Category: Sermons

Transfiguration/2026 Audio

Audio Sermon by Garth Schulz.
Sorry we missed the beginning.


Does anyone remember an artist by the name of Pro Hart?  He was a big player in the art scene of Australia when I was growing up.  Matter of fact, he still is I guess with some of his art fetching up to $50,000. 

Anyway, one of my favourite advertisements on TV was by ‘Stain Master’ carpet.  The ad starts with a guy, Pro Hart, looking at a sizable white lounge rug with nothing on it.  He gently rubs his hands against the lush white carpet and says, ‘Beautiful.’  Then the ad turns quickly and Pro goes to work with a bottle of red wine, and all different foods, spaghetti, jelly, black forest cake.  Meticulously and with the random precision of Pro, he creates this massive dragonfly artwork out of the food.  He tops off the masterpiece by signing his name in chocolate sauce on the bottom right and seeking validation from his dog, ‘Rembrandt.’ 

Then enters the cleaning lady, who, to her shock, sees the ‘art’ and calls out “Oh Mr Hart, what a mess.”  Now to some this would be a mess, but to artists like Pro, no such thing…. this is art at its finest.  But never mind, the cleaning lady gets to work on the ‘Stain Master’ carpet and cleans up the rug with ease until it is sparkling and new. 

Now you might ask, what does this have to do with today’s bible reading?  Well, today is Transfiguration Sunday. And if you are like me, you might ask what ‘transfiguration’ really means and why is it so important in our life as Christians?  So, I reached for the trusty bible dictionary and I found that the word ‘transfiguration’ comes from the Greek verb metamorphoó. It describes a profound, visible change that proceeds from an inward reality.[2] A change that goes beyond any external, visible change or disguise (Mt 17:2, Mk 9:2).  Just as we have heard in today’s children’s address.  The word also describes a transformation through the spiritual renewal of mind to the likeness of Christ (Rm 12:2, 2Cor 3:18).  So, what we heard about in the ‘Stain Master’ advert is not as profound a transformation as initially thought.  What Jesus experienced and what the three disciples witnessed is far greater than just a refresh of appearance or a little spruce up.  What they really experienced is a glimpse into his heavenly glory and the divine nature of Christ. 

Today’s gospel reading opens with Jesus and 3 disciples ascending the mountain (v1).  And we hear of the transformation of Jesus, where his face is radiant and his garments white as light (v2). Much like the carpet in the ‘Stain Master’ ad, Jesus becomes sparkling and new, whiter than white, a symbol of perfection beyond anything we could imagine or have ever experienced. In one short verse and with the imagery of light, Matthew reveals the identity of Christ.  And as John explained, Christ has come as the ‘true light of the world…into the world’ (Jn 1:9).  Christ has come as the true source of spiritual illumination and establishing our right to be called children of God.  That Christ came as God, truly God and truly Man, dwelling in the presence of humanity, and glorified in the resurrection.  That he has come with the divine glory and authority of the one true God.  Just like the carpet in the advert, Jesus was perfect in the beginning, his perfection hidden from humanity like a beautiful artwork, then revealed in all his divinity on the Mount of Transfiguration.


First Sunday after Christmas/2025 Audio

Sermon read by Allan Bruhn
Sorry we missed the start.

Please read from the start and then listen.
Christmas is a time for celebrating. Christians celebrate by praising and thanking God for sending His Son as a baby to save us from sin. The unbelieving world also celebrates for it has a break from work, and embraces the tradition of gathering with family and friends to swap gifts and share time together with loved ones. Christmas is a time to step out of everyday life and live in holiday mode.

But the painful realities of life don’t take a break at Christmas time. Don’t we all keep an ear on the radio hoping the road toll this Christmas season will be zero, all the time knowing that some families will be shattered with bad news?

Imagine then, hearing the bad news of the death of all the boys under the age of two in a small town and its surrounding area. They did not die by accident. They were brutally murdered. Such were the events that took place in and around Bethlehem about two year after the birth of Christ.

The one responsible for the murders was King Herod. The visiting Magi searching for the exact location of the infant Christ went to Herod and asked him “where is He who has been born King of the Jews? … we have come to worship Him”. Herod had no idea that Jesus had been born, despite the Messiah being the hope of God’s people for thousands of years.

On hearing the news of Christ’s birth, Herod became concerned, because he saw Jesus as a threat to his throne. Herod was a paranoid man who would stop at nothing to keep his power. He didn’t want this child to be seen as his replacement. He planned to kill this rival, as he had done before by murdering his brother, some of his sons and even his wife.

Matthew tells us that all Jerusalem was troubled also, because they knew how ruthless Herod was in guarding his throne. The inhabitants of Jerusalem knew people would die because the Good News of the Messiah’s birth was heard as bad news by Herod.

Herod feared Jesus, not in ‘faith with love’, but in ‘unbelief with jealousy and rage’. He feared losing the kingdom he had worked so hard to obtain and hold onto. So, with hate and fear in his heart Herod had his men kill all the boys 2 years old and under in Bethlehem and in that entire region. This was a heartless and monstrous crime against innocent children and their families.

We look at what Herod did and we are repulsed by his cold-hearted brutality. Yet the same rebellion against God’s will that moved his hand to murder dwells in our hearts also. The Old Adam living within us rejects God’s will for us, and we think and we do evil. We plot revenge, we think about gaining or keeping power unethically, we speak unclean words,……….