Words for the Way – “They will beat their swords into ploughshares…”

This Message was delivered live to the congregation of St Ninian’s Uniting Church, Lyneham – Canberra on Sunday 28 April 2024 Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 5:1-16 Blamey Barracks better known as ‘Kapooka’ is located about nine and a half kilo meters outside the south-western town of Wagga Wagga, where the Australian Army since 1942 has trained

Words for the Way- Exile

This sermon was preached live to the Congregation of St Ninian’s Uniting Church, Lyneham, ACT (Canberra) Psalm 137; 2 Timothy 1:1-14   Anyone who has had to emigrate may have some connection with Psalm 137.  For many decades our nation the Commonwealth of Australia, has welcomed many immigrants who have come here for reasons of refuge, safety,

Words for the Way – True wealth

Sunday 25th September 2022 Sermon preached live to the Congregation of St Ninian’s Uniting Church, Lyneham, ACT (Canberra) 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31 Grand and Wealthy City I once visited a very beautiful and wealthy city.  I will not name the city for such a city maybe any number of metropolises around the world all renown for

Words for the Way – Lost and Found

Pentecost 14, Sunday 11 September – Remebering St Ninian our Patron Saint Luke 15:1-10 As I was reflecting on our Gospel reading for this morning, and in consideration that we are observing and celebrating the ministry and life of our patron saint, St Ninian, I was seeking to find some connection between the two.  The wonderfully

Words for the way- The Place of Honour

Sunday 28th August 2022 Pentecost 12 Luke 14:1,7-14 A strange Army Tradition There is a long-standing tradition in the Australian Army which may surprise some.  The tradition has to do with meals, and who eats when.  The simple tradition is that on the operational battlefield, the officers eat last.  This tradition comes from the ideal that it is the

Words for the way – Wintness of Faith

Pentecost 10 Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Faith seeking a definition II Last week we examined the definition of ‘faith.’  You may recall that I gave you the following definition from the Oxford Dictionary: noun. /feɪθ/ /feɪθ trust in somebody’s ability or knowledge; trust that somebody/something will do what has been promised.[1] Our RCL[2] This week keeps us on the subject of

Words for th way – Faith

Sunday 7th August 2022 Pentecost 9 This sermon on was preached at St Ninian’s Uniting Church, Lyneham, ACT (Canberra) Genesis 15:1-6; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Faith seeking a definition This week I would seek to commence our reflection with a question.  What is ‘faith?’  The word faith is often used and thrown around in our day-to-day discourses, but what

Words for the way – Neighbours Sunday 10th July 2022 Pentecost 5 Luke 10:25-37 Neighbours – That TV Show Today the key question raised is: Who is my Neighbour?  Maybe if one was to ask someone from a popular culture sense, they may talk about the long running Australian soapie drama television programme, “Neighbours.”  For some the television

Words for the Way – Fruits of the Spirit

This Message was preached live to the Congregation of St Ninians Uniting Church, Lyneham, ACT. (Canberra) Galatians 5:1, 13-25 The lectionary[1] today takes us to a very interesting piece of Pauline literature, the letter to the Churches in Galatia or commonly known as simply ‘Galatians’.   Galatia was a Roman province in what today would be in modern-day

Words for the way – The Spirit of God Moves in wonderfully strange ways Sunday 5th June 2022 Pentecost This Message was preaced to a live Congregation at St Ninian’s Uniting Church, Lyneham, Australian Capital Territory (Canberra) Tribute to the Reverend Jack Sharp Early in my ministry, I had the great honour and privilege of having