Scary

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Weekly Reflections

Created: 09 July 2016

Scary

What is the most daring thing you have done? I jumped out of a plane once at 12,000 feet without a parachute - and with a big bloke strapped to my back.
For those of us who are married, marriage was probably the most daring thing we have done. We committed everything we had to another person with no guarantees except their word. Yes, we got a piece of paper, but no redress if things went wrong. No back up plan.
Everything depended on trusting the other person to keep their word. And us being faithful to our word.
Exactly like following Christ.

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Galatians 4.8-20 Avoiding the slavery of ground level religion

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Galatians

Created: 26 June 2016

{podcast id=331}

Galatians 4.8-20 Avoiding the slavery of ground level religion

Sermon preached at St Mark's Bassendean on Sunday 26 June 2016

Bible Readings:  Isaiah 41-21-29; Psalm 115; Galatians 4.8-20; Luke 6.1-11

What Paul Did; What the Galatians Did; What the Slave-Traders Did; What Christ does.

The Great Exodus

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Weekly Reflections

Created: 16 June 2016

The Great Exodus

Do you remember the time when Jesus was speaking with Moses and Elijah on the mountain. They were three mountain men. Jesus liked climbing up mountains. Moses and Elijah both climbed the same mountain at different times (do you remember which mountain it was?).

The three mountain men also had another thing in common. They were all Great Rescuers of God's people. On the occasion when the three of them got together they had an audience of three who would become agents of the Great Rescue that Jesus set going (although poor James didn't have a very long innings).

Luke tells us what they were talking about. How fascinating to be able to read a report of this amazing chat. And what were they talking about? Jesus' Exodus that he was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem (Lk 9.31 our English translations use the word "departure").

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Galatians 4.1-7 Rescued from Self-help Christianity

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Galatians

Created: 12 June 2016

{podcast id=330}

Galatians 4.1-7 Rescued from Self-help Christianity

Sermon preached at St Mark's Bassendean on Sunday 12 June 2016

Bible Readings:  Hosea 11.1-11; Psalm 2; Galatians 4.1-7; John 8.31-38

The impact of trying to follow religious methods to be more holy. What God has rescued us from. How the Spirit helps us

Is church for grown ups?

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Weekly Reflections

Created: 09 June 2016

Is church for grown ups?

Is church for grown ups? Well, of course. If there were no grown ups the children wouldn't know what to grow up to be like. But how grown up is a grown up?

Sometimes anyone over the age of about 25 wishes they were still children. Not so much responsibility. More being looked after. Less irksome duties to be done (possibly). More fun.
However not many of us really wish to go back to the regimen of school and homework and uniforms and being told what to do all the time.

But being a grown up in church is very challenging. In most organised churches the expectation is that the members will follow fairly well established patterns of belief, behaviour, and belonging. Experience tells us that most people like it like that. Once one gets to know the guidelines: what is OK to do and what is not OK to do, life can be pretty straightforward.

But it does resemble the pattern of the school. It is not only church and school where this kind of institutional behaviour is seen. Most work places are like this.
But is it grown up behaviour?

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Galatians 3.19-29 What use is the Law?

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Galatians

Created: 05 June 2016

{podcast id=321}

What use is the Law? Gal 3.19-29

Sermon preached at St Mark's Bassendean on Sunday 5 June 2016

Bible Readings:  Deuteronomy 5.28-33; Psalm 119.129-136; Galatians 3.19-29; Matthew 5.17-20

Why the Law? Is the law competing with the promises? How the Law points us to Christ. What it means to be in Christ