To Know Christ. To Serve Christ. To Proclaim Christ.

REFLECTION: 1 Peter 1:13-25 ‘Be Holy, because I am Holy’ Today’s reading continues our readings through 1 Peter. Last week we learned that we have a ‘living hope’, which is truly great news. This hope is so wonderful that ‘even angels long to look into it’. But this week, we see that Peter wrote a big ‘Therefore!’ in his letter. Though the great hope that he writes about is given to us freely and lovingly through Jesus Christ, it is not without consequences. Peter seems to b

REFLECTION: PETER 1:1-12 “A LIVING HOPE” What is your hope in life based on? Some people are just hopeful about humanity. They believe in in the inherent goodness and ability of humanity. We might call this humanism. It is a hope based on human nature. Others have a lot of confidence or hope in their own personal ability to get out of any problem. We might call this human pride. Peter reminds the Christians spread across the empire in his first letter that we have a living ho

REFLECTION: Matthew 28:1-10 “Earth Shaking News” Every once in a while, something happens that is truly newsworthy and impacts the lives of everyone. At the moment, it would be the War in Iran and the ensuing fuel crisis that has prices rising at an alarming rate. The greatest news ever announced happened at the first Easter with the resurrection of Jesus. It is impossible to exaggerate just how important Jesus’ resurrection was and is. His resurrection signals the end of the

REFLECTION: Matthew 26:36-46 “Your will be done” As we come to the end of lent and enter into Holy Week, how have we fared in our struggle to live holy and Godly lives? Jesus was tempted those 40 days in the desert, and yet his greatest temptation would come in the Garden of Gethsemane. Would he go God’s way to the cross, or would he go the way of the flesh and seek the easy way out and go his own way. In today’s reading we get insight into the struggle, and also some clues o

REFLECTION: Jesus the resurrection and the Life Death is a sad and difficult part of life. In today’s gospel reading we see Jesus reveal his glory, power and compassion when he himself is confronted with the death of a close friend HYMNS TIS 28 God is our strength and refuge. Jesus, strong and kind. TIS 233 I will sing the wondrous story TIS 569 Guide me, O thou great redeemer MAUNDAY THURSDAY DINNER ON 2ND APRIL We will be celebrating Maundy Thursday with our LAMB DINNER, at

REFLECTION: This week we move to John chapter 9 and the healing of the blind man. There are other miracles that Jesus did, recorded in previous chapters such as the feeding of 5000+ people, the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. However, this healing in chapter 9 is truly remarkable and has much to teach us. There are two kinds of blindness on display in account that we will explore. Hymns TIS 134 Praise my soul the King of Heaven MP 1214 O Lord you lead me TIS 584 Ju

REFLECTION: This week we move to the 4th chapter of the Gospel of John, where we find the moving account of Jesus meeting with the woman drawing water at the well at Sychar in Samaria. There are a number of curious things about this encounter that we will explore. However, none of these layers of understanding should distract us from the very human drama that unfolds in these verses. Again, shall see a transformation take place in the life of someone who encountered Jesus, Ia

REFLECTION: Over the next three Sundays of Lent the gospel readings focus on the Gospel of John. They are three encounters with Jesus that are both extremely poignant, and pertinent to our understanding of Jesus and the gospel. They are John 3 Jesus and Nicodemus the Pharisee, this week, John 4 The woman at the well, and then John 9 The blind man. Try real hard not to miss a Sunday as you will be greatly rewarded by visiting these passages with me. Hymns TIS 526 Lord Jesus Ch

REFLECTION: Matthew 4:1-11 “The Temptation of Jesus” The devil worked out long ago that the way to turn us away from God is not by a full-frontal attack, but by tempting us with the things that our hearts secretly desire. He doesn’t come to us as a devil with horns and a pitchfork but as an angel of light bearing gifts and promises of great fortune. Temptation is one of the enemy’s preferred weapons of attack. He attacks us at our weakest points hoping to make us fall & someh

REFLECTTION: Matthew 17:1-9 “The Transfiguration” Do you understand the transfiguration? If you think you do, you have probably only begun to scratch the surface, because as many times as I look at it, the more I realise that I don’t fully understand it and the more mysterious it gets. In the transfiguration, we see the past, the present and the future blurring together with Jesus, now in a glorified future form, talking with Moses who died 1500 years earlier, and with Elijah

REFLECTION: Matthew 5:13-20 “Salt & Light” What does it mean to be in the world but not of the world? Jesus tells his disciples in John 17 that though they are in the world, they do not belong to the world. Paul tells us in Romans 12 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds” Romans 12:2. How do we live faithfully for God in a corrupted world so that we are not shaped by it or conformed to it? Are we to live separately from the peopl

REFLECTION: Matthew 5:1-12 “Blessed are you” Who are the happiest or most blessed people in the world today? Popular opinion would probably come up with a list that sounds something like this: - Blessed are the rich, because they have all they need and more. - Blessed are the beautiful people, because good looks go a long way. In today’s reading from the Sermon on the Mount, we see a different set of values. Those who are blessed in God’s sight include the poor in spirit, the

REFLECTION: Matthew 4:12-25 “The Kingdom of God has come near” Jesus’ preaching focussed on the phrase: ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” What does it mean that the kingdom of God has come near? And, what is a kingdom and what does it look like? A kingdom is essentially a realm where a king or a queen reigns. In the coming of Jesus, the kingdom of God has drawn near to us because its king has come amongst us and has used his kingdom power in signs and wonders

REFLECTION: Isaiah 49:1-7 “A Light to the Nations” Have you ever wondered how much of your life is in your hands to determine and how much depends on God? Does God have a plan for your life? We read in today’s reading from Isaiah: “The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.” The Lord has a purpose for his servant Israel, his servant Jesus, and for us his servants in the world today. That purpose involves us sharing in the mission to be

REFLECTION: Isaiah 42:1-9 “The Servant of the Lord” What is it you look for in a leader? If you were God, and you were going to send the earth a leader to rescue humanity from the mess we have gotten ourselves into, what would that leader be like? Would you choose a warrior, an orator, a diplomat, a business leader, a strategist, a philosopher, or a great intellectual? We find here in Isaiah 42 that the one that God delights in and that has been chosen as his instrument is fi

REFLECTION: Isaiah 60:1-6 “A light to the Nations” Today we celebrate Epiphany. The dictionary definition of Epiphany is “a moment when you suddenly feel that you understand, or suddenly become conscious of, something that is very important to you.” When we use Epiphany in its Christian senses, it refers to the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matt 2:1–12). It is the realization that the gospel is for all nations and not just for Israel. Go

REFLECTION: Matthew 2:13-23 “Evil in the World” As we continue through our Christmas readings, we see that the Christmas story takes a very dark turn as the ageing tyrant King Herod tries to kill the new-born king. It is a sober reminder that that the birth of Jesus is not just some sugar-sweet story for Children but God’s intervention into the world to overcome the power of sin and evil, and in these events, evil fights back. Evil is real. Here is an outline of the message.

REFLECTION: Isaiah 7:10-16 – “Immanuel – God is with us” Where is God when we are in trouble? Sometimes he just seems silent or even absent. We start to wonder if we have got it all wrong with him. You wouldn’t be the first to feel that God sometimes seems far away. At many times in their history, the people of Israel felt alone and far from God and wondered if they were about to be extinguished as a nation. They wondered if God had abandoned them. They needed to know that he

REFLECTION: Isaiah 35:1-10 ‘Is he the one?’ John the Baptist was beginning to doubt himself. He had believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the one that God had promised to send, but he was having second thoughts so he sent some of his followers to ask Jesus directly, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Matthew 11:2. Jesus’ answer draws strongly from our reading in Isaiah 35 and other parts of Isaiah. He has given sight to the blind, healed the lame

REFLECTION: Isaiah 11:1-10 “The Ministry of the Messiah - The Root of Jesse” Advent is a time for hope. Today’s reading from Isaiah is a reading filled with hope, firstly for Israel as they hope for their Messiah, but also for all nations, as the messiah is not just the King of Israel, but the king of Kings & restorer & redeemer of all things. They had waited for centuries for God’s promised Messiah. God had promised King David that one of his sons would be called the