City South Presbyterian

Paul invites the church in Rome — both Jews and gentiles — to join in his mission because it's through the Gospel going to the gentiles all Israel — the scattered northern kingdoms as well as the southern kingdom will be saved.

Predestination, election, and all that jazz.

Paul unpacks what it means to live as those adopted as God's children who are being conformed to the image of God and glorified while living in a world groaning and waiting for the children of God to be revealed.

Jesus creates a new humanity; a people liberated from sin and death by God's Spirit who gives life to our bodies so that Jesus' prayers become our prayers as his way of life becomes our way of life.

There's a minute missing from the start of the sermon that was an amusing retelling of scenarios from the Adam West Batman series from the 1960s. This series is now almost 60 years old.

Just as Christians have died to sin and been made alive in Jesus, those who were under the law have died to the law and been made alive in Jesus, so that we all now have God dwelling in us by his Spirit to bring new life as we fight sin.

In the words of Bob Dylan, you've gotta serve somebody. It might be the devil, or it might be the Lord. In Romans, Paul makes a pretty compelling case for worshipping and serving Jesus and finding life in him, rather than slavery to sin and death.

Have you ever thought about dying?

What about living? The Gospel is the story that gives us hope that will not put us to shame; hope of eternal life.

We're invited to join God's family through the faith of Jesus, by putting our faith in Jesus; we bring nothing to the table as we receive his life in us; which liberates us from self-righteousness and self-justification (and from judging others).

Paul keeps building a picture he'll use to address an issue tearing apart the church in Rome by pointing to the big truth that all humans are sinful — and caught in systems and cultures built on idolatry — so facing death without a saving act from God. We consider how a passage designed to stop Christians judging one another (and those outside the church) has been weaponised as a "clobber passage".

Paul writes the letter of Romans to a real church facing real issues that are at risk of destroying the unifying work of the Gospel. Paul offers a vision for the transforming power of God — the Gospel — to address this issue.

Ryan unpacks Psalm 73 considering envy and right desires.

John encourages us to share the Gospel not because of the results it will produce in others, but because of the results faithfully sharing our faith produces in us as God makes us more like Jesus.

John Board from City Bible Forum's Word 121 (and from City South) invites us to share in the task of evangelism by inviting people to open God's word with us.

Israel creates the tabernacle as a mobile mountain top; a travelling garden of Eden where they will learn to live in God's presence as his priestly people.

Aaron's idolatrous priesthood is contrasted with Moses; where Aaron breaks the commandments and leading the people in a hell on earth program that turns Israel into a mini-Egypt; Moses intercedes, offering himself to make atonement and becoming a shining image of God as he lives in Yahweh's presence.

The ten commandments emerge from Israel's story and call them to a life of love for God, and love for neighbour that will enable them to carry God's name into the world as his priestly people.

Israel meets Yahweh on Mount Sinai; an experience that will shape the way they live in God's presence and represent him in the world.

Israel is in the desert, between the grove of Elim and the Mountain of God; there God provides life for them in the wilderness. Manna that tastes like honey as a foretaste of the land flowing with milk and honey he is guiding them to as his heaven-on-earth people.

The passover is judgment and decreation falling on Egypt, and re-creation for the people of God who will carry is name and live in his presence in the world.

Yahweh brings 9 strikes against Egypt as signs of the decreating judgment he will bring when Pharaoh's violent regime is destroyed under the waters. Each plague undoes something of the Genesis 1 creation week, while linking forward to Israel's deliverance.

Moses comes out of Egypt and is chosen by the God of his fathers, to lead his people to the mountain to worship him as he strikes the violent striking empire with his hand.

The Exodus story is the story of Israel's creation. The scene is set with some callbacks to Genesis and the introduction of one born from the water.

Ryan encourages us to join God's mission to the world.

When Jesus is anointed for the grave he is anointed and dressed as the Bridegroom; and the Messiah, bringing the scent of Eden into the garden where he is buried and raised to bring new life heavenly life to those who believe.

As Jesus dies on the cross there are at least 8 little details John gives us to help us see his story as the beginning of a new creation; a new Exodus; where living waters flow from Jerusalem and give life to the world.

Passover is fast approaching, and Jesus the passover lamb meets a bunch of snakey folks in the garden who bind him and hand him over to die for the people.

When Jesus sets off to Jerusalem, John starts the countdown to the new Passover; a new Exodus bringing salvation by reuniting people into the life and love of God.

Jesus calling Lazarus to "come out" of the grave is a sign that the new exodus is a movement from death in exile to life in God's presence.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who gathers God's flock from the nations, bringing the new exodus promised by the prophets. 

Jesus, not the physical temple, is the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophets' hope that streams of living water would flow from Jerusalem creating a new Eden and a new Exodus.

Jesus goes out into the wilderness to feed a flock bread from heaven as a sign that he's not simply the new Moses, but God's life given to the world. 

Jesus meets a woman who represents Israel's exile from God at a well, and offers her (and us) a proposal she doesn't want to refuse. Living Water. 

John 3 contains the Bible's most famous verse — but when you scratch beneath the surface it also has a rich picture of the heaven and earth life God comes to give his children so that we belong to him. 

John presents John the Testifier's testimony about Jesus, the Lamb of God, as the fulfilment of the prophetic expectation of a new Exodus, and his baptism as the beginning of that fulfilment. 

John's use of Exodus imagery is one of the rich threads running through John's Gospel; it begins in his prologue where John reveals that Jesus is both the Word who was with God and is God, from the beginning, and the word who was with God, and is God, in the creation of God's people in the Exodus story — who fulfils that story and invites us to live in the light; coming face to face with God's glory. 

Robyn, Des, and Matt answer big questions from kids in our church community.

Matt, Robyn and Des answer big questions from kids in our community.

Matt, Robyn and Des answer big questions from kids in our community.

Simon and Nathan chat through the ongoing partnership between City South Presbyterian and Annerley Church of Christ.

Matt, Des and Robyn answer big questions from kids in our church community.

Matt, Des, and Robyn answer the big questions from kids in our church community.

Simon, Nathan and Kamina talk about where they think the church in Australia is heading and how we're responding to that as a church.

Nathan explains his understanding of infant baptism and why we do it as Presbyterians. 

Kamina, Nathan and Simon answer a question about the sorts of stories we should read as Christians, and why.

Matt, Mick, and Kamina tackle one of the apparent dilemmas of the modern church.

Mick, Matt and Kamina tackle a question about how essential the Trinity is in terms of how we understand, and come to know, God — and then look at some rich implications of getting to know a God who is triune for life now.

What makes you sing?

Nathan explores the Christmas story through the song O Holy Night, Psalm 148, Mary's Song, and the Wise Men following a star to invite us to join the conjunction of the heavens and the earth, embracing habits of praise that will sweep us up in the revolutionary rule of Jesus.

Matthew Ventura unpacks the Christmas carol O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and its connection to the story of the Bible; showing how Israel's story of exile and the coming of their Messiah, God with us, is good news for the world.

This week we're looking at how Peter writes to a community living simultaneously as exiles in their culture, and God's home in the world, instructing us to show hospitality to one another.