Box Hill Baptist Church
Welcome to our church community.27 May 2012
Our annual exhibition exploring community issues invites artists to consider the changing shape of family life in Australia. The exhibition highlights the delights and challenges of complex family arrangements, marriage breakdown and the re-framing of family stories.
Today we celebrate Pentecost Sunday with themes of inclusiveness and re-creation. As you reflect upon your family story and how this has shaped your life consider the place God’s Spirit, that breaths life into us all, has in your life.
The prophet Ezekiel is called to speak life into a field of dead bones. Jesus promises an advocate that will speak the truth, and the Spirit of God flows out upon the early church, empowering Peter to make bold statements from the prophet Joel about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
15 April 2012
There was an extraordinary harmony in the group of those who had put their trust in Christ. They shared a common heart and a common spirit. They also shared their possessions, giving up claims of private ownership and holding everything in common. With electrifying effect, the apostles shared the stories of their experience of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The evidence of God’s generous love and mercy was apparent in all they did. No one among them was left battling to make ends meet, because those who owned houses and land sold up and handed over the proceeds to the apostles, with no strings attached, and the money was distributed to each person according to their needs. Acts 4:32-35 Nathan Nettleton…
30 March 2012
Palm Sunday, the day that heralds a week of vast contrast – grief-joy, sweet-sour, terrible-wonderful, vulnerability – ? What is that other thing that we see so powerfully expressed in the journey. Is it power, authority strength, triumph, invincibility? We call this day the “triumphal entry”, and it has all the pomp of a ticker-tape welcome home parade. And yet, the sheer vulnerability that is embodied in the image of a man entering on a donkey is also what is most striking. That’s the nature of love, isn’t it? That thing that makes us vulnerable to another, as we put ourselves out there and get misunderstood, even rejected. That’s why people build protective walls around themselves in order to survive. But ultimately, the journey of Jesus is about discovering the gate in the wall and moving through it on a donkey, clothed in vulnerability. That’s what love does. It makes us vulnerable. That’s not a reason to shy away from it, to self-protect, to build a wall of invincibility around us. Rather, it is the call of this Way… to continue to love, despite the way the story unfolds. Anne
11 March 2012
What might our passage of Jesus turning of the tables in the Square point to, in terms of our capacity to attend to the feelings that are raised with in us in the face of injustice and ignorance… and how we might respond appropriately. Anger that is turned in on oneself, or anger that is mis-directed, is destructive… What happens in this story of Jesus upturning the tables in the temple courtyard is a genuine destructive and yet re-framing action. IT teaches us that part of what we have to learn is where to ‘direct’ our anger. But the other challenge in this is that this angry young man, Jesus, is genuinely angry. He’s not just upset. He is not troubled. He is outraged. And that is significant… don’t water it down. We don’t have to justify anger as a legitimate emotion. He is angry. And anger is real. And anger is real for all of us from time to time. Not the selfish anger that emerges when I don’t get my way, or the frustration that things are not as they should. But the anger that is prepared to make a stand, to take the risk to speak up, to rattle the tables, if we need to. How can we not get angry when we find devious deeds in the high places of religion. When sexual abuse is covered upon and the victims made the scapegoat. How can we not get angry when finicky points of church dogma are allowed to outrank the value of Christian love, and as a result keep Christians separated? When in some cases one denomination will Castigate and ridicule another? Where people are excluded on the basis of sexual orientation, status or doctrine. How can we not become angry as citizens of a nation where normally 50 times more is spent each year on pet food than on donating to feed the hungry and starving peoples of this world? How can we not get angry when our politicians (no matter what party is in power) appear only develop a social conscience for the underprivileged when an election is in the offing; or when the cause of some individual is taken up in a burst of publicity by a TV network? And generally, it is when the temple, the real temple of the Holy Spirit, the body of God, is violated in some way, when people are not valued as children of God, we need to be angry. Today we will explore some helpful ways of expressing that anger… . Ultimately this story offers a pointer of the way of God. That his actions offered a direction toward God. Is that not our call. That our actions ultimately are pointers to God.
17 February 2012
This week we continue our series exploring the questions that you have raised… This one was ‘Why are there so many denominations?’ As we come to consider the lectionary readings today, we discover the reading of the Transfiguration. Jesus goes up a mountain with Peter, James and John. They are stunned to see Jesus in glowing white, talking with Elijah and Moses. It is so striking, that Peter does the classic and thinks, ‘This is it! This is so marvellous, let us build three huts to capture it’. In effect he is saying, let’s bottle it! Let’s contain this moment, do the human thing and create a building to contain the experience. Mark records that a voice comes from the cloud saying, “this is my much loved son… listen to him!”. It is a rebuke, really… you don’t get it. This moment is not about containment, it is about looking to this Jesus transfigured, and paying attention to the life that is unfolding before them, listening to the way he is re-framing their understanding of God, religion, justice. It is not about static structures; this moment is about focusing upon Jesus, and pondering this Way.
And from there on in, it is as though we have worked hard to follow Peter, and build a structure, and try to find Jesus within it. We continue with the desire to bottle those transcendent moments, where mystery engulfs us, and the potent reality of God’s presence is close, and are under threat of living our faith as a dynamic Way of being.
The containing of theology, alongside historical lines of power and authority, marks the lines down which our denominations divide. If we hold to rigid dogma then the divisions between denominations will be heightened into battle-lines. If we look for common anchor points, then the divisions are artificial and simply a reflection of preference or taste or expression.
Ultimately, we must return to our common text, and discover the source of our faith. We must look the words of Paul to the Ephesians and frame our life as followers of Jesus around those :
You all belong to one body, of which there is one Spirit, just as you all experienced one calling to one hope. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, one Father of us all, who is the one over all, the one working through all and the one living in all.”
18 December 2011
Today on the Fourth Sunday in Advent we celebrate with our children the possibility there is within each of us to reach our full potential.
Zechariah prophesied that his son John the Baptiser would be called the prophet of the Most High. The Spirit of God within each of us, when offered the freedom to guide our thoughts, actions and being, will help us to live Christ like lives offering light, love and compassion to others. May we as a community encourage and guide our children as they grow in love.
Earth-Maker,
our world is abundantly rich with everything we need to live a bountiful and comfortable life.
Yet there is more to life than things.
Help us to learn to love and care for each other so that we might each grow to our full potential, realising the possibilities within.
May this be particularly so for our children.
AMEN.
Richard
27 November 2011
Today is the first Sunday of Advent where we begin in our journey in the church calendar toward Christmas and the birth of Jesus. Each week during Advent a word will be added to the black panel at the front. Traditionally the first Advent Sunday we reflect upon the themes of ‘being on the watch’, ‘expectancy’, ‘longing’ or ‘anticipation’. Today we focus upon anticipation and certainly our very pregnant Mary that the Kid’s Church children have created adds to the theme of expectancy and anticipation. But what is it that we anticipate we might receive? Health and security? Love and acceptance? Isaiah writes about the return from exile and the chasm that had developed between the disillusioned people of Judah and the One who is their source. It is only God who can restore the returning exile’s confidence. The prophet pleads with God to demonstrate ‘loyalty’ to the people and restore broken relationships with God’s people. “Restore us, Oh God: let your face shine, that we might be saved” is the poet’s plea in Psalm 80. This echoes Isaiah’s deep longing and hope for restored relationship with God and acknowledges the need for the people to work toward this restoration. And asks how long this will take. The community of Mark’s gospel is also waiting for a better world, and they wonder how long it will take. The Mark reading today is a passage taken from Jesus’ final talk with his followers before his arrest and execution. The people in Mark’s community remember the promises of God’s presence of a better world and long for clear signs that the promises are being fulfilled. Jesus reminds his followers that only God knows the timing. In the meantime, he challenges them to stay awake, be alert, and live in anticipation. May we together work toward a better world and way of living as the broken relationships within our worlds are restored.
13 November 2011
In Thessalonians 4:9-12 Paul turns to the people, and says something like, “What does it mean to be a community that loves one another? I actually don’t need to tell you that! Because you guys display that love so powerfully, here and beyond. You do it unassumingly, without fuss, going about your business efficiently and care-fully, without being a burden to others, being resourceful and resilient, and doing all that is needed to make the world know that you are a community that loves Christ.’
‘Love of God’ is not some woolly, weak, feel-good religion. Love of God is expressed in the way we are community, and when we are that community, then the world will know who we are. When we are out of sorts within, it is reflected in the way we engage with the wider community. When we are living and working well together, then it is expressed lovingly and creatively beyond.
On this day, when we consider the working life of the church, it is rather staggering to think that we can do all the things we do, in a no-fuss, no-nonsense way, that honours the fact that we know the nature of love… we know what loving God looks like with rubber gloves on! People so often see a need, and get in a fix it… I’ll come out of my office to see people scrubbing the metal racks of the oven without being asked, or without anyone else knowing. Or they’ll take on a major event, and make it fuss free and easy for everyone else, while behind the scenes they work to make it happen. There are a myriad of stories. And each one serves to make us who we are.
They are the stories of this community that we hear and honour on this day… and they are the stories that will take us into tomorrow. Into a future, that will continue to teach us to grow in love.
9 October 2011
In a society where almost anything goes, it is almost old-fashioned to hone in on things that really matter. It is easy to go with the flow, and conform to a picture of what life is about that is potentially set by the screen of Neighbours or the site of “second life”. Sure, life-crises pull us up, ground us back in reality, and ask questions of us. But what if we were to simply take the time to avoid distraction, shift our focus from the transient feel-good to the more significant? How might our lives be changed. Interestingly, this passage of Paul links ‘peace of mind’ with the call to ponder the things that matter. How easy it is to sit and let the television fill our heads at the end of a tiring day, or to allow our kids to be consumed by the latest hi-tech world. Discerning that which is life-giving and that which is life-diminishing must be part of our decision making process. The temptation is to surrender to what is presented, rather than be decisive about what is helpful or unhelpful. Interestingly, reading a book takes so much more energy, we are far more likely to exercise our discernment skills. Being prepared to put aside that which is destructive, whether it loses or gains favour, is the only means by which we can live honest and truthful lives. The eternal wisdom of Paul continues to call us to authentic and truthful living.
“One final thing, my dear friends, give your hearts and minds some healthy stuff to chew on. Authentic stuff, principled stuff, uncontaminated stuff. Things that are worthwhile, fulfilling, and straight as a die. Things of integrity that make for a fair go for all. These are the kind of things you should fill your minds with – quality stuff instead of shoddiness. Meditate on these things and you can’t go wrong. Keep yourselves on track, putting into practice what you picked up from me, from my teaching and from the example I set. Rest assured, the God of peace will be right there with you.” Philippians 4:8 -9 Nathan Nettleton
