Faithful witness to the Coming Christ is not expressed by trying to force the world into our concepts of righteousness, but by joyously, prayerfully, and thankfully cooperating with the liberating work of the Spirit, even in the face of violent opposition.
God’s action in the world and in our lives is constant and faithful, but rarely flamboyant or unambiguous. Discerning God’s activity is therefore a learned skill.
Jesus calls us to love and care for the world’s victims, and to refuse to participate in making more of them (even from among the victimisers).
Our anticipation of new life in Christ, though not removing all grief, allows us to find hope in the mercy and love of God.
Jesus recognises that there are different ways of interpreting the Bible that lead to different understandings of God and of following God, and he demonstrates the principles by which he would have us read it.
As creatures made in the image of God, imitation of God is the pathway to fullness of life.
The pathway to a life of joy and gratitude is to imitate Jesus in filling our minds with things which are worthy, honourable, merciful and loving.
A sermon on accepting the gifts of God
The self-emptying of Jesus reveals both his divinity and the pathway to our full humanity.
We want to be rewarded as we think we deserve, but God wants to give us everything.
Are we, individually and together, focused on the things that we can be doing, that will enable us to embrace and nurture the growth of Christ’s values, withstanding opposition to them?
We have to choose between being squeezed into the world’s mould or re-moulded from within by God.
Jesus and the Canaanite woman bring us along with them into a new understanding of what defiles, and what makes us clean and whole.
God gives extravagantly and abundantly, but in order to experience it, we need to begin sharing it.
The good news of the Kingdom always seems disreputable and dangerous and unwelcome, and it asks of us a whole new way of being God’s gracious people in a world of hatred and violence.
Jesus has sown the seeds. It is up to us to respond and even though we may get excited and the interest dissipates, or we get distracted and let the other priorities take a hold of us, or we actually feel nothing, the challenge for us is to continue our walk with God.
Staying true to the disciplines of ordinary faithfulness is part of our calling as we follow the way of Jesus Christ; and engaging in them eases our burdens considerably.
It often feels as though faithfulness is going to cost us everything, but God is a God of wonderful surprises.
The crucified and risen Jesus reveals the truth about the triune God’s grace, love and communion, and calls us to reflect those relationships in our communal life.
The Spirit is there for us where ever we gather in the one place for that one purpose.