Alison and the whale

In the face of oppression, Jesus tightens our focus and grounds us. Reflecting on Luke 13:1-9 with Brunswick Baptist Church, Lent 3 Year C, 23 March 2025.

Jesus’ resistance to evil lies in knowing himself beloved. Reflecting on Luke 4:1-13 with Westgate Baptist Community Church, Lent 1 Year C, 9 March 2025.

Is baptism a ticket out of this world, or a plunge further into it? Reflecting on Luke 3:15-22 with Coburg Uniting Church, 12 January 2025.

Love in a troubled world: what does it look like? And what does it not? Reflecting on Isaiah 42:1-9 and Philippians 2:5-11, West Preston Baptist Church, 15 December 2024.

God's word comes to the one who relinquishes privilege and works for justice. Shared with Westgate Baptist on 8 December 2024, reflecting on Luke 3:1-6

Military violence never ends, but Jesus’ way leads to a true and lasting peace. Shared with Coburg Uniting Church on 24 November 2024, reflecting on John 18:33-37 (Christ the King).

In a nation struggling with the legacies of Christendom, the widow’s gift offers a way forward. Shared with Rosanna Baptist on 10 November 2024, reflecting on Mark 12:38-13:2.

Suffering is indiscriminate, but so is joy. A personal story, a bit of commentary, and some invitations. Shared with Coburg Uniting on 13 October 2024.

An invitation to connect with the earth. Shared with Rosanna Baptist on 6 October 2024, reflecting on Genesis 18:1-15.

Church isn’t about living a sheltered or peaceful life, nor is it about ignoring or erasing the differences in the room. A reflection shared with Brunswick Baptist Church on 22 September 2024.

An Anangu-Pitjantjatjara-Yankunytjatjara story collides with a Hebrew Psalm flowing through a Cornishwoman who was born in the colony and learned about the APY story at art galleries built on Wurundjeri land. Paintings, stories, animations and interviews from a major exhibition here . Senior Law Women and AṈANGU Dancers from the APY Lands slowly unfold the story here with gentle good humour Wirang...

A friend encouraged me to re-preach an oldie on the Syro-Phoenician woman. But you can never quite do the same thing twice. So here’s the oldie, updated to reflect recent news events and some fresh weirdness in my life. Given to Coburg Uniting Church Sunday 8 September 2024.

Revelation can be read to judge and exclude ... but what if it's not like that? A reflection by Alison Sampson on Revelation 6:1-8:1 given to the Vietnamese Evangelical Church of Australia (English speaking congregation) on 28 July 2024 © Alison Sampson 2024.

The dance of the liturgy heals and transforms us: but to receive its gifts, we must participate. A reflection given to Westgate Baptist Community Church on 14 July 2024.

Where does God live? Does God live at church? A reflection for Canterbury Baptist, who are soon to move out of their building for an extended period of time. 

When Satan casts out Satan, he grows stronger: but with Christ we can unmask and bind him. A reflection on Mark 3:20-35 given to Westgate Baptist Community Church on 9 June 2024.  A cheerfully terrible recording for those who will listen anyway - the builders next door continue, and my sound fades every time they get busy with a sander.

What you worship changes everything.

Fear is immobilising, but Jesus' peace offers a way forward. A terrible recording masking out two helicopters, next door's angle grinder, leaf blowers and teens ... which is  the daily backdrop to life in the big smoke!

Jesus’ ‘triumphal’ entry into Jerusalem is a parody, a raspberry, a fart.

Rejected by the worshipping community, blind Bartimaeus is commended for his faith.

A final word to Sanctuary, which closed on 26 November 2023.

Maybe God isn't an angry absentee landlord. Maybe the wicked, lazy, worthless bloke is Christ. A retelling of the parable of the talents, and the last post here for the foreseeable. This podcast was made primarily for Sanctuary folk, and Sanctuary finishes up on 26 November 2023. More details at sanctuarybaptist.org.

We will find Christ among foolish bridesmaids and other outcasts, laughing in boundless joy.

Integrity, love and service are the hallmarks of legitimate authority.

Love is not a warm smooshy feeling, but a decision, an action, and an orientation.