Compass in the USA), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. [...]
Posted in humour, tagged creationism, ship of fools on Wednesday, 19 December, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Over at the Ship of Fools, Steve Tomkins is asking why, if people grow out of their belief in Santa (note: it’s Santa-ism, not Satanism!), why can’t they grow out of their belief in creationism?
I think he’s got a point. No need to give people like Richard Dawkins free shots, after all…
My email address is minister(at)centenaryuca
(dot)org(dot)au
Avril at Romsey Bishop Alan’s Blog
