Category: Sermon Notes

It’s Queens birthday and the passage is short. There are two ideas to talk about. The first has to do with marshmallows. This was about delayed gratification.  It was the practise of many in Jesus’ time to fast and pray.  Fasting is about giving something up for a period of time so that you can have something else. It’s got some similarities to saving for something. It’s a behaviour that expresses our values and even though the passage we’re reading isn’t an endorsement of the practise. I did find myself musing on when we lay something aside, or wait for something and what that says about our values. How serious are we about our faith ? Do we really want…

The Others  When I was a student I had a student job of taking a political tolerance survey. One of the parts of the survey asked what group you most disliked (nazi’s, white power, KKK, mongrel mob, traffic warden etc..)    Then later on a question was asked if you would be happy for that group to speak (and possibly) recruit in Cathedral Square. It turned out that most of us believe in freedom of speech for the people we agree with. Discuss : What group do you dislike ?   How would you feel about them speaking in Cathedral square ? Levi is a tax collector. Native tax-collectors were despised by “upright” Jews for at least three reasons: 1)…

Mark 2: 1-12 I was planning a completely different message, but part way through something unexpected happened.  Read the Passage and see if you can figure out what is unexpected? (Spoiler alert… if you read below here you know my answer – yours might be different). What did you expect Jesus to say to the man ? “You are healed” “Get up take your stretcher and walk” “Can’t you see I’m busy ? “ “Are you going to pay for repairing my roof ?” Jesus seems to elbowing forgiveness into front and centre.  He wants us to know that this new kingdom is not just about healing on the outside but about healing on the inside. The good news is…

Q : What do you want ? Q : What do you think God wants ? There were a variety of responses to what God wants in Jesus’ time. Many greeks and romans believed in a great variety of Gods. They were always fighting and wanted some sacrifice. To a large extent people didn’t want to be noticed by a roman God. The Jews fiercely believed in One God who wanted them to be ‘clean’ or holy. Another Roman/Greek belief system was one by a guy called Epicurus. They believed that if there was a God, then that God was so remote that everything humans did was irrelevant to them. “At a stroke, this philosophy offered liberation from any fear…

How is John’s declaration of the Kingdom of God and of repentance different to Jesus’  ? Not many of us experience the immediate and complete life change that Peter has when he begins following Jesus.  He is dragged out of his comfortable world and ends up confronting economic, social, political and spiritual  forces much bigger than him. He is invited to learn of a kingdom which has very different values to our own. Why would he accept the invitation ? Imagine that you are approached by Jesus to go on the road and give up your house, family, occupation for 3 years, with no promise of money or a career path ? What would it be difficult to give up…

Mark 1: 9-13  (In which Jesus get’s baptised and and tempted). Start by discussing people’s experiences of being baptised or not. Where and where did you get baptised ? Who baptised you ? Why did you get baptised ? The Passage 9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by…