Lutheran - St. Paul's Sydney Podcast

Happy Father’s Day to all fathers in the congregation and community! May God bless your day with family, smiles and the richness of His presence. May He guide and protect you as you shepherd your family and enjoy your children.
 This week’s sermon considers our stewardship of our time. God gives us each day of our lives, and He calls us to follow Him. What does it mean to make sure we use our time well, and celebrate God’s gift...

One of the things we learn very quickly in life is that food is powerful. Over the centuries, food has been a political tool used as an effective means of power and control. Revolutions have been drafted and policies written on napkins at the table. Negotiations have been conducted, deals brokered, and lives affected by what has been agreed to at the table.  The table is not only the place where relationships are built, but where p...

It is a pleasure to return to St Pauls this week to lead you in worship and explore something that is foundation to the Christian faith and life: Generous Living.
 Generosity can have a huge impact on people.  
 As I watched Spotlight last Sunday with the story of Danny Abdallah not just meeting Samuel Davidson, the man who killed his children in gaol, but also sharing forgiveness and prayers together. You could see how Dan...

This week we are blessed by the service of Pastor Peter Bean. Pastor Bean is preaching on compassion, drawing from Luke 10. He reminds us that the life of a Christian is one that reflects Jesus- we are to live as a ‘walking, talking, breathing, acting image of God.’ The word ‘acting’ in this case does not mean ‘pretending’, or ‘making believe’, but fully engaging in the struggles of this world and each other to bring God’s love and...

This week’s Gospel reading Luke 12:32-40  reminds us that we must keep our eyes on Jesus, for Jesus is our true treasure. Jesus’ words to us are compelling- we do not know when He will return, and when He does we must not be found distracted, or wandering away from His love.
As humans we are often tempted to worry more about the things we have, or wish to accumulate, than about the goodness of eternal life that awaits us in Je...

Our sermon this week reflects the message of our Ecclesiastes reading- Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23  that true wealth cannot be found in the work and struggles of this life, but only in the joy of knowing Jesus.
 Many recent world events show us clearly that humanity is ‘out of alignment’ with God’s visions of peace, hope and love. We continue to strive but find no lasting peace in our possessions; in fact, even our ‘toil’ ...

When reading through this week’s Scriptures I noted the explanation below our Luke passage in my bible. The author writes beautifully about Jesus teaching us to pray. “The pattern for prayer that Jesus gives his disciples is short on our wants and big on God’s wants. Half of what Jesus tells us to do in prayer is worship God, keep him holy, and ask that his kingdom and his will take shape, not ours. God the Father looms large. For ...

This week we hear the story of Mary and Martha, and their different approaches to having Jesus visit. This is a familiar story to many of us, and at times I’m sure we have seen ourselves as either the frustrated Martha or the quiet, listening Mary. Linking this story with the second reading from Colossians, Colossians 1:15- 28   Pastor Mike Semmler gives us a message of hope: reminding us that whether we think we are doing the ‘rig...

“Go and do likewise.” These are the final words of our Gospel reading this week (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus is speaking about the Samaritan’s actions in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. He could also say this of his own actions. This week God reminds us that we have received mercy from God through Jesus so that we can pass this mercy and love on to others. Sometimes that’s easy, isn’t it? When your child does well at school and comes ...

This week our second reading is Galatians 6:1-16. Paul’s words to the church invite attention- ‘So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.’ (v9) There is a lot around us currently that might make us ‘grow weary’; laying heavy burdens on our hearts, family lives, community and culture- even before we start thinking about ‘doing what is right’. We may be tempted to give up...

This week’s Gospel Luke 9:51-62  reminds us that there can be no half-heartedness in following Christ. We know as Christians that God is the ultimate King of the World (apologies to Leonardo De Caprio!) and that God has already triumphed over evil and sin. We are already on the winning team if we are followers of Jesus. However, it doesn’t always FEEL like that, does it? There are times in our lives when the road ahead looks bumpy,...

This week we remember that God is our help when we are in tough times. Our sermon reminds us that Elijah, God’s great prophet- a man who had seen God’s great works and healing for himself- also experienced feeling alone and being disappointed in God. When tough times come we lose our sense of perspective and even small things can appear overwhelming. We can get stuck in that feeling and unable to move forward. Elijah was relieved b...

This week we celebrate Trinity Sunday. The Triune nature of our God is a mystery ‘more than we can bear’ (John 16:12b) as this week’s Gospel reading says. Have you ever tried to use a tripod and have one leg collapse? Or have you put one on the ground and noticed it wouldn’t stand until you made sure all the legs were the same length? When you get it right you have a really steady camera stand, or easel for your next piece of art. ...

Today we celebrate the gift of Pentecost- when the Holy Spirit was poured out for us. What a wonderful blessing! This is a fantastic reminder that the best gifts often don’t come in boxes and can’t be wrapped in fancy paper. The best gifts are those we receive with our hearts- and that can be passed on to others in love. The greatest love we can pass on is the love of Jesus. God sent the Holy Spirit to help the disciples and us to ...

This week we look both forward and back- as we examine the ways we see Jesus in God's Word after Easter. Next week we will celebrate Pentecost with a Multicultural Celebration and shared lunch at St Paul's- please come along if you are able! The lunch will offer an opportunity for fellowship and sharing with one another- a chance to see the face of Jesus in those around us. Our Gospel reading Luke 24:44-53  and reading fr...

This week's Gospel reading John 5:1-9 recounts the story of an invalid Jesus encounters at the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. In this encounter Jesus asks, 'Do you want to get well?" Jesus does not presume to know what is wanted, but reflects God's goodness in giving us our own 'free will'. God does not pressure creation to come to Him, but instead asks gently and extends His invitations into our lives- invi...

This week's focus is on the unity all people have in Christ through the gift of the Holy Spirit. In our Acts reading Acts 11:1-18  we hear that the Holy Spirit helped Peter to understand this. He was encouraged to eat things, and spend time with people, he usually wouldn't. The message God's Holy Spirit was bringing was that God's family would include people from all nations. Peter had to overcome rules he had l...

Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers, Grandmothers, Great-Grandmothers, and those who care for us as a mother would. May God bless you today!
 Our Gospel reading John 10:22-30  this week reminds us that Jesus is our 'Good Shepherd', and that He will never leave one of His sheep behind. That means you and I! These days there can be a negative connotation around being a 'sheep'. A 'sheep' can be s...

This week's Gospel John 21:1-19  reminds us that we can rely on Jesus to give us all we need. We are blessed to be members of God's family. We are so loved that we are provided with every good thing, just as Jesus blesses His disciples with an extra-large catch of fish, and gives them a freshly-cooked breakfast! Jesus then asks His disciples to carry on the work He has begun. He gives Peter fish, then asks him to 'Fe...