Earlier this week Pastor Ezra Jin, the leader of one of the largest underground churches in China was released by authorities after spending 266 days in prison. Pastor Jin founded Zion Church in 2007 with 20 members. In 20 years it has grown into a network of 10,000 members across 40 cities. However, many other pastors and other Christians remain imprisoned.
But, despite decades of restrictions, suppression and persecution, the number of Christians in China continues to grow, with numbers currently estimated to be 100 million.
All because a sower went out to sow.
~ Pastor John
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Last Tuesday ‘A Current Affair’ aired a segment that was meant to challenge unrealistic beauty standards. The reporter presenting the program chose not to wear any of the usual make-up a TV presenter would wear. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, she received many on-line responses commenting negatively on her appearance. It seems in this social media driven world anyone with a keyboard thinks they have a God-given right to comment, critique, criticize and condemn. I’m told Lutherans are not immune from this sort of behaviour! It’s all too easy to criticize others, especially anonymously on-line, but I wonder how we would fare if God would critique us? After all, if anyone has a right to do that, it’s God!
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The Law of Inertia, also known as Newton’s First Law of Motion, states that an object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an external force. Inertia is the inherent property of any physical object to resist changes to its current state of motion. So, if an object is sitting still, it wants to stay sitting still; if it is already moving it wants to keep moving.
Makes me wonder whether, when it comes to the mission of the church, we have a tendency to overcomplicate things. Perhaps it’s just a matter of showing up?
~ Pastor John Strelan
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When you look in the mirror do you like what you see? I suspect not. I say that purely based on statistics, not because I know you well enough to make that judgment. You see Australians spend over $25 billion dollars on beauty products every year! Then we spend another $25 billion per year on clothes! In fact, Australians buy more clothes per person than anyone else in the world! And, every year, 200,000 tonnes of the clothing we buy ends up in landfill!
And, in the end, despite all the skin products we apply and all the fashion items we adorn ourselves with we too eventually return to dust. So maybe there is something more important than what we see in the mirror? Maybe there’s something more important than what we think of ourselves? Maybe there’s something more important than what others think of us? And maybe that something is more than skin deep?
~ Pastor John Strelan
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John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
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Two pairs of glasses:
Weak, suffering, ungodly, sinful, enemies = Despised.
Weak, suffering, ungodly, sinful, enemies = Loved.
Which pair of glasses do you think God wears?
~ Pastor John Strelan
Please note this sermon does not include recorded audio. It is written only. To listen to all other sermons from 2026, click here. If you are unable to access spotify, 2026 sermon recordings can be found here
Last week I had surgery to remove a cataract in my right eye. A cataract is when the normally clear lens in the eye becomes cloudy. Often this happens so gradually that people don’t notice the deterioration until it’s really bad. They may not even know they have a vision problem until diagnosed by a professional! But, once the lens is replaced they are amazed at what they can see.
The text from Matthew’s Gospel this week acts as a kind of spiritual ophthalmologist for us, diagnosing, treating and repairing our vision impairments.
Thankfully, my cataract surgery went well, and while I wasn’t ‘amazed’ by what I could see afterwards, I can certainly see more clearly. As you come on Sunday for your appointment with the Great Physician, may it be so for you too.
~ Pastor John Strelan
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Have you ever stood and looked at the sky (day or night) and considered how small and insignificant you are in comparison? This week, we join the Psalmist in considering exactly that notion, and maybe even join in with the “Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth” that bookends Psalm 8.
~ Pastor Tim Stringer
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Pentecost. The birthday of the church. A celebration. Signs and wonders. A sound like the rush of a violent wind. Tongues of fire. The miraculous ability to speak other languages. The Holy Spirit poured out. Three thousand people baptized! Wow! Just wow! No wonder all the people were amazed and perplexed. No wonder they ask: “What does this mean?”
Good question! What does this mean? What does it mean for us today?
I think it means we’ve got a problem.
~ Pastor John
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If you are unable to access spotify, 2026 sermon recordings can be found here