31st May 2020
This Day of Pentecost, which marks the event, recorded in Acts 2, when the ascended Lord Jesus poured out the promised Holy Spirit on his church. Jesus had said that it was better for his disciples that he should leave them physically, because he would send his Spirit to live in each one of us (John […]
24th May 2020
Today’s opening sentence is a reminder that God invites us to seek his face (Psalm 27:8). This is an invitation for real relationship, the openness of speaking face to face. It’s challenging to ask myself: do I really do this? If you want a metaphor for how we seek God, I think it is often […]
17th May 2020
Our opening sentence from Isaiah teaches that “God has set his people free”. The prophet was looking forward to a time when God would save his people from oppression. But the oppressor he had in mind was not just an earthly oppressor like the Egyptians, from whom God saved the ancient Israelites. This would be […]
10th May 2020
On this Mothers’ Day, we give special thanks to God for the mothers he has given to all of us to nurture and teach us how to live in his world, and we pray earnestly for God’s help to everyone undertaking the difficult and supremely important task of being a mother. One of the things […]
3rd May 2020
Like every Christian congregation around the world, we meet because God has reached out in love to a wayward world. Jesus said that he had come “to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). We often speak about a lost dog, a lost child or a lost mobile phone at times when we still hope […]
26th April 2020
This is the second Sunday after Easter, but also the day after Anzac Day. This year, we will be sadly missing the usual Anzac Day events, especially the Coogee Beach Anzac Day service, with which St Jude’s has a long association. Our service today will mark Anzac Day through the prayers and a reading from […]
19th April 2020
The Sunday after Easter is traditionally called Low Sunday, and the experts are not 100% sure why. Perhaps it’s an English form of an old medieval expression, or perhaps it’s simply because after the excitement of Easter, you might expect a few less people in church the following week! I hope that’s not the case, […]
12th April 2020
I trust you will be uplifted by our celebration of the defeat of death by our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the news that dispels all fear for those who trust in him, because if death cannot harm us, then what is there to fear? “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is […]
5th April 2020
Traditionally, on this significant day in the Christian calendar, the church is decked out with palm branches, and during the service, we all leave the safety of our pews to join in a procession around the church. I’ll be interested to hear if people have tried to re-create the Palm Sunday procession in their lounge […]
29th March 2020
Welcome to online church today. I have prayed that it will help you feel encouraged to hold on to Jesus Christ in these testing times. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). While our lives change rapidly (daily at the moment!), Jesus does not change, nor is he surprised at what […]