Category Archives: Sermons

Lessons from Jesus’ Baptism and a New Community

This is a sermon I preached at our small faith community, ‘We Are Church’ in Johannesburg, on 9 October 2022.

There are lessons from Jesus’ Baptism, as recorded in Mark 1 for churches. We need to heed these lessons of new beginnings, of not getting stuck in church structures, of not being stuck in Empire thinking, of not getting stuck in creating exclusive and excluding communities.

There are lessons here about God’s love for us all, about God’s image being in all of us, about God’s invitation to be part of new faith communities.

I was as sick as a dog as I was preaching this, so there’s not much energy or outward passion. But this sermon came from the depths of my soul. It is what I believe most deeply.

Watch it here:

Sermon: The Bible and LGBTQI inclusion and affirmation

This blog hasn’t been active for the last two years. Covid has taken my focus from these theological issues to practical, local community action. But my passion for building inclusive and affirming communities of faith remains unwavering.

My wife, Jane, is heading up a small faith community in Johannesburg, South Africa, that we have called “We Are Church”. It’s independent and informal at the moment, but we will see how things progress. I have been asked to summarise my views on LGBTQI inclusion and affirmation for this group, and will share the videos of these meetings here.

The first of these videos is entitled:
The Bible and LGBTQI inclusion and affirmation

It is a summary of the work you’ll find at this blog in my special series on how we interpret the seven verses in the Bible that appear to oppose LGBTQI people.

I become more and more convinced that we have been wrong in our historic interpretations of the Bible, and this approach I suggest is a significant improvement in our understanding of God’s Word.

SERMON: Resurrection, Sabbath and Exodus (in a time of Covid-19)

It was my turn to preach at our church this morning. My sermon is about Ressurection, Sabbath and Exodus, and can be watched at https://www.facebook.com/MelroseChurchJhbZA/posts/153826419456676

I talked about how the Resurrection of Jesus is deliberately linked back to two big themes in the Old Testament:

1. the Creation Sabbath, which reminds us that the world is meant to be a place where we all have work and rest in a natural rhythm, and

2. the Exodus Passover, which reminds us that we are not meant to be in slavery to our work.

Jesus did not come to merely save us from this world and give us a hope of life after death, he came to save us from incorrect and oppressive systems in this world. Maybe Covid-19 is the reset the world needed to move us towards this picture of what the world is meant to be.

ALLin Podcast Episode 12: A Community of Radical Inclusion

A Community of Radical Inclusion is a sermon preached by Graeme Codrington at the Melrose Campus of Gracepoint Methodist church in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2016. It lays out both a Biblical and historical case for including LGBTQI in our churches, and affirming them as made in God’s image. 

Resources:

Richard Rohr on Gender and Sexuality

In his regular blog this past week, Christian author, theologian and pastor, shared the following reflection on his preparations for a sermon on The Wedding at Cana. Richard sends out a daily email with his Meditations – sign up for that here.

Read his reflections on his website, or an extract below:

Gender and Sexuality

The Wedding at Cana
Friday, October 25, 2019

Today, openly queer Episcopal priest Elizabeth Edman shares about the first time she preached on the Gospel passage about the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11). Her use of the word “queer” as a verb may be off-putting or confusing to some, but if you are familiar with Jesus’ first miracle, the context of the story will help you understand what she means.

Continue reading Richard Rohr on Gender and Sexuality

Sermon: Jesus calls us to love the outsiders

I preached this sermon on 22 January 2017, as part of a series called Jesus Encounter. Jesus calls us to love, unconditionally and extravagantly. He specifically calls us to love those who outside our circles.

Jesus calls

AUDIO: https://www.futurechurchnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Sermon-Jesus-calls-lq.mp3

My sermon notes:

Jesus Encounter series start

Jesus Encounter series – until Easter

The stories recorded in the Gospels and Acts are not merely stories of what happened to a few people 2000 years ago – not just historical record. They were carefully selected in order to show us patterns, and help us understand how WE can encounter Jesus even today. As we read the Gospels and Acts we should be alert for those patterns in the stories, and look carefully for clues and instructions on how we can encounter Jesus and live Christ-like lives today.

PRAY

Continue reading Sermon: Jesus calls us to love the outsiders