On the road to Emmaus

We all heard the sad news on Monday of the passing of Pope Francis, a fine pope, in my opinion one of the best, showing by example how to follow Jesus with courage, fidelity, simplicity, and sacrificial love. Two months after his election to the papacy in 2013, Francis warned of the danger of โ€œ[shutting] ourselves …

The path of life

A reflection on Psalm 16. He is risen! Christ is risen indeed. There was understandable shock and surprise, followed by joy, when the two women announced that the tomb in which Jesusโ€™s body had been laid was empty,ย and that Jesus, crucified on the Friday afternoon, was alive and well. Peter and John run to the …

At the cross

A reflective time of worship for Good Friday 2025 Welcome and call to worship In the name of Jesus, our Saviour, our Master, welcome to the Good Friday service at North Rocks Community Church! This morning we gather to remember the worst of days, what we ironically call โ€œGood Friday,โ€ the day on which Jesus …

Speech for Palm Sunday Rally 2025

Friends, We gather today on the lands of the Gadigal people and pay our respects to the people, cultures and elders past and present. We gather today as people of faith, and people of conscience. On Palm Sunday, Christians everywhere remember the time when Jesus of Nazareth entered Jerusalemโ€”not on a warhorse, but on a …

The problem with atheism

Roman, Entry into Jerusalem, marble, late 4th century. The fool says in his heart, โ€˜Thereโ€™s no God.โ€™โ€ (Psalm 14:1; cf Ps 53:1). Psalm 14 opens with these famous words. No one likes to be called a fool. But these words, as I read them, are neither an attack on a specific person nor a rebuttal of a …