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SERMONS 2025

EXPECTATIONS

Cate Thorn

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2 February 2025

The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

Malachi 3:1-4

Luke 2:22-40

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Today we meet Simeon and Anna. Simeon, a righteous and devout man, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked forward to the consolation of Israel. The Holy Spirit had promised him he’d see the Lord’s Messiah before his death. And we meet Anna, of a great age, long widowed, without children as far as we know, a devout woman, who lived in the temple. Anna looked forward to the redemption of Jerusalem, and worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer. It just so happens both appear in the temple at the time Jesus is presented. Both were waiting, both preparing for the time of consolation, of redemption that would come with the Messiah, the Saviour. Simeon and Anna lived expectantly in their time and context with hope and courage.

CONSISTENCY ISN'T ALL IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE

Richard Bonifant

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26 January 2025

Epiphany 3

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Luke 4:14-21

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I have been really fortunate in the last few weeks to have had some downtime during which I got a lot of work done on the thesis I am hoping to submit later this year. I am not going to talk about the specific work I’ve been doing, that will happen at some point, but not today. What I will say is that the focus of my research has been the ways we often overcomplicate religious ideas in a way that can be disabling to many parts of our lives. One doesn’t need to get too far into any introductory book on psychology to realise that humans have a vast skillset when it comes to self-deception. And if you don’t believe me about that, you’ve just proven my point. (Just so you know, I was feeling quite pleased with myself when I wrote that last sentence, so I hope it comes across as light hearted rather than patronising).

WHO ARE THE HEROES?

Susan Adams

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19 January 2025

Epiphany 2

Isaiah 62:1-5

John 2:1-12

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In the season of Epiphany, we are hoping to see, in a different way, something about Jesus that will open our eyes and our hearts once again to the power of the story of his life and teaching, and his compassion for those who are in need. It is often said that we glimpse God in Jesus’ life and relationships with his contemporaries, in his ministry and in his concern for the well-being of people. In John’s gospel images and ideas tumble over one another urging us to ‘see Jesus’, to really ‘see who he is’.

A NEW PATH

Richard Bonifant

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5 January 2025

The Epiphany

Isaiah 60:1-6

Matthew 2:1-12

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In 1998 I spent most of the year living in Saudi Arabia. It so happened that I was there during the time of Hajj. The Hajj is arguably the largest religious pilgrimage in the world given that tens of thousands of people complete it every year. It is an obligation of all Muslim people to participate in the Hajj at some point during their life. To do so they must travel, often from great distances, to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, in order to walk in the footsteps of the prophet Muhammad and of Abraham.​​

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