Sermons on Chuck Smith:

Jesus Is Coming! (A Sermon For Advent Sunday)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 4, 2007

It’s the season of goodwill, is it not? Well ... not according to the ecclesiastical calendar! In the church year we’ve just celebrated the first Sunday in Advent - a time ...

Happy New Year everybody! Yes, it’s the first day of the ecclesiastical new year - the first Sunday in Advent - and as you’ll see, everything is a bit different today. The colours are different, the hymns are different, and there’s a sense of festivity in the air … well, maybe not a sense of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:18-25, Luke 1:24-48

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Christ Is King! (John 18:33-37)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 4, 2007

A sermon for the last Sunday of the Church year - the feast of Christ the King ...

Welcome to the last Sunday of the Christian year - traditionally recognised as the feast of ‘Christ the King’. Next week is Advent - the start of a new Christian year, but this week we conclude the old ecclesiastical year with a proclamation of the kingship of Christ, and a call upon all of us to ...read more

Scripture: John 18:33-37, John 18:37

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Extreme Widows! (Mark 12:41-44)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 4, 2007

My focus here is on three widows - Ruth, her mother-in-law Naomi, and a nameless pensioner who puts all her livelihood into the offertory plate!

A priest by the name of Wes Seeliger was shopping for a motorcycle. The Harley-Davidson salesperson bragged ‘this machine will go from 0 to 150 in 20 seconds. It will hug the road at 150 km/h. It will outrun anything on wheels. What do you do for a living, sir.’ ‘I’m a priest’ Seeliger said. ‘It’s ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:41-44

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Are All Divorcees Adulterers? (Mark 10:11-12)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 4, 2007

"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

It seems like we’ve been covering most of my least favourite Bible passages of late, so perhaps I should have expected this one to come along - "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her”. Another winner! And what a good passage to have on the day of a baptism! ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:11-12

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Rugby, Reality & Religious Rivalry (Mark 9:31-34)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 4, 2007

You get the feeling with Jesus and the disciples that they’re never really on the same wavelength. Indeed, you get the feeling that if the group were there together at a fool...

Yesterday was a great day for this community. Yes, I’m talking about the Newtown-St George Rugby game at Telstra Stadium, where our team, trailing by 2 points with only five minutes to go, ran in two tries to win by ten and get themselves a spot in next week’s Premier League Grand Final. Being ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:31-34

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Jesus Needs A Break! (Mark 7:24-37)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 5, 2007

Jesus Needs a Break! Depictions of Christ suffering on the cross are common in Christian literature and iconography. Few though are the depictions of Jesus walking around..

Our Gospel reading this morning is from Mark chapter 7, where we come across a Jesus who is tired - tired, I think, to the point of exhaustion. This is not the sort of depiction of Jesus that is given much attention by the church. I’ve never seen a stained-glass window with an image of Jesus ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:24-37

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Jesus, The Bread Of Life (John 6:35, 41-51)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 5, 2007

It is not the wisdom. It is not the miracles. It is not the things about Christ that we need the most. It is Christ - God with us - His flesh, His blood - food and drink.

I don’t know what your week has been like, but I’ve had a week that has been full of typical priest-type things: visiting the sick and organising weddings, baptisms and funerals. Indeed, in the next few weeks we’ve got two baptism scheduled, there’s one wedding next Saturday, and tomorrow I have a ...read more

Scripture: John 6:35-51

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

The Death Of John The Baptist (Mark 6:14-29)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 5, 2007

The Death of John the Baptist. No doubt all of those who had thrown in their lot with John figured that their reform movement had just come to a grinding and bloody halt!

No doubt all of you are deeply concerned, as I am, about what could prove to be the beginnings of World War III breaking out this week in the Middle East. The Israeli army moved into Lebanon this week, ostensibly to take on Hezbollah militants operating from within Lebanon who apparently captured ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

The Road To Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 5, 2007

Emmaus Revisited ...

I’ve had some pretty intense pastoral encounters this past week. I think that’s the right term - ‘pastoral encounters’? I’m referring to those dialogues I have occasionally with people that are deep and spiritual, and I’ve had quite a number of them in this last week. And most of these intense ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:13-35

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Love One Another (John 15:9-17)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 5, 2007

Sermons by Father Dave BODY,P,A,TD,TH,UL,OL,LI,DL,DT,DD{font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,Helvetica color:black;}...

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you ... love one another.” I think it was Mark Twain that I first saw quoted, saying that it was ...read more

Scripture: John 15:9-17

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

He Is Risen Indeed! (John 20:1-18)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 6, 2007

He is Risen Indeed! (an Easter Sermon) ...

It is Easter Day, and here we gather, along with so many other people around the globe, to celebrate that fundamental event which gives birth to the Christian faith - namely, the resurrection of Jesus. I’ve been celebrating the resurrection of Jesus like this every year at this time for as long as ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-18

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Jesus Heals A Man With Who Won't Shut Up! (Mark 1:40-45)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 6, 2007

Jesus has the power to heal, but He doesn’t seem to have the power to keep this man quiet! Why don’t this former leper shut up, and why is Jesus so concerned to keep him...

"And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with compassion , he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

The Battle For The Vineyard (Matthew 21:33-40)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 6, 2007

Like so much of life, the parables of Jesus are often stories of violence. Here the violence is between a landlord and his tenants. ...

“We were told that this [operation] was against armed people and against people climbing on our armed vehicles. Our APCs (armed personnel carriers) were cruising 24 hours a day close to buildings (in Jenin), waiting for kids to climb on them, trying to dislodge the top -mounted MG (machine gun) and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:33-40

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Ripped Off By God? (Matthew 20:1-16)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 6, 2007

Sermons by Father Dave ...

I’m really sorry Kon isn’t here. Kon is my best mate, and was my trainer and corner-man for all my fights, and it’s not that I need him here ‘in my corner’ when I’m preaching. It’s because when I first met him, he said to me, “Dave, I’ve read the Bible, and what about that guy who hires some ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

How To Waste Your Time Looking For Lost Sheep! (Matthew 18:10-17)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 6, 2007

Why waste time with negative pepole who are never going to make much progress? Because we follow a shepherd who will leave the ninety-nine grazing to pursue one lost sheep....

One of the things I hear a lot in the business world is that if you want to be successful, you need to hang around successful people. I don’t know if you’ve heard of the concept of the ‘Mastermind Group’, but I’ve been encouraged repeatedly, over recent years, to join one. The concept of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:10-17

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican