Amos 7.7-15, Mark 6.14-29 Amos and John the Baptist I want to talk about prophets this morning. It’s a big topic and I can only consider a few aspects in a sermon. I’m also aware that prophets can be controversial and that we won’t all necessarily have the same view of them, so hold […]
Romans 8.12-17, John 3.1-17 Having worked our way through Easter, Ascension Day and, last Sunday, Pentecost, we are now celebrating the Trinity. This is not another event, but the start of exploring the new dimension in which we are to live our ordinary, everyday lives, following the breath-taking events of Easter. Appropriately enough the church […]
Luke 24.44-end, Acts 1.1-11 Looking up Ascension Day sermons on my computer I discovered that I’ve preached a number here, and so I’ve probably said most of what can be said about the background to the Ascension – the significance of mountains and links with OT epiphanies like those to Moses and Elijah on Sinai […]
Making connections We’ve been considering what constitutes good news in our preaching recently, mainly focussing on our readings from Acts. I’ll continue that today, but with some reference to our gospel. What I want to consider is how the good news generates connection. Connection. Jesus says one of his ‘I am’ statements in our reading […]
Mark 11.1-11 I couldn’t help but notice parallels between the events of Palm Sunday and our return to our church building this morning. Just like those Jews entering Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, eager to celebrate their most important festival, the Passover, here we are at the start of Holy Week anticipating the celebration […]
2 Kings 2.1-12, Mark 9.2-9 Today is the last Sunday before Lent starts. Given the rigours of lockdown and Covid I decided not to talk about giving up things or denying ourselves; just accepting that we are where we are is giving us plenty of opportunities for that this year. This happens to be a […]
Mark 13.24-27 Happy New Year! Advent marks the start of the church new year. Our 3 year lectionary covers a different gospel each year. It’s Year B now and we move to the gospel of Mark. We’re near the end of that gospel this morning in what is sometimes called ‘the little apocalypse’, or bible-speak […]
Matthew 6.19-end Tomorrow is the day we remember St Matthew and our lectionary encourages us to start celebrating him with evening prayer today. The collect, with its prayer that we ‘forsake the selfish love of gain and the possessive love of riches’, reflects Matthew the tax collector’s willingness to leave his lucrative, but corrupt, job […]
I want to consider Jesus’ parables in our gospel today, with a passing reference to that wonderful passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans. I’ve never found the idea of process very easy. By that I mean that I struggle sometimes with the idea that things take time. On the whole I’m more interested in […]
Homily offered at the first service in the church building after lockdown on Sunday 12 July 2020 at 4.00pm. Only those members unable to join in morning zoomed worship had been invited. We followed Common Worship Evening Prayer Luke 19.41-20.8 ‘As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it’ In the weeks […]