How to live in the end-times

Writing on how Revelation chapter seven applies to Christian life today, British theologian Ian Paul suggests that The perennial question for anyone thinking seriously about the Christian life and our place in the world has two parts to it. First, we need to think about the world we are in, and try to make sense …

Iron, silver and gold ethics

On Thursday, I attended a Prayer Service for Peace at St Stephenโ€™s Uniting Church in Macquarie Street, Sydney, led by my colleague, Rev Dr Manas Ghosh, a champion of interfaith dialogue and minister of Wahroonga Uniting Church. Manas is Chair of the Abraham Conference, a group of Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders that formed after …

The wideness of God’s mercy

A sermon by Rod Benson Grace and mercy are well known characteristics of God. They are distinctive characteristics of the God who is revealed in the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is one of the ways in which God demonstrates his amazing love. When we talk about the grace …

The power of repentance

A sermon by Rod Benson Jonah 3:1-10 No sooner have Jonahโ€™s wrinkled, fishy hands gripped the coarse sand of a Jewish beach, than he hears the now familiar voice of God once more. It is the same message, the same words โ€“ a message previously disregarded, presenting a challenge previously disobeyed: โ€œGo to the great …

A happy ending

A sermon by Rod Benson Ruth 4:1-22 Call me David. And let me tell you a story from the time before my birth, in the days when the judges ruled Israel. Life is closing in for me, and Iโ€™m not long for this world. As you know, I am the second King of Israel, the …