Tag: gospel of mark

Call and be called

by Ben Clapton, posted in blog, faith, Sermons

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Call and Be Called, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday October 28, 2018. The Reading was Mark 10:46-52

Places of welcome

Last week, Liesl and I ran off at the end of the service. So I apologise to anyone who wanted to speak to us, but we weren’t available. Remember, you can always pop in and see us during the week, or call us and we’d be more than happy to come round and have a chat, if that’s what you need. But I wanted to share with you a couple of experiences that I’ve had this week.

As you know, our wonderful Davey has been diagnosed with Autism. And because of the way that his brain is wired, it means that we often don’t go out. We’ve got a few places that we’re familiar with – the playgroup at Nanneela, Gravity Shack at Echuca, Mainly Music, Church, etc. But taking Davey to somewhere new is often really difficult. On our holidays just recently, there were some Sunday’s where we didn’t go to Church, because going to a place where we have this unstated expectation that he sit down, be quiet, and not noticed is just sometimes too much for us. We end up stressing over what he might do next, that we don’t end up getting anything out of the service. And so there were some weeks where we just stayed home, or only one of us went, because it was better for our soul to do it that way.

Continue reading “Call and be called” →

Who is Jesus?

by Ben Clapton, posted in Uncategorized

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, A Most Unlikely Hero, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday June 24 2018. The Reading was Mark 4:35-41.

Expect the unexpected

I know that there might be a bit of a feeling that Liesl and I preach very differently. That when I’m preaching, you will get a bit more of a standard sermon, that hopefully teaches, inspires and puts a new spin on the reading for you. Where as Liesl…. Well, anything can be expected. You might even expect the unexpected. And that’s ok, we need both, and I know Liesl and I are both glad we don’t preach exactly like the other, because my style will connect with some better than hers, and she will connect better with others. So if you’re one who connects more with Liesl’s preaching, I apologise but you have me again. I’ll try not to put you to sleep.

One of the shows that I watched a lot of in my teenage and early adult years was Monty Python’s Flying Circus. I loved the weird, British humour, and the older I’ve become, the more I appreciate what they were doing through their skits. One of the skits I remember well was the Spanish Inquisition. Now I bet you didn’t expect me to bring up the Spanish Inquisition.

Continue reading “Who is Jesus?” →

The Kingdom of God is like a Seed

by Ben Clapton, posted in Uncategorized

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, The Kingdom of God is like a Seed, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday June 17, 2018. The Reading was Mark 4:26-34.

Context is King

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “Context is King” – it’s this idea that without knowing the context surrounding a passage, you aren’t fully understanding what is happening.

As you all know, I love Star Trek. I recently finished re-watching The Original Series on Netflix. And one of the things that I love about Star Trek, and Sci-Fi in general, is that it reflects the current day issues in a futuristic context. Without understanding the context that the sci-fi was written in, you’re not fully understanding the meaning.

For example, watching The Original Series today with modern eyes is slightly jarring. The role of women in the series is often portrayed as helpless, or as administrative assistants, which did reflect the role of women in the 60’s when the show was produced. While the men wore a uniform fit for work and battle, the women were often in very short skirts. If it was made like this today, it would be decried as out of date and out of touch. Continue reading “The Kingdom of God is like a Seed” →

Sabbath Living

by Ben Clapton, posted in Uncategorized

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Sabbath Living, was given at The Salvation Army Rochester on Sunday June 6, 2018. The Reading was Mark 2:23-3:6.

Improving on what God has made

We have to admit that God is pretty clever. Humans have been trying to emulate God for years, but there are not many things that we have improved upon what God has made. We have tried making humans – both through cloning and through robotics, but both have presented us with either ethical or technological problems that we just can’t solve. We have tried creating new ways at creating plants, and light, and all sorts of other things. But they all result in more problems. Even something that I might be willing to admit that we did better than God – the Tablet… still has it’s issues. I don’t think that Moses ever had issues with the ten commandments freezing, or getting addicted to playing Candy Crush on the stone tablets. He did break his stone tablets though, so maybe ours are still just as fragile.

But there is one thing that we have improved upon what God created. Continue reading “Sabbath Living” →

End times?

by Ben Clapton, posted in blog, Sermons

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Worship as Lifestyle, was given at The Salvation Army Devonport on Sunday 15 November, 2015. The Reading was Mark 13:1-13.

end-is-nearHear Ye! Hear Ye! The End is near! War is upon us! Syria is rising up against the world! Russia and the United States are arguing. Israel and Palestine! Earthquakes all over the world. Famines through Africa. A shortage of Baby Formula in China. Donald Trump being an US Presidential Candidate. Starbucks not putting Merry Christmas on their coffee cups. Bunnings rising up next to K&D. These are the end times people! Jesus is coming! Look Busy!

As the human race, we seem to have an addiction to wanting to know when the end of the world will happen. The Great Fount of All Knowledge, Wikipedia, lists 168 Apocalyptic predictions, dates when various people have predicted the end of the world would happen. There are also 13 future estimates currently listed, including three scientific predictions over when the earth will no longer be habitable.

Some of these predictions, we seem to laugh at – such as Harold Camping, who had six attempts at predicting the end of the world. But others are from people that we respect, such as Sir Isaac Newton, John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church from where The Salvation Army traces its lineage, and Martin Luther, the man who started the Reformation.

We want to know. We want to see Jesus. We want to know how much time we have left. We want to know whether it’s worth us doing the washing, or whether we’ll have enough clean pants to see us through… Continue reading “End times?” →

The Jesus Creed

by Ben Clapton, posted in blog, Sermons

As has been my tradition, every sermon that I preach will be posted here. This sermon, Jesus Creed was given at Fusion Youth Service at Waverley Salvation Army on Sunday 3 November, 2013. The Bible reading was Mark 12:28-34. 

“Which is the greatest?” It’s a question that is very common, to find out where you stand on certain important issues. Who was the greatest batsman? Well, you’ve got to go with the Don, but if you take him out, who was the greatest modern day batsman? Do you go with Ponting, or Tendulkar? Or who was the greatest Bond? Do you go Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, maybe Daniel Craig, or perhaps Linda? This question of the greatest goes a long way in telling us what the priorities of a person are, and whether they align with our own. Continue reading “The Jesus Creed” →