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Named and Claimed

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12 January, 2025Pastor John Strelan

Juliet:

O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? . . . ‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy; thou art thyself, though not a Montague.

What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name!

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

“That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. There’s truth there, isn’t there? But,not the whole truth. If only it were that simple, Juliet! What’s in a name? Lots! For us human beings our names are primarily about relationship. They are part of the complex web of interactions that make us who we are . . . not objects, but living, breathing, hoping, hurting, thinking, feeling beings. Names are about identity. (Now, that’s a trendy word: identity.) And, identity is much about who does the naming.

So, I wonder, who are you?

 

Isaiah 43:1-7

43 But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. 4 Since you are precious and honoured in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. 5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. 6 I will say to the north, “Give them up!” and to the south, “Do not hold them back.” Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth – 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.’

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20 September, 2026 Pastor John Strelan

A one hit wonder.

That’s what we call an artist whose star flamed brightly for a brief moment and then lapsed into obscurity. One such artist is Joan Osborne. Back in 1995 she had a massive hit song (#1 in Australia, #4 in America) titled ‘One of Us’. It’s got a crunchy little distorted guitar riff and some pretty ordinary rhymes, but not the usual lyrics for a hit pop song. Osbourne sings:

What if God was one of us

Just a slob like one of us

Just a stranger on the bus

Trying to make his way home?

That’s not a bad question, even for Lutherans who believe that God was one of us. But, how much humanness will we allow God to have? Will we allow God to be ‘a slob like one of us’? Or, would we rather keep him at arm’s length, safe in heaven?

This is one hit that makes me wonder.

Click here for a link to our new spotify podcast containing the latest sermon recordings.

If you are unable to access spotify, 2026 sermon recordings can be found here

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13 September, 2026 Pastor John Strelan

Fishermen are generally considered masters of the tall story. The ‘one that got away’ is always the biggest fish they might have caught. Perhaps Jesus’ rubbing shoulders with too many fishermen meant their tale tales rubbed off on him as he told the story of a king who wished to settle his accounts. One of the king’s slaves owed him 10,000 talents. Now, just one talent was worth more than 15 years’ wages of a labourer! My maths was never any good, but by my calculations that slave would have to work for 150,000 years to pay off the debt! Now what kind of God king would be kind crazy enough to allow someone to get into that kind of debt in the first place? And, what kind of God king would be kind crazy enough to cancel that sort of debt?

Ha! Good one, Jesus.

Please note there is currently no audio recording of this week's sermon available. However, click here for a link to listen to all our previous sermons from this year over on our spotify podcast "Sermons @ St J's". If you are unable to access spotify, 2026 sermon recordings can be found here

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