Reflection 15 March – Joy Kingsbury-Aitken
Reflection on John 9:1-41 Throughout John’s gospel the underlying question to be answered is, “Who is this man Jesus?” John gives his readers the answer in the first sentence of his gospel – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was...
Reflection 8 March – Rev. Luke Blackbeard – Jesus invites us to draw our life from his Spirit of Living Water.
Text: John 4:3-42 Jesus invites us to draw our life from his Spirit of Living Water. Introduction Last week’s reading was about a conversation with Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, in the middle of the night. We’re sort of kept in the dark, so to speak, as to how Nicodemus...
Reflection 1 March – Jesus is God’s Answer to a Dark and Broken World – Rev. Luke Blackbeard
John 3:1-21 - Jesus is God’s answer to a dark and broken world Introduction This week was the first of our Lent reflections series, where a few of us met in the chapel and sat with this same reading and also with the painting you see on the screen, using them as a...
Reflection 15 February – Jesus wants us to experience who He is – Rev. Luke Blackbeard
Matthew 17:1-9 Overall view: Jesus wants us to experience who he is Introduction Have you ever made a new friend? If we know someone for any length of time, the relationship usually grows. Broadly speaking, there are three levels of knowing a person. First, we notice...
Reflection 1 February – Jesus Redefines Our Understanding of ‘The Good Life’ – Rev. Luke Blackbeard
Matthew 5:1-12 Jesus redefines our understanding of ‘the Good Life’ Introduction These words in the first 12 verses of Matthew 5 begin the Sermon on the Mount, roughly 2000 words that are some of the most recognisable and universally appealing teachings of Jesus...
Reflection 4 January – Rev. Luke Blackbeard – What Child Is This?
John 1:1-18 - Second Sunday of Christmas What child is this? Introduction There’s a Christmas carol set to the tune of Greensleeves, I’m sure many of you know it, What Child is this? It captures the wonderings of the shepherds and the Magi looking at this small,...
Reflection 14 December – Unmet Expectations in the Waiting – Rev. Luke Blackbeard
Matthew 11:2-19 Unmet expectations in the waiting - The Kingdom of Jesus isn’t always easy to see. Introduction In this season of Advent, we are reminded that we are waiting. On a small scale, we are waiting for Christmas. But our waiting for Christmas and the...
Reflection 2 November – Ephesians – Rev. Luke Blackbeard
Ephesians 6:21-24 Introduction Two weeks ago, I said we were concluding our journey through Ephesians. Except that we hadn’t covered these last few verses, Paul’s concluding greetings. The funny thing about reading the New Testament Letters is that, because of the way...
Reflection 19 October – Ephesians 6: 10 – 20 – Rev. Luke Blackbeard
Ephesians 6:10-20 Introduction I wonder if you’ve ever worn any armour in your life? I know I have. Not any armour made of metal plates. But I’ve worn other sorts of armour. When you boil it down, armour is meant to be protective. Or at least, give us the illusion of...
Reflection 5 October – The Household Code – Joy Kingsbury – Aitken
The Household Code in Ephesians by Joy Kingsbury-Aitken Back in May, on Mother’s Day, I spoke about the rise of the Trad Wife movement among young evangelical Christian women. Much to my surprise that sermon generated considerable interest. Today’s text is...