Sermons with Graham Joseph Hill

Can you outrun God? Jonah tried. Preaching from the whole book of Jonah, Graham Joseph Hill reads the runaway prophet as a mirror for every disciple, because Jonah is really about the call to follow God and our stubborn ways of fleeing it. God says go to Nineveh, and Jonah books passage to Tarshish, the idealised escape of the ancient imagination. Graham shows how the lure to flee God’s presence lives in all of us, especially after we’ve heard his Word, and how the storm strips away the money and self-will we hide behind until who we are before God is all that’s left. Here’s the good news running through it: you can’t escape God’s call, and he’s with you even when life feels out of control. The God who pursued Jonah is pursuing you, and he’s ready to transform your heart.

In today's sermon, Graham explores the themes in Eugene Peterson's book "Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration in Vocational Holiness." In this book Peterson clarifies the pastoral vocation by turning to the book of Jonah, in which he finds a captivating, subversive story that can help pastors recover their "vocational holiness". Peterson probes the spiritual dimensions of the pastoral calling and seeks to reclaim the ground taken over by those who are trying to enlist pastors in religious careers.

Graham works through the chapters and themes of Jonah following Eugene Peterson's insights and themes, especially as they apply to Christian discipleship.

Preached Sunday 21 March 2021 at Northside Church, Crows Nest.

Where is God when it hurts? Preaching from Matthew 5:3-4 in the thick of a pandemic that has brought grief to so many, Graham Joseph Hill turns to the first two Beatitudes and Jesus’ startling promise: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” This is an honest sermon for anyone who suffers, who has lost someone they love, or who longs for a world made whole. Graham sits with the book of Job and refuses the clever, clichéd answers that wound more than they heal, making room instead for lament and honest questions. He points to the God who suffers alongside us in Christ, who stays present in our pain, and who holds out the hope of a new creation where every tear is wiped away. Comfort, he shows, is God’s own gift to the broken-hearted.

Preached Sunday 14 February 2021 at Epping Church of Christ.

The world is torn by conflict and division, across race, religion, gender, and politics. Into that, Jesus speaks a startling blessing: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Preaching from Matthew 5:9-10, Graham Joseph Hill shows that peacemaking is the calling of everyone who follows Jesus. This is a sermon about the church’s vocation to make peace, its ministry of reconciliation, and the costly habits that sustain both. Graham walks through forgiveness as our freedom and obligation, nonviolence as our way of life, and persecution as the heritage Jesus promised those who pursue righteousness. Along the way he names the imagination, humility, and courage that real peacemaking asks of us. The church that sows in peace reaps a harvest of righteousness, and you’re invited to be part of that harvest. The sermon closes with a prayer for peace.

Preached Sunday 21 March 2021 at Epping Church of Christ.

What would it take to feel alive in your faith again? Preaching from Psalm 119:11, with 2 Timothy 3:14-17 as a second reading, Graham Joseph Hill makes a simple case: the words you store in your heart shape the warmth of your walk with God. This is a sermon for anyone whose faith has grown weak, dull, and lifeless, and who longs for earnest passion to return. Its heart is one conviction: hiding God’s Word in your heart restores your spiritual passion. Graham points to the saints who have gone before, to the power and usefulness of Scripture, and above all to Jesus, who models a passionate life and sends his Spirit to strengthen yours. Expect a call to read, meditate on, and listen to the Gospels, and to turn from a hard heart toward God.

Preached Sunday 1 November 2020 at Epping Church of Christ.

The heart you long for is one God alone can create, and that’s the good news. Preaching from Psalm 51, with Romans 7:15-8:2 as a second reading, Graham Joseph Hill turns to David’s prayer after his gravest failure and finds a God who meets the whole truth about us with unfailing love. This is an honest sermon about addiction, shame, and the secrets we keep behind closed doors, shaped by Graham’s own story of sobriety. Its centre is a single conviction: the clean heart you need is one God creates. He starts from nothing, gives his Spirit to stay, and sends cleansed people out to hold the door open for others still stuck. Whether you’re caught in something you’ve tried and failed to stop, or you love someone who is, there’s grace here for you.

Preached Sunday 4 October 2026 at Wesley Western Sydney, Parramatta.