South East Anglican

"Good" is not just a word that we can use to describe what God is, but a word to describe the true essence of who God is. All goodness springs from the same source, and that source is God. And that's something that is worth remembering!

One of the key themes in the wisdom writings of Proverbs is the that of work. Israelite culture of around 900BC had strong views about working (and not working). But it's fair to say, our Aussie, and Tasmanian, cultures don't necessarily share those same opinions.

Melanie preached from James 2 at Sorell about how love of Jesus for all humanity forbids his followers from showing favouritism.

The book of Proverbs has much wisdom to share on the topic of 'friendship'. Friends, and friendship, are a gift from God. He gave us our social needs and capacities, and he meets those needs with friends. But he also meets those needs with himself. God himself has not only created friendship for us, but offers friendship too us, through his Son and Spirit.

The Christian life is one of truth, freedom, love, joy, hope, peace.... and perseverance. You can't read the Bible and not recognise that, not only are Christians not exempt from the struggles of this life, but often our faith causes them. But Stephen shares how we can be encouraged by the words of the Apostle Paul to stand firm in our faith in the face of suffering and hardship.

What pressure produce in you? Does it produce anxiety, worry, grit, determination, anger? In Philippians 4, Paul encourages the Christians in Philippi to combat their pressure with prayer, and in doing so, they would experience the peace of God. 

The gospel of Jesus is good news that anyone can rejoice in! For people like Paul, who had a former life of fame and identity in the Jewish community, for the Philippians who are under pressure to compromise their faith, and for every man, woman, and child on earth who wants to find acceptance and significance in this life. The gospel of grace, through faith, is beautiful, powerful, and free.

Paul has some incredibly weird things to say to the Christians in Philippi. It's a weird letter, given the fact that Paul is under house arrest and the Philippians are being persectued. What makes it so weird? The gospel. Paul has the good news of Jesus not just in his head but pumping through his veins. The weird gospel is working itself out of Paul in weird ways, and so it should with us.

Letters aren't sent by accident. This letter from Paul to the church in Philippi was an intentional act of Paul to his beloved friends and companions in Philippi. He was under house arrest and took time to rekindle their friendship founded on the gospel, and to encourage them to keep standing firm, even though they too were enduring hardship.

At our Parish's combined service, Stephen reminded us of the importance of stewarding what we have been given, for the building up and health of the Church. We all need each other to play our God given role using our God given gifts.

Our families are something that many of us care very deeply for. Our family values, practices, and rhythms are usually quite personal to us, and not something we are open to hearing critique or advice on. But Proverbs dedicates quite a bit of wisdom towards the key relationships that make up our families - spouses, parents, and children. The question is, are we open to hearing it?

Humility is a beautiful attribute to see in people. Humble people help others without looking for their own glory. But how do they do it? How can we grow in humility? Dave shows the warnings of pride and the blessings of humility from Proverbs and from the life of Jesus. Humility is beautiful because it comes from the beautiful heart of God, as demonstrated in Christ.

Proverbs doesn't mince words when it comes to fools. In that ancient culture, fools were dangerous people, and to be avoided at all costs, lest you get caught in their folly. But in the New Testament, the concept of being a fool is applied quite differently. Dave unpacks why Christians might expect to be called 'fools', and how that came to be.

The book of Proverbs is unique in style and content amongst the books of the Bible. It is full of intensely practical wisdom for everyday life. But does wisdom just make life a bit easier? How does it make us more like Jesus? Dave unpacks all of this and more in the first sermon in a new series in the book of Proverbs.

This week Stephen Savage preaches a one-off sermon on the topic of Generous Giving, which is on of South East Anglican's Parish Values, being Generous for Jesus.

We conclude our short stint in Genesis by looking at the adventure that God called Abram into. An adventure that was into the unknown, and would test Abram's faith. Even though God would be with him and lead him, Abram's trust eventually led to doubt, which cascaded into panic, then remorse. But even though Abram abandoned God's plan, God did not abandon him.

How does the story of Babel fit into the Bible? And how is it relevant to us today? The people of Babel were actually a lot like us, and their desire to make a name for themselves is a misdirected response to a very human stimulus - the desire to be significant.

Noah and his family have survived the flood of judgement on the earth, but the world they open the door to was drastically different from the one they left. They're alone with God, in a fresh, new creation, and they're given another go at setting up the world in obedience to God. Maybe it will be different this time?

Noah and the Flood is a story that many people are familiar with, even outside of the church. But is it just a children's story about angry God and naughty humanity? Rev Richard Humphrey from St. David's Cathedral was our guest preacher this week, and showed us how the flood points us many years into the future to a future Saviour.

In Genesis 4 we are given our first glimpse of life outside of Eden, and it's pretty horrible. Adam and Eve's eldest son, Cain, allows sin to rule over him and he murders his own brother. How does God react to the very first murder? Not as you might expect.

Everything was going so good in the Garden of Eden. Until... Genesis 3 is one of the most important chapters in the Bible, explaining so much about why we read what we do in the rest of the Bible. This sermon was given at our church in Sorell, by Rev John Langlois.

Genesis 2 always gets overshadowed by chapter 1, but without good reason! Genesis 2 is a deep dive into the creation and commissioning of humanity, and so many good Christian doctrines are found in seed form in this wonderful chapter, particularly how we are to understand the role of men and women in life.

Genesis 1 is the opening of a letter from God to his creation. Whilst it is a glorious chapter where God introduces himself to us, the clear parts often get overlooked by the unclear, meaning Genesis 1 can be a point of contention for many Christians. Dave Horne preaches on how to get the most out of Genesis 1, without falling into the trap of causing unnecessary division.

Christians should be people that really know how to feast well! We should be great feasters, but what is feasting? What was it for Jesus? How can feast today, and how can we do it well? Dave preaches about some key things that feasting is, isn't, why feasting well can be hard in our culture, and why Jesus wants his followers to be a feasting people!