Merri Creek Anglican

In this part of the John series Peter looks at our battle with shame. All of us struggle with shame, often sexual shame. So how does Jesus respond to our shame? With mercy. Jesus calls out hypocrisy, pointing out that all people sin and need forgiveness through him. And Jesus’ offer stands for all of us still, to leave our sin behind, say sorry for it, and to put our faith in Jesus – the sinless one- who does not condemn us but instead stands between us and our accusers.

In this sermon from John Peter encourages us to grow in our faith by drawing on the Spirit or the 'true water', which Jesus offers in this passage. Though human needs remain, enjoyment of Christ creates in us a new satisfaction able to override our other needs. in fact, if we are seeking to be nourished in any way other than Jesus we will not find it, because Jesus is the truer and better temple, the truer and better Moses, the truer and better Passover lamb, and the truer and better water.

Peter continues this John series encouraging people to judge Jesus using God's standards rather than our own. Peter also challenges us to trust Jesus, and to step into following Jesus with our hearts and lives, not only our minds.

[Flyck Clift] Where is He? (John 7.1-13) 19.01.20 by Merri Creek Anglican

Have you had an ‘ah-ha’ moment with Jesus? Have you decided that Jesus is worth following, and then considered why you are following him? Did you recognise Jesus’ “otherness” and have your perspective changed as a result? To whom shall you go? These are the questions posed by Beck in this sermon.

A talk to hoe into. Rob speaks on the strange metaphor, and our real need, to feed on Jesus, and some ways in which food helps us to recognise this need.

Who are you looking forward to being with this Christmas? Beck speaks about how the prophecy from Isaiah is fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ, and reminds us that God looks forward to being with us every day. This is why we celebrate Christmas. We are also encouraged to practice being like the shepherds, and putting things aside to make room for Jesus in our celebrations and struggles.

Pete preaches a pre-Christmas service on the significance of the genealogy of Jesus found at the start of Matthew’s gospel. This genesis highlights a new beginning in time, and the fulfillment of God’s promises to his people. (This recording begins with three bible readings and finishes with one. The sermon begins at 5'54'')

A message from Bishop Genieve Blackwell on the occasion of five people’s Confirmation of Faith.

Closing out this (extended) Romans series, Peter preaches on the importance of pursuing unity. The gospel, according tp Romans, should bring about the conditions for unity through establishing a foundation of mutual love. Through allowing people to use their conscience, embracing diversity, actively making peace, and by being flexible, Peter unpacks some of the ways we can pursue unity in the church.

How should Christians relate to the ruling authorities? Paul teaches a surprising message that, even in his context of the Romans Empire, Christians should submit to the authorities. Why is he teaching this? And what limits does the Bible place on this instruction?

What is love? We use love to describe many things, but here, Flyck looks at Roman's description of love as an ethical standard for Christians. Following Jesus' suit, Christians have good reason to make love their ethic, and to practice clothing themselves with Christ-like, zealous, generous love.

[Beck Miller] Amos: God brings Restoration (Amos 9) 27.10.10 by Merri Creek Anglican

Here, an ecoprophet interprets the prophet Amos, challenging us against complacency in the face of injustice. As Amos told Israel, justice demands that we mourn injustice, we call it out, and we proclaim judgment against it. The message to Israel and the world is that God is putting to the world to rights and inviting us to participate.

Amos appears to be laden with God’s judgment against his own people. Here, Peter looks at what leads God to exile Israel: their lives of cheap grace & false worship rather than obedience in embracing God's righteousness and justice. Listen for a deeper look at grace, false worship, liturgy and justice.

What tangible evidence is there that you are not worshipping the idol of money? In this first sermon on Amos, Peter calls us to consider the corrupting power of wealth and challenges us to prove we are not worshipping this idol. Our attitude towards wealth can be shaped both by God’s judgement on Israel, as spoken through the prophet Amos, and through considering Jesus’ resistance to wealth.

Beck considers what it looks like to belong to the body of Christ, encouraging Christians to embrace the uneasiness of interdependence and, from the knowledge that they belong to each other, to serve each other with humility and cheer.

Why do we struggle to worship God, and how do we worship God well? Peter continues the Romans series by outlining five reasons people struggle to worship, then considering Paul's example of worship in his Romans doxology. This sermon encourages us to contemplate God, and to worship from the overflow of minds transformed by the gospel.

Here, Peter addresses one of the harder passages in the book of Romans (and, perhaps, the bible). What does it mean for God to be both kind and stern; to graft some branches in and to cut others off? Listen here to find out.

Crossing the aisle to engage with culturally different people is bound to get messy. In this talk Peter assures us that mess is ok. God can cope with our mess. We can also prepare ourselves for mess. As modelled in Acts 15, we can deal with mess by seeking the wisdom of older and wiser people, tempering our standards with love for others, and being flexible.