Reflections from the belly
As our faith matures, some things will be burned away. (Listen here.)
It was my first Sunday at Manningham Uniting Church. After the service, a person came up to me looking rather anxious. ‘I understand you’re a Baptist,’ they said. I confirmed that this is indeed the case. ‘Well,’ they said, ‘it may interest you to know that some people here believe in science.’ I suddenly realised why they looked so worried.
Continue reading “Matthew | On Baptists, snakes and holy fire”
A reflection on baptism, shared with Coburg Uniting Church. (Listen to a really terrible recording here.)
I am a Baptist, which means I have a hearty appreciation for believers baptism. So hearty, that I was 25 before I felt remotely ready to take the plunge. Given many of you were christened as infants and confirmed as tweens, I’d feel slightly embarrassed telling you how old I was, except that Jesus was thought to be about 30 when he turned up on the banks of the Jordan.
Continue reading “Luke | In the midst of life”
Let the little children come to me … (Mark 10:14)
Just under a year ago, we welcomed a baby to her first service and gave thanks for her safe arrival. Now her parents are ready to dedicate her, which we will do at her birthday this weekend. For those of you from non-Baptist backgrounds, it may look a little different to what you are used to: there is no water, and she will not be christened. So what, then, are we doing? Continue reading “Infant dedication, Baptist style”
John the Baptizer has strong words for religious leaders; but, in the kingdom of heaven, even the most vulnerable person need not be afraid. (Listen.)
Sin. For many of us it’s a dirty word. Because many of us are recovering Christians. We are recovering from churches which preached judgement and condemnation, triggering fear and shame. We are recovering from feeling manipulated; we are recovering from the threat of hell; we are recovering from bad theology. We are recovering from mincing moralism which taught us to be afraid of our own desires. We are recovering from abusive shepherds and church leaders who stole our innocence away. We are recovering from all the ways the word ‘sin’ has been wielded like a weapon, to make us compliant and afraid. And yet, we are here. Continue reading “Matthew | Like an arsonist”
The baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch points to a faith which is radically accepting and inclusive. (Listen.)
The Ethiopian eunuch is cut off in every way. A precious part of him has been sliced off, and this loss defines him: for we do not even know his name. Instead, we only know that he’s a eunuch. And as a eunuch, he has been cut off from having children, and from establishing a family line.
A quiet bend in the river has been chosen, complete with resident platypus, a Bible has been ordered, a wetsuit has been arranged: all because a young person in our midst has responded to God’s call on her life and is ready to be baptised. And so, in a few weeks, we will do one of the most exciting things a church can do: hear her vows, and baptise her into the body of Christ.
Repentance is about changing your mind, and accepting the freedom which this new perspective brings. (Listen.)
Once upon a time, long long ago, I had a great-uncle who was slightly mad. He used to parade up and down a major traffic bridge wearing a sandwich board; on it, large letters proclaimed, ‘Repent!’ I don’t know about you, but this sort of thing makes me twitchy. It’s like the time I was sitting in a tram quietly minding my own business, when a bloke I knew to be an intermittently violent psychiatric patient loomed over me and aggressively demanded, ‘Have you been saved?’ To which I replied, ‘Yes, of course,’ and immediately scrambled past him and shot off the tram.
Continue reading “Mark | Change your thinking, claim your life”
Listen here.
Baptism. It’s something John offered, and something Jesus underwent, and something his disciples are told to do. It’s got something to do with water and washing and sin: but what is it, actually? What are we doing, what are we declaring, who are we becoming when we are baptised? What does it all mean? Tonight’s story offers a few clues, but to explore the depths, we’ll first need to zoom out a little. Continue reading “Luke | Let’s make a splash!”
Alison and the whale 