Luke 2.1-14 God's Great Announcement
- Written by: Administrator
- Category: Christmas and Epiphany
{podcast id=350}
Luke 2.1-14 God's Great Announcement
Sermon preached at St Mark's Bassendean on Christmas Day 2016
Bible Readings: Isaiah 9.2-7; Psalm 98; Titus 3.4-7; Luke 2.1-21
What Happened
What it Means
How to Benefit
1 Corinthians 15 Resurrection Gospel
- Written by: Administrator
- Category: 1 Corinthians: The Body and the Spirit
{podcast id=348}
1 Corinthians 15 Resurrection Gospel
Sermon preached at St Mark's Bassendean on Sunday 4 December 2016
Bible Readings: Isaiah 25.6-9; Psalm 16; 1 Cor 15.12-28; John 11.17-37
1 Corinthians 14.20-40 When we meet together
- Written by: Administrator
- Category: 1 Corinthians
{podcast id=347}
1 Corinthians 14.20-40 When we meet together
Sermon preached at St Mark's Bassendean on Sunday 27 November 2016
Bible Readings: Isaiah 28.9-19; Psalm 117; 1 Cor 14.20-40; John 16.7-11
1 Corinthians 12.12-31 One Body
- Written by: Administrator
- Category: 1 Corinthians: The Body and the Spirit
{podcast id=344}
1 Corinthians 12.12-31 One Body
Sermon preached at St Mark's Bassendean on Sunday 6 November 2016
Bible Readings: Isaiah 52.7-12; Psalm 19; 1 Cor 12.12-31; John 2.13-22
1 Corinthians 5-11 Eight Case Studies of Church Life
- Written by: Administrator
- Category: 1 Corinthians
{podcast id=342}
1 Corinthians 5-11 Eight Case Studies of Church Life
Sermon preached at St Mark's Bassendean on Sunday 16 October 2016
Bible Readings: Deuteronomy 6.1-9; Psalm 15; 1 Cor 9.13-23; Luke 22.14-32
Case Study 1: The Puffed Up Church 5.1-11
Case Study 2: Legal and Other ways to do Wrong 6.1-11
Case Study 3: Bodies Matter 6.12-20
Case Study 4: Marriage and True Devotion 7.1-40
Case Study 5: Participating in Other Religions 8.1 - 11.1
Case Study 6: Dress Codes for Ministry 11.2-16
Case Study 7: When is the Lord’s Dinner not the Lord’s Dinner? 11.17-34
Case Study 8: St Mark's Bassendean
What are you handing on? Part 2
- Written by: Administrator
- Category: Weekly Reflections
What are you handing on?
Moses, Joshua, David, Paul, all wanted their successors to do well. Solomon was sceptical about that: "I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless." (Ecc 2.18)
Nevertheless when old Joshua farewelled the leaders of Israel, he told them what to do (Josh 23.6ff). David did the same for Solomon: told him what to do (1 Kings 2.2ff). So did the apostle Paul when he farewelled the elders of the Ephesian church for the last time (Acts 20.17-38). Each of them told their successors what to do. They didn't tell them how to do do it, just what to do.
Of course it wasn't the only time they told people what to do. But when the time came to make sure the succession was secure they made it very clear.
And all of them said more or less the same thing: do what God said to do. In every case there were dangers and threats ahead. Courage was needed in the next generation, as it had been been before. Courage to do what God had commanded and not turn from it to the right or to the left. Not to be sidetracked.
The handing on to the next generation is always a gradual thing. And therefore a continuous process. Two dangers beset traditional churches. One is that there is nothing to hand on. The other is that what is handed on is how to do it, not what to do.
Where is the hope? Part 1
- Written by: Administrator
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Where is the hope?
Is there really any hope for an ageing church? Mainline denominations, like ours, have been in decline for a long time. But we are still here. So maybe we will just keep on going. Like many of us still in the church. We just keep on going.
But we know that we individuals won't just keep on going. We will all die. And before that some of us will start to wear out, and some will spend some time at the end of our lives in some kind of care.
And many of our churches won't just keep on going either. Many are wearing out. Many can no longer maintain their buildings. Many can no longer maintain a full-time paid ministry.
Increasingly central church administrations are worried about a huge and looming maintenance bill hanging over their church properties. Increasingly new ordinands are not entering full time paid ministry.
Where does hope lie? Or is there no real hope. Is it better to plan for a comfortable demise. Perhaps by combining parishes, sharing clergy, and otherwise arranging to keep going the services and organisations that we find most helpful.
That is in fact the common approach most churches have. Many of us would say that is not what we want. But it is what we do. One of the reasons is that we don't know what else to do.
Or if we have some idea of what to do, we don't think we have the ability to do it. This is because the usual hope (apart from divine miracles) is to look to increasing the number of young people - "the future of the church".
However the solution does not lie with young people. It lies with the old people.