The title ‘Supreme Leader’ is one commonly used to refer to the rulers of Iran and North Korea. These are rulers that demand and maintain absolute power and control by force, coercion, threat and violence which often leads to death. A synonym would be the title ‘Lord’. So, when the disciples say to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord” they are saying, “We have seen our Supreme Leader”. Thomas’s demand to see the nail marks on Jesus’ body as proof of who he is, really is a profound and insightful reflection on what kind of ruler Jesus is: a Supreme Leader who gives up absolute power and control and dies so that his people might have life. Thomas knows it’s the scars that prove it.
Supreme Leader is also a Korean restaurant on Unley Rd, but I don’t think that’s what the disciples were referring to.
~ Pastor John
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[see image above] Can you spot the differences? I hope there is one that you see straight away!
Now, if only it was that easy to tell the difference that Jesus’ resurrection makes in our world! It’s not always easy when we look around at what’s happening in the world. But, perhaps we need to look with more than just our eyes.
And, I wonder if anyone else notices a difference in us after we shout, “He is risen”?
~ Pastor John
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If you are unable to access spotify, 2026 sermon recordings can be found here
Pastor John's Good Friday message is now available to read & listen.
Click here for a link to our new spotify podcast containing the latest sermon recordings.
If you are unable to access spotify, 2026 sermon recordings can be found here
Pastor John's Maundy Thursday message is now available to read & listen.
Click here for a link to our new spotify podcast containing the latest sermon recordings.
If you are unable to access spotify, 2026 sermon recordings can be found here
Words of wisdom from children:
· Never trust a dog to watch your food.
· When your dad is angry and he asks you, “Do I look stupid?” don’t answer him.
· If you want a kitten start out asking for a horse.
· Never try to baptize a cat.
This Sunday we celebrate the day Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. He went into the temple and the children shouted ‘Hosanna’. He turned to the chief priests and scribes and asked, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”
This Sunday four young people will be confirmed. Come and hear their words of wisdom.
~ Pastor John
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If you are unable to access spotify, 2026 sermon recordings can be found here
I pulled a muscle in my shoulder on Monday night. At a swing dancing class of all places! (Don’t ask!) Don’t worry, it only hurts when I move. It wouldn’t have happened five years ago. Perhaps it’s a sign I’m getting older? Perhaps it’s a sign of my mortality?
Woah! Hold it right there! Did you see what I did just then? It seems quite a leap from an injured shoulder to dying! But, is it such a leap? Or is it that we don’t want to think about dying? Even when we are surrounded by death everyday. Even when we suffer from ‘little deaths’ all the time. You know those moments that suck a little bit of life out of you?
Our society’s way of dealing with death is to deny it (never mind the irony that we can’t get enough of death on our TV screens!) But, I wonder if by denying death we are missing out on a bit of life? Perhaps a lot of life?
And, I wonder if Jesus’ words to Martha might not be translated: ‘Those who believe in me, even though they are dying, are living’ (John 11:25)?
I wonder.
~ Pastor John
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This [see image] is the checker shadow illusion designed by Professor of Neuroscience, Edward Adelson. When you look at the image which is the darker square on the checkerboard, is it A or B?
Well, as you may have guessed (even if your eyes are telling you something different), both squares are exactly the same shade. (Or perhaps you didn’t guess that?) In truth, neither is darker or lighter than the other.
Sometimes even our eyes blind us to reality.
~ Pastor John
Click here for a link to our new spotify podcast containing the latest sermon recordings.
If you are unable to access spotify, 2026 sermon recordings can be found here
Click here for a link to our new spotify podcast containing the latest sermon recordings.
If you are unable to access spotify, 2026 sermon recordings can be found here
It’s all about data these days. Information. Back when I was a lad, data was measured in kilobytes. My friend’s Commodore 64 computer was so-named because it had 64 kilobytes of storage (ah, wasn’t life so much simpler in the ‘80s?) These days, with 500 million daily tweets on X, and 294 billion emails sent and 4 million gigabytes of daily Facebook data produced, the amount of information in the world is calculated to be 175 zettabytes (=175 trillion gigabytes). There is so much to know, it’s no wonder so many people are overwhelmed. We’re drowning in information.
The 4th century theologian, philosopher and pastor, Augustine of Hippo was no dummy. He produced a fair amount of information himself. But, in his Soliloquies, Augustine imagines God asking him what he wants to know. Augustine replies that he wants to know only two things: who he is and who God is. Everything else is relative to these two pieces of information.
Maybe he was on to something.
~ Pastor John
Click here for a link to our new spotify podcast containing the latest sermon recordings.
If you are unable to access spotify, 2026 sermon recordings can be found here