Col 1:1-14
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
A Model of Christian Experience.
Colossians 1:1-14 audio (4MB)
Love is a great thing isn’t it? After all it is St Valentine’s Day. And even if it is the object of American cultural imperialism, even if it is taken over by advertising and media hype, love is what makes the world go ’round. What’s more, it’s at the core, the centre of Christian character.
Today I want us to think about how we might reflect the character of Christ in the way we live and I guess that means especially the way we love.
Simon was a leader of the Synagogue so when Jesus came to town he invited him to come and eat with him. After all Jesus had been making quite a name for himself as a religious teacher. It wouldn’t hurt to see what he’s on about. Maybe he also had a bit of the philosophy of “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. So Jesus went to Simon’s house to eat. But they weren’t far through the meal when there was something of a disturbance. A woman came in, a sinner we’re told. No doubt she’d been seen wandering the seedier parts of the city looking for men to pick up. But now she comes and stands behind Jesus in tears, weeping so much that her tears fall on his feet and so she begins to wash his feet with the tears and wipe them dry with her long flowing hair. She’s brought with her an expensive alabaster jar of ointment and having washed his feet she pours the ointment over them. You can imagine the perfume of the ointment filing the room. Well, Simon is appalled. What sort of holy man is Jesus if he lets a woman like this, massage his feet with oil? It just goes to prove what they’ve always feared about Jesus.
Series: 51: Colossians
- Details
- Written by: Chris Appleby
Colossians - Christ The One and Only
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A Model Of Christian Experience |
Colossians 1:1-14 |
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Christ The Fullness Of God |
Colossians 1:15-23 |
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Passionate Truth |
Colossians 1:24:2:5 |
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Life In Christ |
Colossians 2:6-3:2 |
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Give Thanks |
Colossians 3:1-17 |
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A Model Of Christian Ministry |
Colossians 3:18-4:18 |
Luke 4:21-30
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up
Luke 4:22-30 audio (3MB)
One of the comments you often hear from non-Christians is that they quite like Jesus but they’re not so keen on God. Jesus is all loving, sacrificing, etc, while God seems so judgmental, so angry. People are happy to have a saviour. They’re happy to have someone who always forgives; who’s longsuffering and patient and kind. But they don’t want a God who wants to rule over their lives; to keep them accountable; who demands obedience and commitment.
The people of Jesus day were like that weren’t they? They were quite impressed with Jesus. He spoke so well. Perhaps they didn’t quite get what he was on about when he suggested that the words of Isaiah were being fulfilled in their midst that very day. But they were amazed at how well this son of a carpenter spoke.
Luke 4:14-21
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- Written by: Bill Stewart
"We know what kind of world we want. We want a world that's part city and part small town, part farm and part forest. We want to live someplace exciting and someplace peaceful. We want to live someplace safe and someplace secure, where kids play unafraid on playgrounds and in backyards, where old people live out there lives rocking on the front porch telling the rest of us stories about the old days, and where people who work hard can enjoy times of rest. That's the kind of world we want to live in. And we don't want that world just for a chosen few who are protected by Border Patrol and security fences. We want that kind of world for everyone." (Robert Arbogast)
Maybe the kind of world you want to live in doesn’t agree in every detail with the man who wrote these words. But I think we all want most of those things. What kind of world does Jesus want? I think today's reading from Luke's Gospel answers that question.
Isaiah 43:1-7
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Fear Not
Isaiah 43:1-7 audio (3MB)
One of the things about looking at a prophecy like Isaiah is that it’s a bit like looking at a mountain range. From close in it can look like there’s just one row of mountains in the range, but then if you get up higher, or fly over it in a plane you see that in fact there are rows of mountains one after the other.
When we read Isaiah we can see that it’s addressed immediately to the people of Israel in exile. God is encouraging them not to give up hope. They’re still his people. He still has a plan for their salvation. But when we look at it some more, from the perspective of the New Testament we realise that sometimes the prophecy goes beyond the physical nation of Israel to one who stands in their place as their representative; as the one who represents the whole nation of Israel, to Jesus.
1 John 1:1-4
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- Written by: Rachael Lie
Know What you Believe - by Rachael Lie audio (3MB)
Introduction: I came to Australia in 2001 and have been here for nearly 10 years. One thing I learnt from my Australian friends: they said: there are 3 questions that you should avoid asking: 1. How much do you earn in a year? 2. What political party do you support and 3. What religion do you believe in? Those three questions are sensitive questions to most Australians, especially the one about religion. Before I studied Theology, I was a graduate Bachelor of Commerce. When my neighbour asked me what I was doing and I would say "I'm an accountant." Then they'd respond by saying: “yeah, that's a good, bright and shiny occupation!” But now I've graduated as a theological student, and when my badminton teammates asked me what I was doing and I said "I'm a young adults' minister serving in the church" Their response was a stark contrast to my neighbour's response before; they simply nodded their head with a blank facial expression and quickly moved on to another topic.
O Little Town of Bethlehem
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- Written by: Bill Stewart
Micah 5:2-8 audio (3MB)
"O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight."
These words come from the popular Christmas carol called "O little town of Bethlehem." What are your "hopes and fears" this Christmas? Have you even had time to think about what your "hopes and fears" might be this year? To understand today's reading from the prophet Micah we need to understand the hopes and fears of the people living in Israel about 700 years before the birth of Jesus. What did they fear?
