Sermons from Pastor Nathan Hedt

Parables of the Kingdom - Mark 4

When Jesus taught people, he most often used stories...images drawn from everyday life. Jesus knew that stories have a way of getting planted in our mind and growing subversively.
Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to ordinary, everyday things like a farmer planting wheat or a gardener growing a mustard bush from a seed. This sermon unpacks the gospel through two of Jesus' parables in Mark 4. The parables show that the Kingdom of God does its mysterious, transforming work in and through the ordinary, everyday stuff of our lives.
The sermon can be used with the Prezi zooming visuals found at this link.
It was preached at Lakeside College on Sunday 14th June 2015.
Enjoy!

Pentecost: the story of God gets personal

At Pentecost, the story of God gets personal.
We all want to believe that our lives are not just a jumble of disconnected events, but that they have meaning and purpose. They have a story.
Our stories are interwoven with God's story through the death and resurrection of Jesus. God's story is interwoven with our story through the coming of the Holy Spirit. God gets personal in our lives - sin and grace and response - through the work of the Holy Spirit.
This sermon was preached at Lakeside College for the Lutheran church community in Pakenham on Sunday 24th May.
It can be used in conjunction with the Prezi zooming visuals found at this link.
Enjoy!

Walking with the risen Jesus (Luke 24) - the journey, the scripture, the meal, the mission

On the first Easter Sunday, Jesus appeared to two disciples walking home to a village called Emmaus.
They were walking with the risen Jesus, and they didn't realise it.
Jesus encounters them in four ways: the journey, the scripture, the meal, the mission.
The Journey: Jesus meets them where they are at, in the midst of their grief and pain. He listens to their story. Likewise, the risen Jesus meets us on our own journeys. His presence is often only discernable in hindsight, especially in the traumatic and difficult times. But he meets us where we are at, not demanding that we be something we are not.
The Scripture: Jesus opens the Scripture to them. Afterwards they say 'Weren't our hearts burning within us as he talked with us and opened the Scriptures to us?' Likewise, the risen Jesus encounters us through the Scripture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Meal: Jesus invites our invitation. He won't force himself on us or coerce us. In hospitality, we often encounter the risen Jesus. Yet he becomes our host, feeding us with the great Meal of Holy Communion.
The Mission: the disciples rush back to Jerusalem to tell others the good news that Jesus is risen. We get to share in the joy of spreading the news to others!

Our new Lutheran church in Pakenham will be based around the journey, the scripture, the meal, the mission. We will walk with the risen Jesus in daily life.
This sermon MP3 includes the Gospel reading from Luke 24. It was preached at the gathering of Lakeside Community Lutheran Church in Pakenham on Easter Sunday morning.

What's so good about Good Friday?

What's so good about Good Friday?

It's not just that Jesus died - the event itself was quite horrific.
It's that Jesus gave his life for something greater than himself. The words of Jesus on the cross from Luke's passion narrative show us that Jesus gave his life for our forgiveness, life, and restoration of our relationship with God.
This sermon podcast includes the passion reading from Luke's Gospel. It was preached on Good Friday at the gathering of the Lakeside Community Lutheran Church, a new church plant of the Lutheran Church of Australia.

Who is God (in the light of Genocide)? A sermon on Exodus 3 and the persecuted church in Iraq

Does God care?
Is God powerful?
Who is God, really?
These deep questions about the character, power and identity of God have been raised throughout the history of God's people, especially in light of vast evil such as genocide.
Tens of thousands of Christians in Iraq have been driven out of their homes, systematically killed and cleansed by the militant Islamic group calling itself 'Islamic State'/ISIS. This story of human suffering and tragedy on a vast scale is possibly the closest contemporary equivalent to the situation faced by the people of Israel at the beginning of the book of Exodus.

When God appears to Moses he addresses questions about God's character, power and identity, and calls Moses to be his agent to set his people free.
This sermon compares God's response at that time and in our time through Jesus to such evils as genocide.
It was used with the Prezi zooming visuals found at this link.

It includes audio from this youtube clip from the speech of a Bishop of the Orthodox Church at a rally in Melbourne in support of Iraqi and Assyrian Christians. The Bishop calls for both forgiveness of the perpetrators of these evil actions, and for divine and human intervention in this horrific circumstance.

Please pray for persecuted Christians and others suffering under such evil.
If you want more information on the persecuted church, please visit opendoors.org.

This sermon was preached at Sunday Night at St John's Southgate Lutheran Church on August 31st, 2014.

I usually finish my posts with 'Enjoy.' You may not enjoy this sermon. But that does not mean it is not important.

The Freedom of Forgiveness: Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 45-50)

Faced with the chance for revenge, Joseph chose to forgive his brothers.

One of the choices that most shapes our character is the choice to choose forgiveness when we have been hurt.

We are both victims and perpetrators of sin: we are hurt, and we hurt others. But with forgiveness comes freedom from the guilt and fear of wrongs we have committed, and freedom from the pain and bitterness of wrongs committed against us.

This sermon explores forgiveness through the story of Joseph and his brothers found in Genesis 45-50.

It can be used in conjunction with the Prezi zooming visuals found at this link.
It was preached at Sunday Night at St John's, Southgate, Melbourne on August 17th, 2014.
Enjoy!

Dreams, descent, decisions and destiny: the story of Joseph from Genesis 37-50

Joseph was a dreamer...the story of Joseph has been inspirational to many people. Despite the difficulties of his life, Joseph learnt humility, forgiveness, and purity through his trust in God.

If you could something, at which you knew you would not fail, what would you attempt for the glory of God?
What God-given dreams do you have?  Have they been broken or crushed by the pits of life you find yourself in from time to time?
How does being a person who belongs to God shape your decisions?
This sermon explores these questions by listening to the story of Joseph from Genesis 37-50.

It can be used in conjunction with the Prezi zooming visuals found at this link.

Enjoy!

The sermon was preached at Sunday Night at St

Walking with a limp - Genesis 32, Jacob wrestles with God

After Jacob wrestles with God, he is left with both a blessing and a limp...
Blessed but limping? Is that really the way God works in our lives?
Could it be that our limp is actually a sign of our encounter with God?
And what happens when God encounters us?
This sermon explores the theme of suffering through the lens of Genesis 32.
It was preached at Sunday Night at St John's, Southgate, Melbourne, on August 3rd, 2014.

Enjoy!

Love and Work - two grand themes from Genesis 29

Love.
Work.
Two of the biggest themes in our lives.
This sermon explores the areas of love and work through the lens of Jacob's love for Rachel in Genesis 29, one of the Bible's great love stories.
It was preached at St John's Southgate Lutheran Church on Sunday 27th July, 2014.

Embarrassing note: the sermon contains a biblical research error. Listen and spot it for yourself...
enjoy!

The parable of the man and his mini - a parable of redemption, restoration and future hope based on Psalm 139

Jesus often told stories. Rarely, he explained them. Often, he simply left them to do their subversive work in people's minds and hearts long after they were spoken.

In that vein I offer here 'The Parable of the man and his mini - a story of redemption, restoration and future hope.' It is in parallel to Psalm 139 and Romans 8:18-25.

The Kingdom of God is like a man who went to a distant place and bought a classic Mini in order to restore it....

This sermon was preached on Sunday 20th July, 2014, at Sunday Night at St John's, Southgate, Melbourne.
Enjoy!