Church of All Nations

Delievered on Sunday 7 March, 2010
by Rev Dr John Evans

Isaiah 55:1-9
Psalm 63:1-8
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Luke 13:1-9

In baseball there is a rule that says that if the game is two thirds of the way through the 9 innings of a full game, and one team is 10 runs ahead of the other, the game is called off. The leading team is declared the victor. It is known as the mercy rule. One team is saved the ignominy of having to continue and complete the encounter when the victor is obviously apparent. The defeat and annihilation does not have to be so drawn out. Some grace is shown towards the vanquished in an obvious mismatch. I think we could come up with many other examples in sport where there could be a mercy rule applied. My football team would make it a habit of only playing three quarters and not a full game.

Mercy.

Mercy is a quality we …

Delivered by Rev Dr John Evans

on Sunday 21 February, 2010

Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13

Today we begin two journeys.

The first is our annual Lenten journey with Christ into his passion, death and then at Easter his resurrection. We are called again to reflect on what this means for us – who we are as his followers; what it means to be his church. This year however, we commence another journey – a journey to our congregation’s 150th anniversary - which we will celebrate just the Sunday after Easter on the 11th of April. On that journey, what have we learnt from the past that might guide us into the future?  Through this season of Lent we will refer to both of these journeys, and endeavour to draw inspiration for our life today from both God’s grace shown to us in Christ’s own journey to Jerusalem, and our journey as a congregation.

Our readings today, for this first Sunday of Lent, neatly set the scene and set some basic principles for this journey we will make together. To shortly state those conclusions: our history here in Carlton is important. God remains with us. We are not alone. However, …

Delivered24 January, 2010
By Rev Dr John Evans

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Luke 4:14-21

I believe on websites there are things called spoiler alerts. Warnings that you may not wish to proceed. You may hear information about a film, or program or a book, that you yourself may wish to see or read. Tody – the warning is you may be overjoyed, or greatly offended, certainly you have heard the bible passage before.
Last Sunday I opened up the issue of what it means to be the church in our sort of world; and in our sort of denomination. I suggested, following the lead of Walter Brueggemann, that we needed to be a community that developed an alternative consciousness to that of the dominant culture that is round about us. However, following the service, one of the comments that I received, and thank you always for comments (and note that you can actually put your comments on our website), is what would that all mean for us, here at the Church of All Nations. What would it mean for you personally, and for us as a comparatively small group of followers of Jesus, in the inner city of Melbourne. What would such …

Delivered 10 January 2010
by Rev Dr John Evans

Isaiah 43:1-7
Psalm 29
Acts 8:14-17
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

John the Baptist says: I will baptize you with water . .. he, Jesus, will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.”

Water – precious water. Oh how it has risen in our estimation of being important. Water these days is just constantly in the news. It is the emblematic aspect of climate change; the constant reminder things are different. We will have too much of it as the polar icecaps melt; we will not have enough of it as droughts ravage our sort of land. Just in recent times there have been the following water issues: the desalination plant – its expense, location and perhaps everything about it have been controversial. Then there is the north south pipeline which is the back up for Melbourne water supply, if the desalination plant is not built in time. Then there has been the controversy over the buy back of water rights.  All of this because we may not have enough water.  Remember when we used to be called the garden state! However, just to complicate things; there are floods in north western New South Wales. Once I think we took water …

Delivered by Rev Dr John A Evans

on Sunday 27th December, 2009

1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
Psalm 148
Luke 2:41-52

This is a good time of the year. There is space. The busyness of getting reading for Christmas and then celebrating Christmas is passed – and the urgency of the New Year has not begun. It is a delightful in-between time. An ideal time to reflect.

Our readings today also encourage us to reflect – and how we gather to worship, I trust also would encourage us to reflect.

In the gospel reading Jesus, as a twelve year old is left behind in Jerusalem after Passover. I don’t quite know how that would happen, but he is left behind. His frantic parents find him in the temple discussing matters with the elders. He then utters these words – “Why are you searching for me? Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?”

These are the first words recorded in all of scripture of Jesus speaking. Up until this point everything had all been about Jesus …