St Peter’s Anglican Church, Maroochydore – Christ the King / Last Sunday after Pentecost 21.11.2021 2 Samuel 23, 1-7 / Psalm 132, 1-12 / Revelation 1, 4b-8 / John 18, 33-37 Dear Friends, This morning, we begin with a story. It’s a fairy tale from the collection of the Brothers Grimm, though maybe not as...
As she copes with the tragedy of childlessness, Hannah, the mother of sorrows, praises God continually. After the birth of Samuel, Hannah, the mother of joy, still exults in her Lord. Her faith is a source of comfort, strength, and guidance throughout her life. The imagery of the lowly lifted up and the proud brought...
THEMES: We can rest in these assurances: God builds, God protects, God provides. THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK Can you imagine coming to worship as a widow who is ready to give her last cents for the sake of the cross? Imagine the cost of her devotion. Today is about honouring the sacrifice of both the...
THEMES: LOVE GOD, LOVE NEIGHBOUR THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK Following Christ means, among other things, becoming like Christ in self-giving love. Like the scribe, we “are not far from the kingdom of God” if we know this—but we have not yet arrived unless we do it, too. Love is perhaps the most difficult commandment: impossible...
THEMES: Restoration THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK Although it does not remove the scars of Job’s suffering – he would always carry the grief of his dead children, and the emotional residue of his sickness and humiliation – his story ends with God restoring him way beyond his original prosperity. It’s important to remember that Job...
THEMES: The greatest is the servant; self-sacrifice THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK In the upside-down (or right-side up) Reign of God, greatness is defined very differently from the power, fame and fortune criteria that is used by most human systems. Unfortunately, even we who claim to follow Jesus struggle with this essential truth of the Gospel....
THEMES: The overwhelming awareness in this week’s Scripture passages is of the reality of suffering, and the pain and indignity that it brings. Suffering is a reality to be entered into with compassion and mercy in the name of Christ. When we encounter those who suffer, the Gospel calls us to give our lives and...
THEMES: Faithfulness and relationships are important to God THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK This Sunday, if one of the Lectionary readings was used in your worship, it may have struck you how concerned God is about relationships. This week the readings ranged from God’s creation of men and women to be companions for one another, to...
Esther 7.1-6, 7.9-10; 9.20-22; Psalm 124; James 5.12-20; Mark 9.38-50 The Gospel has people who are “out” performing the same miraculous work that others, who are “in”, are doing. In John the leaders say that they must be stopped. In Jesus’ case, he teaches that whoever is not against him is for him. In the Esther...
THEMES: The challenge of our faith is to recognise our choices and choose wisely. One temptation is to make faith about what goes on in our heads, making righteousness about right ideas and wickedness about wrong ideas. Usually, this temptation leads us into legalism, finger pointing, angry debate, and exclusion. Another temptation is to strive...
