Spirited Word

Adrian Kitson

0.0 (0)
Religion
Updated Weekly

By God's Word proclaimed, the Holy Spirit works faith in God's grace in Jesus, when and where he pleases. Sermons by Pastor Adrian Kitson, Lutheran Church of Australia. St Petri Lutheran Church, Nuriootpa, Barossa Valley, South Australia. www.stpetri.org.au

5d ago

Right Clothes Made By The Tailor

Send us Fan Mail Sunday 11 October 2026 We come across this well-known story of the wedding banquet and the guy who came without the right clothes on and who ended up getting turfed out by the king. It is a sobering story for anyone who believes they belong to the Christian church. It is possible to misplace the robe of righteousness we all had placed on us at our baptism and end up not really knowing the One with whom we gather and the Son whom he wishes all the world to honour. It is easy to protect our own honour, get caught up in all the needed affairs of living in the world and suffering from a rather inflated view of own rightness and rights and what we deserve from others and God. This parable was challenging to those religious people around Jesus and it is challenging to those of us who are involved in this Christian religion. It is a challenge to only be religious for God (we think) and to not willingly enter a relationship with God. Praying today that you hear the call to humility and repentance and to keep that robe of faith in Jesus on so the experience of his great love for you is yours. He loves like a bridegroom loves his bride. This is a wedding banquet after all! Pastor Adrian
5d ago

The Song Of The Vineyard

Send us Fan Mail Sunday 4 October 2026 We started the year listening to the prophet Isaiah. He pops up again this morning. In his expansive poem of poems there are little gems that have become famous for their imagery and artistry. These have shaped the way these first witnesses of the promised Servant King, Jesus of Nazareth, have passed on the story. We come across the well-known little ‘Song of the Vineyard’ today. It is well known for its poetic imagery. It is also well known for its truth telling. Isaiah had to work hard to get through to God’s people. As is the case for all the prophets God ever sent, and even for his own Son, most people do not listen to what God speaks. So, Isaiah, like the others, and like Jesus would do, uses imagery and forming of words to try and cut through the noise to speak God’s truth so that people may be set free from all that they willingly allow to bind them, blind them and deafen them to God’s promise and power in their lives. This little song is an attempt to draw the hearer into God’s beauty and grace so that truthful words about terrible lack of trust and its accompanying terrible behaviour can be halted and grace and freedom in God’s care found. I am not sure where you are at this particular day: grafted into the vine and knowing his promises and belonging to him and his community or feeling outside or disconnected or unsure of where you belong and who you are. The song will draw you in. The truth about you, and then the beautiful truth about the patience, grace and hopefulness of the Lord for you will come. Pastor Adrian
Oct 2

Taking Jesus At His Word

Send us Fan Mail Sunday 27 September 2026 I believe that my grandchildren are growing up in an age that is significantly different from any other time in history. Never has a previous generation had access to so much “stuff”. They live in a post-modern, post-Christian era, where the institutional church is declining in our country; where so-called experts claim that Christianity is no different to any other religion, and that no religion is the best way to have peace on the earth. They have access to the most evil and perverted material with just a tap on a screen, and reports tell us that they are lonelier and more anxious than any previous generation. And they are turning away from Christianity. The group of “Nones” is growing. But you and I are in this same culture. And we also are being influenced by what is going on around us. And if we speak out against something that we consider evil or sinful, contrary to God’s plan for all humans, we are told we have a “phobia” – fearful of anything that is different. And now there are laws in our country that can put us in jail for 10 years if we dare to criticise anyone or anything. So we tend to “pull our heads in” and stay quiet. Every day attacks and challenges are made on the Christian faith, and still we remain quiet. I think we are in danger of becoming like the proverbial “frog in a kettle”. The culture of this age is gradually influencing us and we’re not even aware that we’re being boiled in it. Now it’s not all bad news. There is a renewed interest in spiritual matters – it’s just that people are not interested in the institutional church. They are asking questions about life and faith, but they don’t want to be branded with a denominational name. In Matthew 8 the centurion trusted in the love of Jesus. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. We too need to grow in our trust so that we take Jesus at his word. It is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. It’s time to speak the gospel more clearly, to take God at his word. Paul wrote: Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 1 Corinthians 15:1 NIV-UK. Pastor Robert Voigt
Sep 25

God's Gift // St Matthew's Day

Send us Fan Mail Sunday 20 September 2026 We are glad to welcome two special guests this morning at the 10.30 am Service: General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Estonian theologian and pastor Rev Dr Anne Burghardt, and the LWF Regional Secretary for Asia, Rev Dr Rospita Siahaan. We take time out to celebrate a particular biblical person today – Matthew, the gospel witness. Why remember Matthew and other saints? For praise and thanks to God for all he did through them, for learning of how they faithfully carried the gospel throughout their lives and for celebration; that we all belong to this timeless one, holy catholic (universal) church. It would have been quite a surprise to Levi (whom Jesus named Matthew), the other members of the new ‘Jesus’ group and to everyone in town that Jesus would choose a tax collector for his holy work. They were viewed as being so unholy! They had questionable ethics, unclean associations, ungodly desires, traitorous practice in supporting Rome and were probably defect in some way – almost subhuman. And yet, here is Levi telling of how he was called to join Jesus in his transforming work. Matthew tells it very briefly, but we can tell it was world-changing for him. Praying that the Lord of the Church transform you in your holy calling as his gift of God to those whom you are sent. Pastor Adrian
Sep 18

Stand Out

Send us Fan Mail Sunday 13 September 2026 In a community within a Western culture it is hard for the church to really stand out since the values of our culture are drawn from the Bible. The high value of a person created in God's own image, the responsibility those in power should have in using their authority to serve the good of all, the sacred gift of marriage for life and the raising of children, the treatment of the vulnerable as needing to be fair and just and compassionate are all there in our community and they do these things pretty well. What do we do that is different? What is our unique gift to each other, friends, family and community? What allows us to create space to bear witness to the forgiveness and love of God for his world in a world that is not sure it really needs God? I think Joseph of the Old Testament and Stephen of the New might tell us today. They might raise up the thing Jesus raised up as our unique and needed gift to the world. Forgiveness. If this is our unique gift, that is hard even for the hardened sceptic to ignore or dismiss when it appears, then are we committed to it, learning it, doing it as we can and must? We will ponder this gift and our living of it, and how we stand out enough amongst family, friends and community to bear full and faithful witness to the forgiveness and peace and reconciliation we ourselves enjoy from Jesus. Pastor Adrian
Sep 11

The Gift Of Fathers

Send us Fan Mail Sunday 06 September 2026 Being a father is a vocation – a calling – where God calls a man to fatherhood through the gift of a child. The Bible has a lot to say about fathers. Throughout the Bible, we discover that God has given a special focus to fathers. We learn that God wants to be known as our Heavenly Father. Our Lord Jesus not only spoke to his Father but also taught us to pray, ‘Our Father in heaven…’ Even the story of the birth of Jesus is about a father named Joseph. Joseph had tried to figure out how to deal with his fiancée Mary, who was found to be pregnant – but God had other plans and set Joseph the task of providing fatherly care to the child Jesus, who was to be the Saviour of the World. Did you realise that Joseph was the first human to speak the name ‘Jesus’? In the Ten Commandments, we are told how to respond to fathers. The fourth commandment says, ‘Honour your father and your mother.’ How do we do that? For some people, that is a hard thing. But God will provide – this was God’s command after all. One way that everyone can do that is to pray for their father and to ask God to guide and bless their father. And if our father has died, we can commend our fathers to the mercy of God. If your father is still alive and you are able to, you might take the opportunity to express thanksgiving to God for your father and perhaps say ‘thank you’ to him for serving in this God-given vocation in the midst of all his human frailties. Let me guide you in praying: Eternal Father, thank you for the gift of our fathers. You have worked through fathers from the time of creation, and you have commanded us to honour our fathers and mothers. Give to all fathers what they need to serve according to your good and gracious will. Teach us how to honour our fathers. Forgive us where we have failed them – help us to forgive our fathers for their failings. And finally, where children have lost their fathers: give to those children the consolation of your love. In Jesus’ name. Amen. In Christ, Paul Pastor Paul Smith Bishop, Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand (This article by Bishop Paul, but Pastor Adrian lead worship on Sunday)
Sep 2

What Road Are You On?

Send us Fan Mail Sunday 30 August 2026 Humped Zebra Crossing. Cats Eyes Removed. Tanks ahead. You see some pretty strange signs when you get off the motorways of the UK, and instead take the narrow winding countryside ‘roads’. When Jesus challenges / invites / commands us to take the narrow road, what comes to your mind? “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13,14 Sounds tough, doesn’t it? Especially when you look at today’s Bible readings: Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Jeremiah 15:18 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Romans 12:14 “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24 Meanwhile, Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List, states that 2025 was the deadliest year in modern history for Christians. It identifies 4,849 people killed for their faith and millions more facing violence, abuse, displacement, or discrimination. Yet, this narrow winding road can bring you and I unexpected blessings Blessings I discovered on those narrow winding UK roads. Seeing life we would otherwise miss. Experiencing it deeply. Meeting people we can bless. Working together to achieve what we can’t do alone. Being touched by joy that can light our lives. So, what road are you on? Jonathan Krause
Aug 26

Grace

Send us Fan Mail Sunday 23 August 2026 The sermon this week reflects on the remarkable faithfulness of God, who calls, seeks, saves and guides his people even when we cannot see where He is leading us. Isaiah calls us to “look to the rock from which you were hewn” and to lift our eyes towards the Lord, whose salvation and righteousness endure forever. In the Gospel, Peter confesses Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” — a confession that does not begin with human wisdom, but with God revealing Christ to us. For me, this will also be a deeply personal Sunday as I look back over my own journey — from childhood faith, through years of turning away from God, to being called back to Christ and eventually through my time here with you, into the pastoral ministry — I can see more clearly how God’s hand has guided every step. I never knew where he was taking me, but He did! As we all look ahead, the encouragement is simple: keep looking to Christ, keep confessing Christ, and keep giving thanks for his grace. Blessings always, Paul Ridley

By God's Word proclaimed, the Holy Spirit works faith in God's grace in Jesus, when and where he pleases. Sermons by Pastor Adrian Kitson, Lutheran Church of Australia. St Petri Lutheran Church, Nuriootpa, Barossa Valley, South Australia. www.stpetri.org.au

Creator

Adrian Kitson
Years Active

2020 - 2026
Episodes

222
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2026 Spirited Word
Show Website

Spirited Word