A sermon by Rod Benson It’s fair to say that, around the world, marriage is in a mess. Many couples today cohabit for years before marrying, or never marry. Married people divorce, as I have done, and some go on to remarry. Same sex couples want to marry each other, and there is strong political …
Experiencing God’s mercy and grace
A sermon by Rod Benson 1 Timothy 1:12-19 They can put a man on the moon, but they can’t make solar cars. Or cure acne. Or invent the self-sorting sock drawer. Or make me lose weight by eating all the donuts. Or find a word that rhymes with orange. Or drive a road tunnel through …
The purpose of Christian preaching
A sermon by Rod Benson 1 Timothy 1:1-7 Some years ago in Brisbane, I shared a taxi with an Indian businessman. As the car pulled away from the kerb we introduced ourselves, and I said I was a pastor. He looked at me with a puzzled expression, unfamiliar with the term. Searching for a synonym, …
Stop the boat!
Matthew 8:18-22 When things are going well, life gives you crowds. Early in Jesus’ public ministry, crowds often accompanied him – out of curiosity, out of boredom, out of intrigue, out of a real thirst for knowledge or spirituality or change (e.g. Mt 5:1; 7:28; 8:1, 18). But as they discovered what it meant to …
Racism and reconciliation
NOTE: I preached this sermon at the Murri Evangelical Church (a Baptist church) in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, on the first anniversary of the 1996 Australian federal election which swept Pauline Hanson onto the national political stage. Ms Hanson’s seat of Oxley, since renamed Blair following electoral boundary changes in 1998, included most of the city …
