Jensen on Jesus: Dean Phillip Jensen plans big preaching programme for Easter
Already widely recognised as a notable and even controversial preacher, Phillip Jensen, the new Anglican Dean of Sydney, and a self-confessed lover of Sydney, is planning to use his pulpit over the Easter weekend to bring to the city’s residents the real meaning of Easter. Over the Easter period he will be presenting a series of sermons “Jensen on Jesus” at St Andrew’s Cathedral, located in George Street Sydney above Town Hall Train Station.
In his first sermon, that was given wide publicity, when he preached at his service of welcome to St Andrew’s Cathedral Phillip Jensen commenced by talking about Sydney.
“I love Sydney – not just as my home, but as a great city. It is a fantastic city, located in such a wonderful part of God’s world,” he said.
“But Sydney is more than its beautiful environment. It is a well ordered community, enjoying its wealth, with freedom and fun loving pleasure. It’s a city of migrants opening its arms to people from all over the world who want to raise their families in peace, security and prosperity. A city of sport and education, of natural beauty and stunning architecture, of incredible wealth and yet open egalitarianism,” Dean Jensen said.
But this lover of Sydney wants to bring the message of forgiveness and the new life to be found in Jesus Christ to his fellow citizens over Easter when Christians focus on the meaning of the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
Phillip Jensen is a stirring, though sometimes controversial preacher, and he receives frequent invitations to preach in other cities both in this country and around the world, including the US, UK and South Africa.
In his sermon preached when war against Iraq was declared and widely reported by media across the globe, Dean Jensen told a packed Cathedral congregation that “War is hell”.
“What we want to pray for is peace. the peace that will last forever”, he said. “We can be sure that this present war with Iraq is not a Christian war. God is not on either side of this war. Here is the foundation of the peace that we have already. The death of Christ brings sinners like us into reconciliation with God.”
Phillip Jensen is not averse to bringing a message that will challenge and confront current world views and philosophies and this is sure to be a mark of his preaching programme at St Andrew’s Cathedral at Easter this year. He has already been critical of the unspoken censorship that bars the media from reporting any credible expression of the Christian world view that challenges the easy tolerance prevalent in today’s community, where all views are regarded as equally valid.
At the commencement of his ministry at St Andrew’s Cathedral Dean Jensen asked his congregation to pray for him so that he would be enabled to preach the message of the Cross of Jesus Christ.
“Here is one of the few uncensored places left, and you have invited me to use it to preach Christ. Pray for me that I may speak fearlessly as I ought, as I declare not just the message of the gospel but the mystery of the inclusive, and therefore exclusive, gospel of Jesus Christ, the Lord of all people.”
This Easter will see him fulfilling that aim in the heart of Sydney. Dean Jensen will preach at 5.30pm on Thursday 17th April, at 10.0am and from 12 noon to 3.0pm on Good Friday 18th April, and at 9.0am and 11.0am on Easter Sunday 20th April.
From Margaret Rodgers, Anglican Media Sydney
