This sermon was preached for our Parish-wide combined service, and is based on Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, where he unpacks the unity and diversity of 'the body of Christ'.

There's no prize for getting through life without God, yet too often we leave reaching out to God as a last resort. Do we do this out of pride, or out of disbelief that he wants to be involved in our lives? Genesis 20-21 blows both of these reasons out of the water.

Many people will think they know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. But perhaps many of us have gone away with the wrong idea. What is that story really about, what does it tell us about God, how does it forecast Jesus, and how can we apply this into our day to day lives? These are the questions Dave sought to answer in this sermon from Gensis 18-19.

It's one thing to trust God on a daily basis, but can you trust him across years, or decades, when he hasn't answered your prayers? Are you THAT patient and trusting of him? Dave shares from Genesis 16-17 that God is worthy of our trust, and therefore, worthy of relationship, obedience, and worship.

Last week we learned that God is relational, this week Lee Weissel taught us that God is trustworthy. He offers relationship to people who he knows will let him down. So in this chapter, God shows why Abram, and we, can trust him, because he makes covenant promises, and keeps them!

After the drama (and terror) of the first eleven chapters of Genesis, God reaches out to Abram and offers him a fresh start. A new relationship between God and a people of his choosing. And like any relationship, this one will need to be built on mutual trust. Can God trust Abram? Can Abram trust God? And what will happen when it inevitable goes wrong? Dave explores these questions and more from Genesis 12-14.

The tales that Jesus told are brilliant, but did you know they point to something bigger? Jesus told many of his parables to help his audience understand about the kingdom that he was establishing, the kingdom of heaven. This week, Dave zoomed out and looked why and how we can live in allegiance to King Jesus, even starting today.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells three stories to blows the minds of the Pharisees who don't believe that God would care about Gentile sinners. The stories reveal the gracious heart of God, to indiscrimately offer grace to all people, so that they may repent and be saved. These stories not only are designed to recalibrate the hearts of the Pharisees, but all who fall into the trap of projecting their own prejudices onto God.

Jesus tells this tale in middle of two quite arrogant and ambitious interactions in Matthew 20. He wants to make sure everyone knows that the attributes of value in the kingdom of heaven are justice and grace, not popularity, riches, or even hard work. How do we feel about that?

The kingdom of heaven is like... a generous master who involves his servants in the building of his kingdom, only requiring faithful stewardship in return. What has God given you to faithfully and responsibly care for? These are the questions Lee Weissel asked as he brought us this week's sermon from Matthew 25:14-30.