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Resurrection Blues

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16 February, 2025Pastor John Strelan

Now that my youngest son has his licence he is regularly using my car to get around. Whenever I get in the car after he has driven it there are two things I always have to adjust. First, I move the seat forward because his legs are much longer than mine. Second, I switch the radio over from the Bluetooth setting (he streams his favourite music from his phone) back to ABC Classic FM. Well, the playlist may be different but we both have a soundtrack that gets us moving.

Do you have a soundtrack that gets you out of bed in the morning, that gets you going for the day, that keeps you going? I hope so. Actually, I hope that soundtrack is ‘hope’. Without hope life stops. I’ve always found the best place to find hope is in the music of the gospel. That’s ‘gospel’ as in the good news that Jesus is risen from the grave, death is no longer a full stop to life, there is always more to come.

If you haven’t tuned into that station for a while, I recommend having a listen. How about today?

 

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

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One of Us?

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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There's No Accounting for Sinners

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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Is love invigorating or exhausting? Maybe it just depends on where you are at that time and moment.

Love to those around us takes all kinds of forms. Our experience and expectations depend on our circumstances: a fancy date is very different to caring for a sick child. How does making room to let someone into busy traffic compare to sharing a timely cup of tea and conversation. Donating time or money to support a good cause is a different experience of love again. These all ask something different of us and in turn, affect us in various ways.

How should we view acts of love considering the teaching and life of Jesus and Paul? How is our experience of love more than merely "fulfilling requirements" and how does being in Christ make that possible?

~ Tim Foulkes

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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