South East Anglican

Dave preached from Jonah 2, where we finally see Jonah do something right! From inside the belly of the fish, he prays. His prayer is full of repentance and thanksgiving, which is quite mindblowing given the situation! His prayer invites us to consider how we respond when we mess up, and whether we are able to trust the plan of our good God to get us out of a bad situation.

Chapter 1 of the book of Jonah sets out the premise for the story that we all know and love. It not only introduces us to Jonah, but reveals who God is, especially when we attempt to run from him and his plan. This sermon is preached by Stephen Savage at Sorell.

Bishop Chris Jones, CEO of Anglicare Tasmania, came and encouraged us to pray prayers like the tax collector, rather than the Pharisee, in the story that Jesus told in Luke 18. God fully knows us and fully loves us. And that is true for every single person on earth.

Johanna van Tienen came and shared about the incredible work that Compassion does, particularly in the Philippines and Indonesia, where our sponsor children are located. Dave then shared an encouragement for us to approach Mission Month, and weeks like it, with an attitude of gaining inspiration, not simply information.

Josh Skeat, Regional Officer for Bush Church Aid in Tasmania, came and shared about the incredible work that BCA does in Australia by 'Aiding Churches in the Bush'. Alongside that he preached a great message from James 2, encouraging us to not only be hearers of the word but to live out our faith.

Scott Doran-Sargent from CMS Tasmania shares a great sermon from Philippians 2. Like Paul, Scott encouraged us to prioritise the virtues of Christ and hold onto him, so that we shine brightly in our communities.

Throughout Genesis God's faithfulness, patience, and love for Abraham and his family has been on constant display. But as we stare at the increasing messiness of Jacob's family, we are invited to wonder, 'Do they love God?' Dave unpacks these fast-paced chapters and zooms out to see how God's patience and presence toward Jacob has not been without effect, as Jacob acknowledges God's lordship over...

God is making a people for himself out of the descendants of Abraham, and they couldn't be more... messy! Deception, betrayal, immorality, and sin are all becoming hallmarks of this family. The drama is everywhere! Which begs the questions, does God care, and if so, what's he going to do about it?

The stories of Genesis 23-25 are fascinating, but more than that, they show us who God is. And it's important that we know who our unchanging God is, because Christians are in an eternal covenant him! But the new covenant is not like the old one, we can't be born into this like Isaac could be. To enter the new covenant we must be born again.

This sermon was preached for our Parish-wide combined service, and is based on Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, where he unpacks the unity and diversity of 'the body of Christ'. 

There's no prize for getting through life without God, yet too often we leave reaching out to God as a last resort. Do we do this out of pride, or out of disbelief that he wants to be involved in our lives? Genesis 20-21 blows both of these reasons out of the water.

Many people will think they know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. But perhaps many of us have gone away with the wrong idea. What is that story really about, what does it tell us about God, how does it forecast Jesus, and how can we apply this into our day to day lives? These are the questions Dave sought to answer in this sermon from Gensis 18-19.

It's one thing to trust God on a daily basis, but can you trust him across years, or decades, when he hasn't answered your prayers? Are you THAT patient and trusting of him? Dave shares from Genesis 16-17 that God is worthy of our trust, and therefore, worthy of relationship, obedience, and worship.

Last week we learned that God is relational, this week Lee Weissel taught us that God is trustworthy. He offers relationship to people who he knows will let him down. So in this chapter, God shows why Abram, and we, can trust him, because he makes covenant promises, and keeps them!

After the drama (and terror) of the first eleven chapters of Genesis, God reaches out to Abram and offers him a fresh start. A new relationship between God and a people of his choosing. And like any relationship, this one will need to be built on mutual trust. Can God trust Abram? Can Abram trust God? And what will happen when it inevitable goes wrong? Dave explores these questions and more from G...

The tales that Jesus told are brilliant, but did you know they point to something bigger? Jesus told many of his parables to help his audience understand about the kingdom that he was establishing, the kingdom of heaven. This week, Dave zoomed out and looked why and how we can live in allegiance to King Jesus, even starting today.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells three stories to blows the minds of the Pharisees who don't believe that God would care about Gentile sinners. The stories reveal the gracious heart of God, to indiscrimately offer grace to all people, so that they may repent and be saved. These stories not only are designed to recalibrate the hearts of the Pharisees, but all who fall into the trap of projecting their own p...

Jesus tells this tale in middle of two quite arrogant and ambitious interactions in Matthew 20. He wants to make sure everyone knows that the attributes of value in the kingdom of heaven are justice and grace, not popularity, riches, or even hard work. How do we feel about that?

The kingdom of heaven is like... a generous master who involves his servants in the building of his kingdom, only requiring faithful stewardship in return. What has God given you to faithfully and responsibly care for? These are the questions Lee Weissel asked as he brought us this week's sermon from Matthew 25:14-30.

This parable from Jesus gives us some more insight into how his new kingdom will operate. The kingdom is a place where brothers and sisters in Christ confess their sin, apologise for any pain caused, and pursue peace through the sometimes awkward conversations of forgiveness. Jesus isn't just telling us this is what it will be like in heaven, but what it can already begin to be like now.

In two of the shortest stories Jesus told, he is somehow able to convey the value of the kingdom of heaven with perfect clarity. What is it worth? Everything. Yet despite the simplicity of the story and the clarity of the message, is that how we value it?

This week we began our series looking at some of the parables of Jesus, starting with The Sower. Jesus tells this parable to invite people to cultivate hearts that are prepared to participate in the kingdom of God. He sees their hearts, he knows them better than they know themselves, and from that place of insight and knowledge he draws them toward something wonderful: the kingdom of God. And he s...

Bishop Richard preached from Luke 8 about how for 2000 years Jesus has been the hope of humankind. Whether it was a Jewish woman with an incurable disease, a desperate father whose daughter was on death's door, or people today who have no hope after death. Jesus offers salvation, and in salvation - hope. He took our hopelessness to the cross, and exchanged it for hope.

Curveballs are unexpected, but not rare. So when they come, how do you handle them? Dave shares some theological responses for curveballs, and then shares one of our own that our church now has to navigate through.

Jonny from the Moore College Mission Team preached from Luke 12:13-21, about the parable of the rich fool, who stored up his wealth and was not 'rich toward God'. A timely warning for all of us to use all of our resources to prepare well for Christ's return.