preview

Named and Claimed

Share to

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. 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. 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. 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. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. 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 – everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.’

More From 'Sermons'

There but by the grace of God go I

15 March, 2026 Pastor John Strelan

This [see image] is the checker shadow illusion designed by Professor of Neuroscience, Edward Adelson. When you look at the image which is the darker square on the checkerboard, is it A or B?

Well, as you may have guessed (even if your eyes are telling you something different), both squares are exactly the same shade. (Or perhaps you didn’t guess that?) In truth, neither is darker or lighter than the other.

Sometimes even our eyes blind us to reality.

~ Pastor John

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

View

Nothing in Common?

8 March, 2026 Pastor John Strelan

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

View

The Searcher

1 March, 2026 Pastor John Strelan

It’s all about data these days. Information. Back when I was a lad, data was measured in kilobytes. My friend’s Commodore 64 computer was so-named because it had 64 kilobytes of storage (ah, wasn’t life so much simpler in the ‘80s?) These days, with 500 million daily tweets on X, and 294 billion emails sent and 4 million gigabytes of daily Facebook data produced, the amount of information in the world is calculated to be 175 zettabytes (=175 trillion gigabytes). There is so much to know, it’s no wonder so many people are overwhelmed. We’re drowning in information.

The 4th century theologian, philosopher and pastor, Augustine of Hippo was no dummy. He produced a fair amount of information himself. But, in his Soliloquies, Augustine imagines God asking him what he wants to know. Augustine replies that he wants to know only two things: who he is and who God is. Everything else is relative to these two pieces of information.

Maybe he was on to something.

~ Pastor John

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

View