This week in our service we explored Matthew 26:57-75, where Jesus stands trial before the high priest, facing false accusations, spitting, slaps, and beatings in total silence, while Peter—hours after vowing he’d never deny Jesus—panics outside and denies him three times amid crowd jeers, until the rooster crows. Amid this noisy chaos of accusations, violence, and Peter’s fearful denials, Jesus remains strikingly silent before his accusers, embodying sovereign strength, trust in God (as in Isaiah 53:7), and a refusal to play by the world’s rules, knowing his resurrection victory awaits. The rooster’s crow cuts through as God’s grace-filled wake-up call, not shame, but a reminder of Jesus’ words that pulls Peter back to truth and foreshadows his future as a bold church leader at Pentecost. I shared a story of how I got woken up one morning by a group of magpies, and even though I thought it was annoying, it was just what I needed that morning—much like God speaks through unexpected, even irritating sounds like nature, friends, Scripture, or prayer to grab our attention in our noisy world. This week, notice interruptions as potential divine nudges and try 1-2 minutes of holy silence daily to hear God better.​

What “noisy” fears make you react instead of trusting silently like Jesus?
Recall a recent wake-up—how might God have used it?
How does God speak to you, and what blocks your listening?

How do you respond? Send your thoughts to me at chris.waddell.gwuc@gmail.com .

Watch a clip from the reflection here: https://gwuc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/Lent-4-video.mp4
Listen to the full reflection here:  https://www.youtube.com/live/790NudkBhys?si=Dir-C9v2r5fd04Z4&t=2646

You can watch the service with subtitles in the language of your choice on YouTube. 

This Sunday, the third week of Lent in our series “I am with you always”, we go to Gethsemane to witness Jesus’ prayer, betrayal and arrest.

There in the olive grove, Jesus throws himself on the ground, weeps, and begs for another way. And then, when the mob arrives with Judas, and violence breaks out, he calmly claims the power to summon twelve legions of angels, and chooses not to use it. In a world governed by force, this is a radically different vision of strength — one that looks, in the moment, a great deal like weakness.

The story invites us to reflect: 

• Where in our own lives are we being invited to meet God in vulnerability rather than strength?
• In a world that measures power by force and weapons, what might it look like for our community and our nation, to choose the harder way of restraint and compassionate love?

How do you respond? Send your thoughts to me at iferguson@gwuc.org.au .

Listen to the full reflection here: https://youtu.be/T4qLVbCWHK8?t=2658 

You can watch the service with subtitles in the language of your choice on YouTube. 

You can access a Chinese translation of the whole service here: https://gwuc.org.au/download/163441/?tmstv=1773113812