Matthew 2:13-25 Egyptian Holiday
- Details
- Written by: George Hemmings
Egyptian Holiday audio (4MB) (NB the sermon audio currently includes Cantonese translation)
The bags are packed, the car is loaded, we’re almost ready to go. This afternoon our family is heading down to the beach for a week. If you take a look around the congregation this morning, you’ll see that lots of families are taking journeys at this time of year. Even Mary, Joseph and their newborn baby Jesus head off on a journey it today’s passage!
Now, I should make clear we’re not going to the beach for a holiday. We’re going down to join the Balnarring Beach Mission team as Camp parents. We’re going to support the young adults and the youth, and to make connections with the families that are there. Despite what you might think, it’s not a holiday but work. Though I can’t say the same for everyone else who’s not here today. And Mary and Joseph’s trip is nothing like a holiday!
1 Tim 1:12-2:7
- Details
- Written by: George Hemmings
True Gospel audio (5MB)
Imagine for a minute that you’re Timothy. If you can, think back to what it was like to be 30! Now, imagine you’re slightly reserved, perhaps a little timid. You’ve travelled around with Paul, but now he’s left you in charge of the church at Ephesus. At long last, you receive a letter from Paul. Except, instead of saying he’ll be there next week, it looks like he’s going to be delayed for some time. He’s writing to remind you of what you’ve been left there to do. It’s your job to get the church in Ephesus in order, to oversee the household of God. What’s more, the very first thing he wants you to do is confront some of the elders and leaders of the church who’ve deviated from the truth, who’re distorting the gospel. In verse 18, we see it wasn’t an easy task. Paul uses the language of a fight, of conflict and war, to describe the struggle that Timothy is engaged in. So how are you feeling? Are you up to the task? How are you going to take on these false teachers? What’s going to keep you going?
A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman
- Details
- Written by: Chris Appleby
audio (5MB)
As we’ve been thinking about decision making over the past few weeks, I wonder whether you’ve thought to yourself “I’m not sure if I could ever know what God wants me to do and I’m not sure I could feel confident in asking him to show me.” Or have you thought you couldn’t ask God to guide you because you may not be good enough? In fact is that how you think about asking God for anything?
It’s very natural isn’t it? I regularly find myself thinking “I can’t ask God for that. I haven’t done this yet.” But the question is, what do you see as the key to faith. What is it that faith hangs on? Is it something in ourselves or something outside? Well today’s gospel reading provides us with something of an answer to that very question.
Here we find two accounts of Jesus healing people, very cleverly interwoven so that we see a number of contrasts and a number of similarities.
