Lutheran - St. Paul's Sydney Podcast

This week's Gospel reading Luke 4:1-13 , tells us of Jesus' testing in the desert. Jesus was put to the test with offers of food, wealth and power. How pertinent a reading for today's times! It seems that everywhere we look there are examples of those who want to control the world, lead it towards their own ends, or sacrifice the good of some for the benefit of a few. If we look in

In this week’s Gospel Luke 9:28-43 we have Jesus shining with the full glory of God, in front of regular humans like you and me. We all know the feeling when sunshine reflects off a window or some other shiny surface directly into our eyes- it forces us to look away. Now imagine someone you know and love very much being transformed into an image of that brightness- do you think y

Dear friends- God calls us to be different! This week's Gospel reading outlines how. In today's world we are drawn by opposing forces- both to conform and be 'like' (or 'liked') by those around us, and to be 'individual' and stand out in the crowd. Many people spend lots of time, especially on social media platforms, trying to show what makes them special. Others look at those post

This week God's Word blesses us with reassurance for those who trust in Him, and who use their lives to proclaim Him. It seems a pretty scary thing to do- opening our minds and hearts to others and sharing with them that Jesus is our everlasting hope. We pray that those around us see our lives of joy and expectation- yet we often are hesitant to speak about why we have this joy. To

This week's we focus on God calling us to be witnesses- through the story of the prophet Isaiah and that of Jesus calling ordinary fishermen to be 'fishers of all'. In both cases we see those called responding with alarm- "....but I am a sinner!" "I am afraid!" Many times in our own lives we are shaken, and indeed our souls know what it feels like to tremble before an unforseen cha

This week's Gospel Luke 4:21-30 reading is one you may have heard many times. It's often used during wedding ceremonies, but that's certainly not the only time we should reflect on it! On the contrary, these words describing the awesome qualities and power of love should be constantly in the hearts of those who follow Jesus. Every day we are challenged to love 'more' and to love 'b

This week's Gospel, Luke 4:14-21, holds a very exciting note that we might easily miss! Imagine being in the synagogue when Jesus himself was teaching- what a moment, to be able to hear the words of Isaiah spoken by the Son of God himself! The text tells us that all who were present had their eyes 'fastened on him.' Jesus clearly had a presence. How do you think you might have felt

This week's Gospel John 2:1-11 recounts the story of Jesus turning water into wine. Our sermon tells us this is the first 'sign' given by Jesus that 'reveals His glory'. Water at a wedding, in jars of clay- a pretty ordinary offering that Jesus made extraordinary in a great gift of compassion and love. We today may be at risk of missing signs of glory all around us, thinking that t

This week Luke’s Gospel Luke 3:15-17, 21,22 brings us the story of Jesus’ baptism, and God’s gift of the Holy Spirit resting upon Jesus. The Epistle reading recalls the great blessing of the Holy Spirit bestowed on a group of new believers who had been baptised in Jesus’ name. There are many blessings to unpack here for us who are baptised in Jesus’ name! We understand th

In this week's readings we see very different examples of encountering Jesus. The Gospel, Matthew 2:1-12. tells of the Wise Men from the east, kneeling before a baby in a manger with their precious gifts of great value. We imagine the scene each Christmas as we gaze at our Nativity. But in Ephesians Paul tells us we may approach the throne of Jesus with freedom and confidence. What