Contemporary word: Turning the tables upside down
The reading we heard is, potentially, a very dangerous text. Both for the time it was written and for us today.
Contemporary word: Recognising the sacred
There are places I’ve been where earth and heaven seem to touch one another, where the gap between them is tissue thin. I call those places sacred places.
Contemporary word: Reading the signs of the times
Today I want us to first of all think about the second part of the reading from Luke’s gospel, then relate it to the reading from Hebrews which is set down for today, where the writer likens faith to running a race, having Jesus as our leader and pioneer.
Contemporary word: Faith – stepping into the unknown
As we think about faith and what it might mean, I believe the first verse of the passage from Hebrews is worth considering – so let’s look more closely at it. ‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.’
Contemporary word: Working out Life’s Priorities
To say we live in a society based on a very high level of consumerism, is both a truism and a fact. More than at any other time in our history, we are living in a time marked by the need to have things: to have a large superannuation payout, to have a house, to have a car, to have a job… even a second job.
Contemporary word: Lord teach us to pray
A new minister arrived in the congregation. After her first service, all the members who had been there were really impressed with the liturgy and, especially, the sermon. The following week, the minister repeats the same sermon – pretty well word for word. People in the congregation look around at one another, as if to say ‘What’s going on?’
Contemporary word: Going on a journey
Hi! My name is Joel. I’m one of the seventy that you heard about in the reading from Luke. Did the reading seem strange to you? Were you able to understand it? As I have been listening to it I must say that if I hadn’t been part of the experience I would find it difficult to understand. And so, to make it easier for you, I want to take you back nearly 2000 years. Settle back comfortably – but not so comfortably that you go to sleep, and put your imaginations to work.
Contemporary word: Living by the Spirit
In our reading today from Paul’s letter to the Galatians, chapter five, he writes “Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence,” but “Live by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.” What does he mean by this?
Contemporary word: One in Christ
As the Uniting Church in Australia, we value grace-filled inclusiveness. We reject divisive and judgemental stances. Here, at South Sydney, we pride ourselves on being inclusive.
Contemporary word: The Trinity: A Song to Wisdom
Wisdom – in the form of Creator, Son and Spirit, invites us to a dance and song which commits us to working with others to grow a world in which relationships of love are the basis of our humanness.