St Michael's talks & sermons

As we get closer to the general election, the intersection of faith, politics and the church sparks questions and wonderings - which we will cover in this series. To kick off the series Matthew looks at the life of William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (1942–1944) and asks how might we combine personal commitment to Christ with practical efforts to create a more just society? Excerpts from Temp...

In this sermon, Chris answers questions from parishioners sparked by our recent six part series on Galatians.

In the last sermon in this series, Chris points us to three questions answered in Galatians: - How does the law enslave? - What does freedom mean in practice? - What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the new community? Gospel reading and key texts Galatians 5:13-6:2 John 15:12-17

Part five in our series on the enduring challenge of Paul's letter to the Galatians guided by Emeritus Professor Chris Marshall. Paul's attitude toward the law changed dramatically after encountering Christ. In this sermon Chris traces the three stages in Paul's account of redemption: Before faith came, the coming of Christ and the present age of faith. Gospel reading and key texts Gal...

Part four in our series on the enduring challenge of Paul's letter to the Galatians guided by Emeritus Professor Chris Marshall. Paul continues to fight against a diminishing of the work of the cross. He speaks to the evidence of the Spirit's work, the witness of scripture and caution around the dark side of the law. Gospel reading and key texts Galatians 3:1-14 Luke 4:16-21

Part three in our series on the enduring challenge of Paul's letter to the Galatians guided by Emeritus Professor Chris Marshall. Chris draws us into the story of Paul's confrontation with Peter and the meaning of 'justification by faith.' Ultimately the Gospel has two inseparable sides, the belief in Christ's saving work and an ethical commitment to live with inclusive, self-g...

Part two in our series on the enduring challenge of Paul's letter to the Galatians guided by Emeritus Professor Chris Marshall. Chris gives us a lens what an apostle was, and Paul's legitimacy problems at the time. Paul's message still matters today because it calls us to a life shaped by God's grace, liberation from exclusionary identities and active love. Gospel reading and key t...

We begin a six part series on the enduring challenge of Paul's letter to the Galatians guided by Emeritus Professor Chris Marshall. Chris begins taking us through why this letter matters, the conflict behind it and argues that Paul was actually ahead of his time as he defends salvation by faith in Christ alone, over Christ + law. Gospel reading and key texts Jeremiah 31:31-34 Galatians 1:1-11...

In this sermon, Tim confronts both the notion of hopelessness in these times and that Christian hope is solely in waiting for life after death. If we believe 'every second of time is the straight gate through which the Messiah might enter,' we might also see time as open to God's action, rather than a fixed march to despair. Article reference Freedom in a Time of Climate Catastrophe by...

Mel looks at David's claim in Psalm 16 'apart from you I have no good thing' and asks what means to live this out. Spiritual hope begins with a settled posture of dependence on God - but how do we get there? Mel invites to examine where we feel lack and ask how God sees that area instead. Gospel reading and key texts: Numbers 18:20-24 Psalm 16 Luke 10:38-42

Jachin starts off our a new series on biblical hope looking at Paul's shipwreck from Acts 27. What does Paul say to a boat full of people who've lost all hope, and what does that point to in how we can have hope today? Listen to consider afresh how we put our hope in Jesus, help each other hold onto it, and we ultimately don't keep it to ourselves.

In the last of our series on Jonah, Ginni unpacks Jonah's anger after Nineveh repents. The text reveals there is more than one way to be 'lost,' not only through wrongdoing but also through pride and moral superiority. How do we respond when God uses discomfort to expose and invite us to grow? Gospel reading and key texts: Jonah 3:10-4:11 Hebrews 12:1-11 Luke 15:11-32

Through Jonah 3, Tim leads us to examine who we extend grace to - as God's mercy often extends further than we want it to. There's much to be reminded of through Jonah's reluctant obedience. Yet, reframing God's anger as a deep commitment to both justice and restoration, helps us to see how Jesus himself embodies both justice and mercy. Gospel reading and key texts: Matthew 21:33-4...

Matthew examines Jonah's story and the parallels and differences with that of Jesus. Both descend and rise, but only one reveals a wider mercy. The challenge for us is sincere faith can still be limited and lacking in compassion beyond our immediate community - personal spiritual matters, but it must lead us outward. Gospel reading and key texts: Matthew 12:38-42 Jonah 2 Psalm 42

Using the image from early theologian Irenaeus, Tim describes Jesus and the Holy Spirit as the "two hands of God," through whom He creates, saves and transforms us. We're also invited to trust God with open hands and to join in on His mission of renewing the world - through the small daily acts but also the larger societal challenges we struggle to hold faith for. Gospel reading and...

Pentecost marks the shift from Jesus' completed work to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in believers. In this sermon Steve encourages us to stop relying on willpower or chasing spiritual highs but instead to intentionally make space for the Holy Spirit to work in and with us daily. Gospel reading and key texts: John 20:19-23 Acts 2:1-21 1 Corinthians 12:3-13

Chris delves into a challenging provocation - what if we see the Resurrection and Ascension not as two seperate events, but as two sides of the same reality? It tells us that Jesus is heaven's champion vindicated by God, not a hero or an emperor. It also tells us that Christ didn't shed his humanity, but that human life is not permanently woven into God's own identity. Gospel reading a...

Traveling through this week's key texts, Tim reflects on the critique of modern life as producing many who feel entitled, lonely and fearful. Baptism itself has something to tell us, about our antidote, which is to live in loving community, and trust in God's love - where we can find freedom from entitlement, loneliness and fear. (Earlier in our service we celebrated an infant baptism, you...

This sermon investigates what Jesus' statement in John 14, 'I am the way, the truth and the life' can mean for us. Following Jesus isn't a one-time decision but an ongoing choice. As we trust, it transforms how we understand God, live our lives face hardship and even approach death. The sermon ends with an invitation to reflect on a poem. The poems referenced are: The Call | George...

This sermon looks at scriptures which describe leadership responsibilities in terms of shepherding. God calls all leaders to care for the whole, whether they are in the church, politics, the family or wherever. John 10.1-11 Ezekiel 34.1-12 1 Peter 2.19-25

Competing with the sound of the rain, Vicar Tim has as rethinking the Emmaus story. As Jesus show ups incognito, interrupting ordinary lives rather than arriving in a blaze of glory - there's a lesson. God's grace often comes by way of interruption but are we too wedded to our own agenda? And we do notice, how do we respond? Gospel reading and key texts: Luke 24:13-35 1 Peter 1:17-23 Acts...

Is 'Doubting Thomas' the right label for a man who volunteered to die with Jesus and was the first person in scripture to call Jesus 'my Lord and my God'? Guest preacher Lawrence challenges us that perhaps doubt isn't the enemy of faith - it's often the pathway to something much deeper. Gospel reading and key texts: John 20:19-31 Colossians 1:15-20 Psalm 16

In this discussion, Professor Dr. Cyril Hovorun analyses the religious dimensions of both Trump and Putin's self-projected mythologies. What do they have in common? And how do they differ? And how does religious myth making help us understand present global affairs? The book referenced is Political Orthodoxies: The Unorthodoxies of the Church Coerced by Cyril Hovorun. The Front Porch is a seri...

In this sermon, Deborah takes a fresh 'look' at the Palm Sunday story, leading us on a meditation about vision - God's vision. Looking at Jesus' sorrowful yet redemptive sight of humanity, and our need to see the world with compassion rather than ambition. Palm Sunday challenges us to examine not only what we see, but how we see too. The book referenced is The Blurred Cross: A writ...

This recording starts with a reading from John 11:1-45. The mysterious and strangely moving narrative of the raising of Lazarus forces us to face death, and not hide behind either heavenly escapism or 'Christianity as social good.'  Tim ponders attitudes to the story of Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb as fully sharing our grief and yet uniquely able to conquer death.  As we draw nearer to Easter, t...