New City Church Sydney New City Church

As we begin our series in Communitas, Rev Karina Kraminski opens up the mystery of mission - what it means to be listening to the heart cry of our world, and simply allowing the universal luminosity of Christ to shine in and through us.

Week 6 of Revelation - As we end our series in Revelation, we encounter a deep reality, summed up brilliantly by Robyn Whitaker: To live with hope is not to live without despairthey are two sides of the same coin. Indeed, hope is required precisely in moments of despair when we feel utterly powerless to change our fate. We dont need hope when life is going wonderfully well! Perhaps that is why this text has particular appeal for those who know oppression all too well. It is a text for those who are in the minority, for those who feel powerless and face overwhelming injustice every day. The hope that God will act is not an excuse for inaction in the present: this hope fosters courage to act and to resist systems of evil and oppression in anticipation of Gods new world.

What does the beast's number 666 mean, or that 144, 000 will be saved? Did Revelation intend to polarise Good and Evil? Is Armageddon the definitive end of the world and the human race?
Along with answers to these questions, Revelation 12-16 offers a surprising and powerful message of encouragement when we listen like its original audience.

As the world grows darker, Revelation bursts forth with a subversive image of the church - a great multitude from every tribe, tongue, and nation - gathered together before the very throne of God. There, the church undoes the destruction of the Empire. Not through military might or political prowess, but through worship, sacrifice, and honour. This passage in Revelation is confusing, challenging, and downright odd - but through it all we meet a God who cares radically about Creation.

Week 3 of Revelation - As we are drawn into the very throne room of God, we discover a ceaseless cycle of worship across the cosmos. Here, we are invited into a divine chorus that subverts the power of empire to worship the lamb that was slain.

Week 2 of Revelation - Identity, Culture, and Faith
In this talk, Robyn Whitaker explores the history and meaning of Johns messages to the seven churches inRevelation2-3.
The common thread in the messages is an anxiety about how Christians maintain their identity and faithfulness to Jesus in the midst of a world that is sometimes hostile and mostly quite different to them.
The messages of complacency, encouragement and rebuke raise questions that remain relevant for contemporary Christians as we seek to with in the world, for the world, but not be entirely of the world.