Sermons at St. Johns . . .

This page contains the most recent sermons.
Not all sermons preached at St John's are published.

For recent sermons look on this page: for older sermons, click on the Archive links below:

SERMON ARCHIVE 1 - April 2001 to September 2001

SERMON ARCHIVE 2 - October 2001 to April 2002

SERMON ARCHIVE 3 - May 2002 to May 2003


All Sermons are published by permission of the Author. © The Author retains full Copyright.

Crucifix above the Pulpit
Crucifix above the Pulpit

9 Pentecost 2008
Rev'd. Dr. Brian Porter
(13th July 2008 - 8.00 & 10.00am Eucharist)


"Dover Beach"

". . . There is much to be anxious about at the moment in the world and in the church. . . ."

Full sermon   

4 Pentecost 2008
Rev'd. Dr. Brian Porter
(8th June 2008 - 8.00 & 10.00am Eucharist)


"Theodicy"

". . . How can we go on believing in a God of love in the face of manifold evil, undeserved suffering, typhoons and earthquakes, cancers and accidents, incestuous monsters and child abusers?. . . ."

Full sermon   

2 Pentecost 2008 - Patronal Festival
Dr. Muriel Porter
(25th May 2008 - 8.00 & 10.00am Eucharist)


"STOP WORRYING"

". . . What is a “scandalous theology of ministry”, however, is a theology that bars people from ministry because of their gender, or colour or race. Substitute the word “black” for “woman”, and you see what I mean. . . ."

Full sermon   

7 Lent 2008 - Patronal Festival
Rt. Rev'd Graeme Rutherford - Assistant Bishop of Newcastle
(4th May 2008 10.00am Eucharist)


"THE FUTURE OF MAINLINE CHURCHES "

". . .Optimism and pessimism point to opinions based on inner psychological dispositions and are really beside the point. . . ."

Full sermon   

6 Lent 2008
Rt. Rev'd Gerald Beaumont
(27th April 2008 - 8.00am and 10.00am Eucharist)


"The Call to Discipleship"

". . .No one of us is exempted from the call to discipleship, and the responsibility of those who are called to be apostles, the sent-out-ones of Christ. . . ."

Full sermon   

1 Lent 2008
Rt. Rev'd Gerald Beaumont
(10th February 2008 - 8.00am and 10.00am Eucharist)


"Lenten Reflection on Apology"

". . .As our Government prepares to issue the apology, that so many people, white and black, have longed to hear, we need to consider what this might mean for us as both a community of Christians, and also as individuals. . ."

Full sermon   

Advent 2 2007
Rev'd Dr. Brian Porter
(9 December 2007 - 8.00am and 10.00am Eucharist)


"JOHN THE BAPTIST AND THE COMING OF JESUS"

". . . "Think on these things as you get ready for Christ to Advent in you?. . ."

Full sermon   

17 Pentecost 2007
Rt. Rev'd Gerald Beaumont
(23 September 2007 - 8.00am and 10.00am Eucharist)


"The Agenda of God"

". . . "It is vital for our spiritual health, and for the cause of peace in our world, that we take up, over and over again, the Agenda of God, and do so in a way that is both faithful to the Scriptures, and which is also close to our hearts.. . ."

Full sermon   

15 Pentecost 2007
Rev. Canon Dr. Stephen Ames
(9 September 2007 - 8.00am and 10.00am Eucharist)


"Science and Religion"

". . . "I should say that I am not here at this Eucharist to give a lecture but to preach the gospel.. . ."

Full sermon   

11 Pentecost 2007
Rt. Rev'd Gerald Beaumont
(12 August 2007 - 8.00am and 10.00am Eucharist)


"The Kingdom of God!"

". . . "We live in a world that is both rich with images, and also corrupted by them. . ."

Full sermon   

Pentecost 2007
Rev'd Dr. Brian Porter
(27 May 2007 - 8.00am and 10.00am Eucharist)


"Enlighten with celestial fire"

". . . "What about those nine fruits of the Spirit in your life?. . ."

Full sermon   

Pentecost 7 2006
Rev'd Dr. Brian Porter
(23 July 2006 - 8.00am and 10.00am Eucharist)


"CHRIST’S COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS"

". . .We would be hard-hearted indeed if our hearts did not bleed this morning for Lebanon and the whole Middle East. . ."

Full sermon   

Patronal Festival 2006
Fr. Roger Sharr


On Wisdom

". . . your patron is irrevocably linked with the Gospel that bears his name, a work of poetic and structural genius and, more importantly, the most Catholic of all the Gospel records. . . ."

Full sermon   

2 Pentecost 2006
Fr. Nigel Wright


Thy Kingdom Come

". . . Dominion and reign speak more to the heart, perhaps to the inner motivations and hidden actions of the righteous than about the panoply of state. . . . ."

Full sermon   

Easter 2006
Rt. Rev'd Gerald Beaumont


The women of Jesus.

". . . That redeeming, hope-filled, breath-of-a-name, energises and certifies a great wonder which sits at the heart of our faith as Christians. . . ."

Full sermon   

Good Friday 2006
Rt. Rev'd Gerald Beaumont


Ascending the cross and feeling the pain of the victim.

". . . This Celebration of Good Friday re-presents the truth of that reflection, resolved in the action of Jesus. . . ."

Full sermon   

11:30pm Christmas Eve Service 2005
Rt. Rev'd Gerald Beaumont


The Christ-child of Bethlehem

". . . A Jesus confined in this way could only be, at best, of limited value in the breadth of my life concerns. . . ."

Full sermon   

Pentecost 5 2005
Rev'd Roger Sharr
(19th June 2005 - 8.00am and 10.00am Eucharist)


"Finding by Losing"

". . . This side of Jesus never appears in the Hillsong versions of Christianity, and neither does it emerge frequently on the business papers of Anglican synods.. . ."

Full sermon   

The Feast of MARY MAGDALENE 2004
A Personal Reflection given by
Dr. Muriel Porter OAM at the 8am Mass on
22nd July 2004


"Mary Magdalene - Saint or highly immoral woman"

". . . St Augustine identified her as 'the apostle to the apostles'. . . ."

Reflection in full   

Pentecost 24 2004
Rev'd Dr. Brian Porter
(14th November 2004 - 8.00am and 10.00am Eucharist)


"Don't Panic! Don't Panic!"

". . . "After all it took nineteen hundred years for slavery to be abolished and two thousand years for the equality of women in ministry to be recognised.. . ."

Full sermon   

The Feast of MARY MAGDALENE 2004
A Personal Reflection given by
Dr. Muriel Porter OAM at the 8am Mass on
22nd July 2004


"Mary Magdalene - Saint or highly immoral woman"

". . . St Augustine identified her as 'the apostle to the apostles'. . . ."

Reflection in full   

Pentecost 6 2004
Rev'd Dr. Brian Porter
(11th July 2004 - 8.00am and 10.00am Eucharist)


"The Good Samaritan."

". . . ‘I have been ordained for 36 years and have probably preached 36 sermons on the parable of the Good Samaritan. . . ."

Full sermon   

Easter 7 2004
Rev'd Dr. Brian Porter
(23rd May 2004 - 8.00am and 10.00am Eucharist)


"That they may all be one."

". . . ‘Reconciled trust’, now there’s a challenge. . . ."

Full sermon   

Easter 3 (ANZAC DAY) 2004
Rt. Rev'd Gerald Beaumont
(26th April 2004 - 8.00am and 10.00am Eucharist)


What would you die for?

". . . A question often found in the trivial exchange of mundane delights, but not on this day! . . ."

Full sermon    MS Word format   

Good Friday 2004
Rt. Rev'd Gerald Beaumont
(9th April 2004 - 9.30am Liturgy)


The Cross As Contradiction?

". . . To reflect the glory of the sun; to make the soiled, clean; to whiten the sepulchre; to identify the "King of the Jews", words slashed on a board. The letters of contradiction. . . ."

Full sermon    MS Word format   

Midnight Mass Christmas Eve 2003
Rev'd Gregory Seach
(24th December 2003 - 11.30pm Christmas Eve)


The true "Good news" of Christmas.

". . . The events of this year, as in so many other years throughout human history, make the words we sing in carols, and hear in the Christmas story, sound rather like some kind of sick joke, don't they? . . ."

Full sermon    MS Word format   

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost 2003
Rev'd Dr Andrew McGowan
(12th October 2003 - 8.00 and 10.00am)

Rev'd Dr Andrew McGowan has recently returned to Australia from his position as Associate Professor of early Christian History at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge Massachusetts to take up the position of Director of Trinity College Theological School.

Seeking after God

". . . There is nothing holy or good about violence and suffering, neither in Job's loathsome sores nor an exploding nightclub, nor a cross.. . ."

Full sermon   

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost 2003
Rev'd Gregory Seach
(7th September 2003 - 8.00 and 10.00am)


Our image of Christ

". . . God's love, as embodied and displayed in Jesus, is utterly inclusive. . ."

Full sermon    MS Word format   

FEAST OF ST BARTHOLOMEW 2003
Rev'd Gregory Seach
(24th August 2003 - 8.00 and 10.00am)


What does the story of this Saint Bartholomew say to us?

". . . And that's why the church has always commemorated the apostles, saints and martyrs - because as we reflect honestly and fully on them, on what they did and said, we see that, in spite of their failings and weaknesses, in spite of their very real humanity, they are great heroes of our faith because of what the God who chose them accomplished through them.. . ."

Full sermon    MS Word format   

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost 2003
Sharyn Volk
(20th July 2003 - 8.00 and 10.00am)


Reaching out and taking risks

". . . What is the perception of the residents of the City of Boroondara of the Anglican Church as an organisation? . . ."

Full sermon    MS Word format   

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost 2003
Rev'd Gregory Seach
(6th July 2003 - 8.00 and 10.00am)


Understanding dissent.

". . . You see, when we know the context in which it was written, we can begin to understand what this very difficult and complex text is saying.. . ."

Full sermon    MS Word format   

St Peter's Day 2003
Dr Muriel Porter OAM
(29th June 2003 - 8.00 and 10.00am)


"Do you love me?"

". . . Two thousand years of church history demonstrate just how difficult it is for those who profess to love Jesus to love one another! . . ."

Full sermon    MS Word format   

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All Sermons on this site are published by permission of the Author. © The Authors retain full Copyright.