Lent is a recurring reminder of the fragility of our discipleship in the face of tempting shortcuts and instant gratifications.
An Open Table where Love knows no borders
An Open Table where Love knows no borders
Sermons on Genesis (Page 2)
God’s Holy Spirit gathers us into one body where our differences are not erased or downplayed, but boldly offered in love and service of one another.
While faith is a gift, blessings come to those who are prepared to wrestle with their faith.
There is nothing we can do to earn God’s presence or God’s blessing or God’s love, but when we let down our defences, when we give up striving, when we are vulnerable, then who knows what might happen?
Jesus calls us to give up the illusion that we own God’s blessing, invite others in, and be despised for doing so, giving up our privileges to build a world that all can share.
Jesus calls us to entrust ourselves into the care of the Spirit who will carry us into the unknown future of God.
Once we recognise that all women, like all men, are made in the image of God, we catch a glimpse of God’s original vision for us, for the day when all people experience God’s radical and abundant love, and the pouring out of justice demanded by that love.
God’s covenant of love and grace is made unconditionally, not depending even on our response, and so the promises are made to our children whether they respond or not.
It often feels as though faithfulness is going to cost us everything, but God is a God of wonderful surprises.
Hope is the melody of the future – Faith dances to it today
Reconciliation begins with my ‘self’, and then, as I let go the fears, the guilt, the self justification, I might just possibly become an agent for peace.
The incoming Kingdom of God often challenges conventional social norms to such an extent that it is perceived as anarchic or even evil.
God is with us everywhere, whether we realise it or not, but there is still value in honouring special places of promise and revelation.
Christ’s desire to extend hospitality to us, to welcome us at his table, is so great that he will give even his own life to bring us into the experience of his love. This is the pattern for our call to hospitality too.
You might have been written off as a dead loss (even by yourself), but only respond to the call of Christ, and you will live!
God calls us to new beginnings, and we have to let go of old certainties to embrace them.
Violence must be a constant temptation for God, but in absolute love, God has vowed never to resort to it.
God will wound us if necessary to bring us into the full blessing intended for us.
Perhaps when law and order perpetuate injustice, God is on the side of the scammers and swindlers.
In the face of human evil, God has made a personal commitment to persevere in loving us and drawing us towards fulfilment.