Mustardseed Talks

Informações:

Sinopsis

These talks were given as part of MustardSeed Uniting Church Ultimo's weekly Sunday café gatherings...

Episodios

  • The Great Commission (David Gore • Matt 28:16-20

    19/06/2017 Duración: 21min

    The disciples met with the risen Jesus at a prearranged location to find out ‘what next?’ Matthew’s gospel tells us that some worshipped Jesus and some doubted him. This detail not only adds to the authenticity of the account, but it also helps us identify with the disciples. Jesus, for his part, shows no sign of being put-off by either response. He draws near and reassures the group before providing clear instruction on what they are to do next. As we gather this morning… some will doubt while others worship (and some will doubt and worship at the same time). Be assured that Jesus draws near to us regardless and has something very important for us to be involved with.

  • Rivers of Living Water (David Gore • John 7:36-39)

    10/06/2017 Duración: 23min

    Looking for what you need but do not have in yourself (being thirsty) and hoping Jesus can offer you that which you need (coming to Jesus) appear to be prerequisites for receiving the life-giving rivers of living water of which Jesus speaks. Water sustains life. It refreshes. It allows new things to grow. In the region of Palestine - where water is rarely found in abundance - it is considered invaluable! Jesus promises access to unlimited life-giving potential. This is a very good thing!

  • Waiting (David Gore • Acts 1:6-14)

    29/05/2017 Duración: 21min

    Often, the waiting is the hardest part of any given process. It can make us feel helpless, perhaps even impotent… at the mercy of the passing of time. The disciples had just begun to come to terms with the possibility that Jesus may have risen, when he is gone again. His parting words do not confirm their hopes and expectations. On the contrary, Jesus is disturbingly unreassuring regarding what the disciples thought might happen next. It will be a week before the Holy Spirit comes in power. A week of waiting and wondering. A week of uncertainty and yet hope. A week in which I suspect those first disciples prayed like they had never prayed before.

  • The Advocate (David Gore - John 14:15-21)

    21/05/2017 Duración: 20min

    Jesus promises to send us another advocate… the Spirit of Truth. This advocate (in addition to Jesus - who advocates for us at God’s right hand - Rom 8:34) defends us against accusations from within us! Truth is often paradoxical in nature. People are generally both more guilty and more innocent than we are willing to recognise. Our sense of guilt and innocence are easily misplaced. As we live with the Advocate/Spirit of Truth instructing us, we live ever more profoundly into intimacy with God. Both held by God’s love and being a living expression of it.

  • The Way, the Truth and the Life (David Gore - John 14:15-21)

    20/05/2017 Duración: 18min

    Jesus’ pronouncement, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” has sometimes been regarded as controversial on account of its apparent exclusivity. After all, surely there are other ways, more truth and different lives?! Some evangelists have used this same saying as a key part of their pitch to get more people to join their group. The fear of missing out (FOMO) can be powerfully manipulative. There is so much more in these few well chosen words of Jesus. Let us dive deeply into them…

  • Dynamic Church (David Gore - Acts 2:42-47)

    08/05/2017 Duración: 22min

    The early church in Jerusalem experienced an unprecedented explosion of good will. Good will among its members and hangers-on, and good will with all the people in the community. This was no accident. There were core values and core activities that provided the fertile context for the rich experience the early Jerusalem church shared. This morning we hope to learn from what they discovered... and the church has sought to recover ever since.

  • Hold Everything! (David Gore - Luke 24:13-35)

    06/05/2017 Duración: 19min

    In the grief and strangeness of the aftermath of Jesus' death and disappearance/resurrection, two of his followers struggling to make sense of the recent events, depart the scene of the drama to get on with their lives. On the road they meet a man who recasts the meaning of all that has occurred. The man teaches from the scriptures in a way they have not heard before. He makes sense of their experience and everything begins to change. Suddenly they realize who this man is... and just as suddenly he is gone. What does not disappear is the conviction that Jesus' death on the cross was no accident of history. It was the fulfillment of all that had been spoke in the Law and the Prophets.

  • Wholesome Doubt (Adrian Sukumar-White)

    01/05/2017 Duración: 19min

    Thomas initially misses the opportunity to come face to face with the Risen-Crucified Jesus. His doubt is both natural and understandable. Adrian help us understand the growth-full purpose of doubt, and how we can support one another through the various challenges and transitions of faith we will walk through in life.

  • Flesh and Spirit (David Gore - Romans 8:5-11)

    06/04/2017 Duración: 18min

    In his letters to various churches, St Paul makes use of the categories of 'Flesh' and 'Spirit, representing two competing approaches to engaging life. 'Flesh' does not mean simply our physical bodies. It means the system of values, desires and priorities that dominate our decision making when survival is our primary motivation. 'Spirit', on the other hand, refers to the Spirit of Christ. This means putting into practice the values, desires and priorities we see in the life of Christ. The most remarkable thing is that following Jesus brings new life even to our mortal bodies!

  • The Lord is my Shepherd (David Gore - Psalm 23)

    06/04/2017 Duración: 22min

    There is a good deal of comfort in the words of Psalm 23. The notion of someone who has our best interests at heart is genuinely wonderful. A companion who will not just accompany us, but lead us in the best path, has the potential to guide us away from a great deal of unnecessary hardship and pain. But the Lord as our Shepherd does not mean we avoid the valley of the shadow of death. It means our shepherd walks with us through it. Neither does it mean that we have no enemies, or even that we can avoid such people. Rather, this shepherd prepares a table that enables intimate engagement with those we would normally seek to avoid. The path to abundance is often not the one we would choose if left to our own devices!

  • Hope that does not disappoint (Ian Avery - Romans 5:1-5)

    23/03/2017 Duración: 18min

    One of the fundamental requirements for life is hope. Without hope, we would not get up again after the inevitable first stumble. When we are younger, we are nurtured by the hope of those who care for us. As we go on in life, hope is something that grows (in varying degrees) within us. St Paul plots the formation of hope in this mornings reading (Romans 5:1-11). It suggests a kind of parallel to the way antibodies are developed to fight pathogens in the body. As we encounter something that we must overcome we are provided with the opportunity for our hope to be strengthened. Life is full of challenges. Ultimately, this can serve us well. It is the breeding ground for the hope that does not disappoint!

  • The Faith of Abraham (David Gore - Romans 4:1-17)

    15/03/2017 Duración: 16min

    In some traditions theologians invent a chasm between what God was doing in the stories of the Hebrew scriptures and the stories of the gospels and epistles. The notion of ‘old testament’ and ‘new testament’ are a (ummm) testament to this invented chasm. In reality, there is a continuity and a full flowering that occurs. We see in today’s reading from Romans 4:1-17, St Paul anchors the notion of salvation by grace through faith in the earliest responder to the call of God… Abraham. God is (and has been and will be) actively calling to each and every generation. The call is always the call of grace. The only appropriate response is the response of trust in God’s grace.

  • Grace of the One (David Gore - Romans 5:12-19)

    09/03/2017 Duración: 22min

    We see all kinds of types of people around these days. The hipsters with the big beards (did we reach peak beard yet?) are just one of the more recent expression of the ages old practice of people following each other. When I was younger the punks were pretty big for a while. There were also goths and e-mos. Well before that, sharpies and greasers and… the list goes on. Did people spontaneously and all at the same time decide to cut their hair a particular way and wear certain types of clothes? Even if they thought that’s what they were doing, the reality is they were following someone else. Our reading from Romans 5:12-19 offers us two types that we can follow. The one you choose will tell you about yourself and what you hope for.

  • Nations in Uproar (David Gore - Psalm 2)

    06/03/2017 Duración: 20min

    Some themes in history appear to be repeated over and over as generations pass and the cultural memory fades. Hard learned lessons apparently need to be hard learned yet again. So, the psalmist's words about the upheaval of nations, conspiring rulers and the loosing of the bonds of civil constraint are as relevant today as ever. And so is the psalmist's insight about where life that stands in, through and beyond this upheaval is to be discovered. Heed the invitation to take refuge in the Son!

  • Turn the other cheek (Adrian Sukumar-White - Matt 5:38-48)

    26/02/2017 Duración: 01min

    Jesus taught some very challenging things. This week’s Gospel reading (Matt 5:38-48) is certainly among the more challenging and disconcerting aspects of Jesus’ teaching. In a world where it is common for people to want to push back at each other when they feel pushed around (it was in Jesus’ day just as it is today), Jesus indicates it is best not to reciprocate (or escalate) the violence that others might inflict. It is the hardest thing in the world to not reflect back aggression to someone who is aggressive toward us. Jesus indicates this is the way of his Father. This is how the kingdom comes!

  • Maturity (David Gore - 1 Cor 3:1-9)

    19/02/2017 Duración: 22min

    Just as in natural life, there are stages of development and maturity in our faith and discipleship. Just as in natural life, we can identify the indicators of these developments and a person's maturity in their faith and discipleship. We are well served by learning and being able to recognise the difference between maturity and immaturity - and setting our expectations accordingly.

  • Only Christ... Crucified (David Gore - 1 Cor 2:1-12)

    06/02/2017 Duración: 22min

    Paul is very deliberate and strategic as he goes about sharing the gospel. But his strategy is quite unusual. Rather than relying on tried and true methodologies of communication and influence, Paul proceeds from his weakness. In this way, Paul knows that people will not be being won over by his rhetorical skills or his winsome personality. They will not be wowed by Paul... instead they will have opportunity to see Christ... crucified! This central truth of the gospel transforms the meaning of everything for Paul. He wants it to transform the meaning of everything for you too!

  • Wisdom and Power (David Gore - 1 Cor 1:18-31)

    31/01/2017 Duración: 15min

    In recent days the wisdom of the wise seems to be failing. Those who we once assumed to be ‘in the know’ appear to have known less than we thought. Even when we know everything that we think we can know, there remains an inscrutability about the human heart that eludes the processes of our faculty for reason. In a cut-through move, the gospel offers the way of salvation that is beyond reason (one might say it is un-reason-able)! It turns the wisdom of the world on its head and calls us to follow Jesus in the way of the cross… a most unreasonable calling indeed! The salvation Jesus offers does not depend on your intellect or how you perceive your moral ‘rightness’. It simply invites you to put your trust in and follow him.

  • Foolishness OR power of God? (David Gore - 1 Cor 1:10-18)

    25/01/2017 Duración: 19min

    Paul's assertion (1 Cor 1:18) that the word of the cross is at the same time both foolishness AND power of God (depending on who is hearing it), highlights how different are the way of the world and the way of the kingdom. The world's interest in power (control) and the kingdom's interest in empowerment (life-giving) stand as sharply contrasting approaches with very different sets of values. The way you hear the 'word of the cross' depends on which values you value the most. What do you hear? Foolishness... or the power of God?

  • Fear, Violence and Salvation (David Gore - Matt 2:13-23)

    02/01/2017 Duración: 20min

    In this text we hear about the period just after Jesus’ birth (as recorded in Matthew’s gospel). It is a story of genocide and disruption, the likes of which most of us will never experience (thankfully)! The nature of the violence reported here is not new and it is not old. In fact, it has been fairly constantly present throughout human history. Jesus is born into the midst of humanity’s inhumanity to call us to the fullness of humanity as we look to him. For a better world, do life as he did life and treat others as he treated others… follow Jesus!

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