Sermons

‍ ‍

In this sermon, Luke Prentice explores how the resurrection of Jesus leads directly to God’s mission in the world. Opening Luke 24 and Acts 1, we see the risen Jesus explain the Scriptures, affirm God’s plan to bring forgiveness to all nations, and call His disciples to be witnesses of these things.

‍ ‍

Yet before they are sent, the disciples must wait. Jesus promises the gift of the Holy Spirit—the power they will need to take the gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

‍ ‍

This message invites us to consider what it means to be a witnessing church today, relying not on our own strength, but on God’s power at work in us as we share the good news of the risen Christ.

‍https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024%3A44%20-%2053%2C%20Acts%201%3A1-11&version=NIV

‍ ‍

In this sermon, Luke Prentice explores what the resurrection of Jesus means not only for the past, but for our future. Opening Luke 24 and 1 Corinthians 15, we see the risen Jesus standing among His disciples - real, physical, recognisable, and alive - and we discover the astonishing promise that we will be like Him.

Jesus goes out of His way to show that His resurrection is not symbolic or spiritualised. He invites the disciples to touch Him, shows them His scars, and even eats with them. The risen Jesus has a real, physical body- transformed, powerful, and alive. And Paul explains why this matters: Jesus is the first fruits of those who belong to Him, the guarantee and pattern of our own resurrection.

This message presses two hopeful truths onto us:

The resurrection means our bodies matter.

Our future is transformed forever.

💬 Subscribe for more sermons, or visit www.ormondanglican.org.au

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024%3A36%20-%2049%20%2C%201%20Corinthians%2015%3A17%20-%2023&version=NIV

On Easter Sunday, Luke Prentice opens Luke 24:1-12 and leads us into the astonishing moment at the heart of the Christian faith: the resurrection of Jesus. The tomb is empty, angels announce the impossible, and the first witnesses are left stunned, fearful, and unsure what to believe.

This passage invites us into three experiences shared by the first followers of Jesus: proof, prediction, and perplexity. The evidence is there—the stone rolled away, the body gone, the grave clothes left behind. Jesus had foretold it all. Yet even then, belief does not come easily. Confusion lingers. Faith begins to stir.

This message presses an important question onto us today:

‍What will we do with the resurrection of Jesus?

‍ ‍In this sermon you’ll be encouraged to:
• See why the resurrection is essential, not optional
• Consider the historical reality of the empty tomb
• Recognise why confusion and doubt are understandable responses
• Move from perplexity toward faith
• Rejoice in the good news that Jesus truly defeated death

‍Easter declares that death does not have the final word. Jesus died, rose again, sins are forgiven—and God is praised.‍ ‍

💬 Subscribe for more sermons, or visit www.ormondanglican.org.au

‍ https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024%3A1%E2%80%9312&version=NIV

‍

On Palm Sunday, Luke Prentice explores Luke 19:28–44, where Jesus enters Jerusalem as King—welcomed with praise, cloaks on the road, and joyful shouts. Yet as the crowd celebrates, Jesus does something unexpected: He weeps.

This passage reveals the tension at the heart of Palm Sunday. Jesus is the humble, peace‑bringing King, but He is deeply misunderstood. The crowd longs for freedom and victory, while Jesus knows the true path to peace will lead through rejection, suffering, and the cross.

‍ ‍This message asks a searching question:

‍As we see Jesus more clearly, will we move toward Him—or away?

‍Join us as we reflect on who Jesus truly is, why misunderstanding Him is catastrophic, and how real peace is found only by receiving Him on His terms.

💬 Subscribe for more sermons, or visit www.ormondanglican.org.au

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2019%3A28-44&version=NIV

‍

‍In this sermon, Luke Prentice unpacks the striking moment in Luke 5:27–39 when Jesus calls Levi—a tax collector and social outcast—to follow Him. Levi responds instantly, leaving everything behind and throwing a banquet where Jesus sits among tax collectors and “sinners.” Through this surprising scene, Jesus reveals both His open‑armed welcome and His uncompromising call.

‍ ‍

Jesus’ words cut through the assumptions of the Pharisees:
“It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”
He comes not for the impressive, but for the broken; not for the self‑assured, but for the spiritually needy. Yet His welcome is never permission to stay the same. Jesus calls sinners to repentance—a complete U‑turn, not a gentle lifestyle adjustment.

Luke helps us see that following Jesus is not a spiritual upgrade or a blend of old and new. Through images of torn garments and bursting wineskins, Jesus shows that His kingdom cannot be mixed with our old ways of thinking. What He offers is something entirely new—a whole‑life transformation.

This sermon presses two questions onto us:

How do you see yourself?
And what does it really mean to follow Jesus?

Whether you feel deeply aware of your need or comfortably settled in your routines, Jesus meets you with both comfort and challenge. His arms are open—but His call is all or nothing.

💬 Subscribe for more sermons, or visit www.ormondanglican.org.au

Luke 5: 27-31 NIV - Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners - Bible Gateway

‍ ‍

In this sermon, Luke Prentice takes us into the dramatic scenes of Luke 4:31–44, where Jesus’ authority and power break into the world with unmistakable clarity. In Capernaum, Jesus confronts evil spirits, heals sickness, and restores the broken — and every moment reveals who He truly is.

The crowds recognise His astonishing authority. The demons recognise His identity. But Jesus will not let evil define Him — instead, His words and works show us His unmatched power and His deep compassion.

This passage presses two key questions onto us today:

‍ Who is Jesus?
And how will we respond to His authority and care?

‍ Luke helps us see the bigger biblical canvas: Jesus has come to undo the work of the devil, to defeat darkness, to heal, to restore, and to proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom. He invites us to consider what trusting Jesus looks like in real life — asking for His help, obeying His words, finding assurance in His victory, and enduring faithfully when the world still feels broken.

💬 Subscribe for more sermons, or visit www.ormondanglican.org.au

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%204%3A%2031-44&version=NIV

‍ ‍

In this sermon, Luke Prentice walks us through the dramatic and confronting moment in Luke 4:14–30 when Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth and declares who He truly is: the fulfilment of God’s long‑promised good news. Jesus proclaims freedom, sight, and release for all who will receive Him—but the people of Nazareth respond with rejection. Why? Because He didn’t fit their categories, challenge their expectations, and exposed the truth of their hearts. This passage presses the same questions onto us today: Who is Jesus? And how will we respond to Him? Luke unpacks Jesus’ mission to proclaim and to bring about God’s favour, and he helps us wrestle with what it means to receive Jesus rather than resist Him. We’re invited to consider the freedom, healing, and new sight Jesus still offers—freedom from sin, fear, addiction, bitterness, and more; and the renewed vision to see who we are, how deeply we’re loved, and the life God calls us into. Will you receive Him, or reject Him? Join us as we explore this powerful moment in Jesus’ ministry and what it means for us today.

In Luke 4:1–13, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He faces the full force of temptation. Yet unlike Adam, Israel, and every one of us, Jesus remains perfectly obedient. Luke Prentice unpacks this powerful moment, showing how Jesus proves Himself to be the true and faithful Son of God. This sermon highlights two key truths:

• There is no shortcut to glory — Jesus refuses the easy path, choosing obedience over power, comfort, or recognition.

• True trust doesn’t demand — Jesus entrusts Himself to the Father without forcing God’s hand, modelling a faith that rests rather than manipulates.

A rich and encouraging message that helps us see Jesus clearly and invites us to follow Him with the same patient, trusting obedience.

In this message, Luke Prentice helps us see why we can have deep confidence in Jesus by looking closely at Matthew 2:13–23. As Matthew traces Jesus’ early life—His escape to Egypt, His return to Israel, and His upbringing in Nazareth—he repeatedly points us back to the Old Testament.

In this Christmas Eve message, Luke Prentice opens Matthew 2:1–12 and reflects on the wise men who travelled far to worship the newborn Jesus. Their story shows us that true worship is costly, rooted in identity, active, emotional, self‑lowering, focused entirely on Jesus, and marked by deep loyalty.

Luke Prentice shares a message on Jesus, the Prince of Peace, reflecting on the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1–7. He reminds us that Christmas is about Christ Himself—the One who brings light into darkness, hope into despair, and peace into every heart.

In the second sermon of our mini-series on Truth and Love in 2 and 3 John, Luke opens 3 John to help us see how these two qualities work together in the life of the church.

He shows how truth shared in love can strengthen and build up God’s people—while the absence of either can quickly cause hurt and division. Through 3 John, Luke encourages us to embrace both truth and love as we follow Jesus and care for one another.

This sermon also includes a short Q&A at the end.

💬 Subscribe for more sermons, or visit www.ormondanglican.org.au

Mission Month 2025 kicks off with a representative from Compassion coming to share the effect of their work and how the support of Ormond has helped enable it. In this context, Luke Prentice speaks to Mark 1:29-39 & Galatians 2:1-10, reminding us of what it means to remember the poor and the inherent partnership of Gospel hope and material needs being met on display in the bible and Jesus’ ministry.

Continuing our sermon series in the Book of Ezekiel, Luke Prentice guides us through Chapter 37:1-14, the famous valley of bones, to see and recognise the power of the Lord over life and death.

For Ezekiel, the display of God’s power was a promise of God’s capability to restore Israel; for Christian’s today, it is an invitation to meet Jesus and find in him new life.

In our fifth sermon covering Ezekiel, Luke Prentice guides us through Chapter 17.

For Ezekiel, and his listeners, their circumstances and the judgment from God would have been cause of discouragement, but God’s message through Ezekiel is that he is in control, he remembers his promises, he will work things to his ends. Luke helps us to see the clear focus and big vision of God on display in this passage is not only for the original hearers but for us too who despite the many reasons for discouragement we may have.

Our second sermon in our series on Ezekiel, focusing on Ezekiel 2:1-3:15.

Old Testament scripture can be difficult to understand and apply to our lives. Luke Prentice equips his listeners to hear these words and make sense of them, sharing some simple tools to help discover the value in Old Testament scripture.

For Ezekiel, the words of lament and mourning from God tasted sweet, and yet he felt bitterness, anger, and distress at God’s calling upon his life. Luke challenges us to consider the ways we can be tempted to curate what bits of God’s word we will share with others.

Will we speak all God’s words unafraid, in a faithful and sensitive way?

“…We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

In our final sermon on the Nicene Creed, Luke helps us to understand what the final words of the Creed mean. Drawing from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Revelation 21:1-5, Luke helps his listeners to see that the resurrection of the dead is a part of God’s plan and that with it in mind we gain purpose. In revelation we get a taste of the world to come and the hope we can experience now as we look for these events.

What we believe matters, if we believe what the word of the Nicene Creed encapsulate, we will find hope, encouragement and purpose in our lives.

“…We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became truly human…”

In the second sermon in our series on the Nicene Creed, Luke Prentice helps us come to a deeper understanding of the hypostatic union of Jesus the 100% divine and Jesus the 100% human. This concept is a common challenge for many people exploring Christianity, and yet it is a crucial duality that made Jesus life, death and resurection effective for us.

Luke gently helps his listeners to come to a deeper understanding of this part of Chirstian faith with the aid of John 1:1-14 and Hebrews 2:14-18

“We believe in one God, the Father, the almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.”

These are the first lines of the Nicene Creed, and the focus of our first sermon in a new series that dives deep into this beautiful and thorough summary of Christian belief.

Luke Prentice (preaching at our combined service) guides us through these opening lines and draws from scripture, in particular Mark 12:28-34 and Acts 17:22-28, and helps his listeners to consider what it means to believe in one God, the maker of everything, and how it might shape our lives.

Many people today trust that they have some value due to what they have achieved or the merits of their family and others they are connected to. Other people may feel undeserving of any blessing.

Luke Prentice addresses both groups, showing how Philippians 3:1-11 can challenge some and encourage others. As Paul says, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”

Will we put aside the things in our lives that we believe make us valuable to cling to Christ?

The final sermon in our four part series on the key events around the first kings of Israel. Luke walks us through 1 Kings 11:1-13 showing how Solomon lost sight of the Lord and was swayed by his many wives to worship other gods.

Luke encourages all Christians to be aware of their responsibility to be fully devoted to God and warns us all to be careful to avoid losing sight of God.

In the context of a funeral, Luke engages with the freedom of forgiveness. Roger's story, Psalm 32 and Matthew 11 help us see this powerful freedom that Jesus brings, which was lived out in this Christian man's life and faith.

The second part in our series on the pivotal points around the first three kings of Israel.
Saul as king was called to rule in obedience to the Lord, but let his fear of his men result in disobedience. Luke unpacks this 1 Samuel 15:7-26, where Saul is rejected by God as king, to help us consider how we can best live in obedience and avoid the lies, blaming and self justification that can lead us astray.

This sermon includes a short Q & A afterwards.

The first in our series looking at the first Kings of Israel. Luke points to the fact that God is capable of using our mistakes for his purposes as a reason to have hope.

1 Samuel 8:1-22 is one such mistake, the people of Israel knowingly choose to reject their God and be like the other nations, despite this God will give them what they want, ultimately the world will receive its greatest king - Christ.

Jesus warns his disciples that the road to life is hard pressed and the gate narrow, to beware of false prophets, and to be a true disciple.

Matthew 7:13-23 has much to teach us and Luke Prentice guides us through this passage to understand what is being said and how we can approach scripture ourselves.

Luke unpacks Jesus' teaching in Mathew chapter 7, encouraging believers to have true sight; to see themselves truly, to see gospel opponents truly, and to see our Father truly.

True sight produces kingdom joy. This sermon includes the post-sermon Q&A.

Luke guides us through Matthew 6:1-15, ensuring we hear the hard words of Jesus. Too often, our prayers are focused on ourselves, and too often, we withhold forgiveness from others.

Luke helps us to dwell on the need to put God first and forgive others whilst reminding us that we can only do this in the power and forgiveness we have already received from God.

With one day to go before Christmas, Luke unpacks the implications of the birth of John the Baptist, encouraging us to look past the presents and to seek Jesus as our lifeline this Christmas.

The passage for this sermon is Luke 1:57-80 (NIRV)

Our advent series continues, Luke unpacks Luke 1:5-25, showing the ways that God is at work, challenging Christians to ask God to work in them and change their hearts.

Luke Prentice concludes our series on Habakkuk with chapter 3 by encouraging us to maintain Godly emotions in a broken world and reflecting on the challenges that can stop us from doing so.

Luke begins our short series through Habakkuk encouraging us to be real with God, especially when we struggle to see how God can be at work in the world.

Habakkuk 1

Words have power and how we use them matters. Luke unpacks what Proverbs has to say on the way we use words.

Proverbs 10:17-21; 12:18; 13:3; 15:1; 18:20-21; 28:23-24

The way we run our church services, the traditions we follow in our congregations, these can be good, yet Luke encourages us that none of these are necessary for the freedom found in Christ! Luke unpacks Colossains 2:6-23, showing the warning present as well as the hope on offer.