Who is this Jesus person? And what does a parade held on the other side of the world two thousand years ago have to do with us?
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Author: Alister Pate
I'm a minister in the Uniting Church in Australia, with two congregations: one in Northcote / Chalice, which now includes Cafechurch Melbourne, and one up the road in Reservoir, confusingly known as Preston High Street. I am
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Preparation
What’s the most precious thing you own? Would you give it up? Would you give it to the man who saved your brother’s life?
A broken, inarticulate sermon preached in the immediate aftermath of the Christchurch Mosque shootings. The world can seem like a very dark place some days, and it is hard to preach a message of hope. Nonetheless, this is what I am called to do.
Someone asked me once “why does God need us to tell Him how wonderful He is? Does He have some sort of ego problem?” Apart from the regrettable use of gendered language for God, it is a fair point. If God is a personal, as Christians like to insist, then it’s a bit weird. Surely […]
Jesus, led by the Spirit, was tempted in the wilderness for forty days. It’s all very well for him – he is, after all, God’s son. But what does it mean for us?
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Jesus Christ and the Meaningful Universe
The story of Jesus’ transfiguration is, even by Scriptural standards, pretty mysterious. What does it mean for the disciples to see Jesus’ “glory”? Why did his face shine? Why were Moses and Elijah there? And, most of all, why were they terrified when the cloud came down?
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Love Your Enemies
Jesus tells us to love our enemies, do good to those who hurt us, not to judge, to do to other people what we would have them do to us. Is that possible? Is it even desirable?
After a long night of unsuccessful fishing, Simon sits on the shore and reflects on his weird week. Little does he know that what he is about to see will change him forever.
Imagine that Jesus walked into our service here, today. I it’s likely that I would offer him the pulpit – even though I have worked pretty hard on writing my sermon. I can imagine myself taking a chair, leaning forward interestedly to hear what he has to say. This is more or less precisely the […]
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Worship and the Good News
What actually is the Good News? Today’s gospel goes to the nub of that question. In Luke’s account of Jesus’ ministry, the first words we hear him speak in public are these: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent […]
Alister Pate 