|
DATE |
SUBJECT |
BIBLE
REF. |
|
24th
Feb. |
The
Woman of Samaria:
When I was an undergraduate in Sheffield in the dark distant past
there was a singer-songwriter who made a mark for a while called
Andrew Gold. One of his albums called ‘What’s wrong with this
picture’. At first glance everything on the album cover (remember
those?) seemed in order – just a room scene with him and his guitars
– but as you looked a little closer it just didn’t make sense – like
the pictures of Max Escher the artist who plays with our minds. |
John 4 |
|
6th
Feb. |
Ash Wednesday:
It's a common misconception that Lent is about self-improvement.
Somehow a half-remembered custom of giving things up has been mixed
in with our society's obsession with self-help and self-improvement,
so that we've blurred the true meaning of the fast into a rather
individualistic concept, more like a New Year Resolution to detox or
de-clutter. We are fallen creatures and need redemption, not
cosmetic surgery. |
- |
|
3rd
Feb. |
Transfiguration Sunday:
Today is Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before we
begin the journey of Lent toward Easter. I wonder what today’s
celebration means to you – or what impact this story has had on your
spiritual life. It’s a strange and other-worldly story isn’t it –
but actually, in the midst of this supernatural event we find a
passage that can have some of the most concrete, down-to-earth
applications for our own lives. |
- |
|
27th
Jan. |
The Kingdom of Heaven is
Rising:
You must have
caught the news last week about the panic and fear that’s been
taking hold of the international stock exchanges – panic that we’re
just about to descend into a global recession. Wall Street in the US
wasn’t trading last Monday because it was Martin Luther King Day - a
public holiday –– and everyone just went into desperate panic mode. |
- |
|
20th
Jan. |
"Come and See":
Have
you ever tried a product or purchased an item because someone
recommended it to you? Or ever gone to a restaurant recommended by a
friend? Ever rented a movie because someone else said they thought
you’d enjoy it or because they said it was fantastic? |
Matthew 3. 13-17 |
|
13th
Jan. |
You Want Me to Baptize
YOU?:
It’s
probably safe to say that John was as surprised as we would be if
we’d read this gospel passage without knowing what was coming. But
it needs a fuller context for us to get the sense of dismay: In the
preceding verses John had been saying “I am baptizing you with
water for repentance, but the One is who is coming is more powerful
than me! I’m not worthy to even carry his sandals. He will baptize
you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He’s got his shovel in his
hand, ready to clear out the barn – but he’ll burn the chaff with a
fire that will never go out.” |
Matthew 3. 13-17 |
|
6th
Jan.
Evening Service |
Jesus Is
the Way:
Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration
paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They
said, “Sir, we want to see (meet) Jesus.” Philip told Andrew about
it, and they went together to ask Jesus. Jesus replied, “Now the
time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. I tell you
the truth, unless a grain of wheat is planted in the soil and dies,
it remains alone. But its death will produce many new grains—a
plentiful harvest of new lives. |
John 12. 20-26 |
|
6th
Jan. |
Epiphany:
We
have these two biblical events to guide our worship and thinking
today. The actual word – “Epiphany” – derives from the Greek for
‘manifestation’ – or revealing – revealing what? Well the light of
Christ that has come into the world. So we have our Paschal Candle
as a symbol of the light of the world – God incarnate revealing
himself, coming amongst us in Jesus Christ. I love the fact that we
have a faith that’s ‘enfleshed’ – that God somehow sacralizes and
makes special our physical existence. |
- |
|
24th
Dec. |
Christmas Eve:
It is
so great to see everybody here tonight. And may I take this
opportunity to wish you all a peace-full Christ-mas. This is a good
place to be isn’t it? – worth suspending the craziness for a
nanosecond - and just for few stolen moments a chance to make sure
the person – Jesus Christ - gets back into XMAS (such are the
pressures to rename this Christian festival Winterval or whatever,
“so’s not to offend” – oh and also the £75 billion we’ve spent on it
this year!). |
John 3. 3-16 |
|
16th
Dec. |
Are You the One?:
We
don't quite know what to make of John the Baptist do we? – but this
3rd Sunday in Advent is when we think about him: his life
and his message. Who he actually was and what he has to say is
certainly important - we have to admit that. He was Jesus’ cousin;
he was the One Jesus approached to baptize him at the beginning of
his ministry? |
Matthew 11. 2-11 |
|
2nd
Dec. |
The
Unexpected Arrival:
I’m
sure you’ve been there on a sunny summer’s afternoon – chilling out
with the family, last minute barbeque on the go, dishes unwashed;
books and magazines, coffee mugs and biscuits lying around: the sort
of cheerful untidiness any family can produce in about – half an
hour. Suddenly there’s a ring at the doorbell – it’s the posher side
of the family – mum had said they might be in the area and might
call in, but as sometimes happens you’ve completely forgotten!
Oops. |
Matthew 24. 33-44 |
|
- |
Introduction to Luke Series Sermons
:Year
C of the three-year Lectionary has been taking us through Luke’s
Gospel recently and I’ve been indebted to Tom Wright (N.T Wright),
the current Bishop of Durham and New Testament expert for helping me
begin to get my own head around Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom –
and particularly the incredible stories, the parables, that
he told. I was thinking about a title for the series of sermons,
and, while it’s not exactly pithy, here’s what’s been in my mind as
I’ve prepared and preached recently: |
Luke |
|
25th
Nov. |
Christ the Crucified King
:
Today we
celebrate Christ the King. And there’s a question lurking behind
these gospel accounts of the crucifixion that continues to fascinate
and trouble people. If Jesus is a king, then what kind king is he? A
rebel king for the Jews who wants to get their own back on the
Romans and regain power. A king intent on conquering the world and
lording it over people? Or is Jesus different from any kind of king
the world has ever known? |
Luke 23. 33-43 |
|
11th
Nov. |
Marriage and the Resurrection:
A
famous theologian, confronted by an eager young theological student
to say a few words about the resurrection of the dead, refused. "I
can't talk about the resurrection with anyone under the age of 30.
Before 30 what do you know of honest-to-God failure, real
heartbreak, mortality, solid defeat? What can you know of a dark
world which only makes sense if Jesus Christ is raised?" |
Luke 20. 27-38 |
|
4th
Nov. |
The Calling of Zacchaeus
:
Sunday schools love Zacchaeus – acting out the story and singing
choruses about this little man climbing up into the sycamore tree
“for the Saviour he wanted to see” – and then Jesus saying to him
“I’m coming to your house for tea”. It’s such a lovely, vivid story
and the kids can identify with him probably because they often find
themselves at the back, trying to peer over the big people, unable
to see what’s going on. |
Luke 19. 1-10 |
|
28th
Oct. |
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
:
We
must remember that a tax collector was a crook. He was a person who
was a Jew but he worked for the Roman government. He had a
franchise, an area in which he was entitled to collect taxes. He’d
have been told by the Romans the exact amount he needed to pay them.
Anything else he made over and above that was his to pocket for
himself. “Tax collectors”? Well not surprisingly they were despised
as turncoats, traitors. |
Luke 8. 9-14 |
|
21st
Oct. |
Training in Righteousness
:
Is it
just me, or is there something about the Bible readings we’ve had
recently that seem to be hitting me right between the eyes? I’ve
talked to a few folks recently who seem to be getting the sense that
God really is speaking ‘through his Word’ – but I wonder if we’re
listening? |
2 Timothy 3: 14-14:5 |
|
14th
Oct. |
Gratitude and Ingratitude?
:
Two
men were walking through a field one day when they spotted a very
angry looking bull. Instantly human nature took over and they darted
toward the nearest fence, only to find the bull following in hot
pursuit, and it was soon apparent they weren’t going to make it.
Terrified, the one shouted to the other, "Can’t you pray or
something, John, we’re in for it!" John answered, "I can’t. I’ve
never said a public prayer in my life." "But you’ve got to!"
implored his companion. "The bull’s catching up to us." "All right,"
panted John, "I’ll say the only prayer I know, the one my father
used to repeat at the table: ’For what we are about to receive, may
the Lord make us truly thankful.’" |
Luke 17. 11-19 |
|
7th
Oct. |
Jesus - The Bread of Life - Harvest Festival
:
Try and imagine the scene if you will – it’s right after the
astonishing event where 5,000 people were fed out of practically
nothing - Jesus at the height of his popularity - the crowds wanting
to take him - by force if necessary – to make him their King. Jesus
even tries to get away from their demands by crossing the lake –
only to be followed the next day when they’d figured out where he
might be, and a huge flotilla of boats follows him across the lake.
|
John 6. 25-35 |
|
30th Sept. |
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
:We’ve
all seen him. He’s usually lying on a pile of newspapers in a shop
doorway, covered with a moth-eaten blanket. Perhaps he has a dog
with him for safety – and company. People are used to walking past
him, or even stepping over him. He occasionally rattles a few coins
in a tin or cup, asking for a more. I can’t remember him being there
when I was a kid, but he’s been in every country I’ve ever lived or
visited; he’s in all our cities and wherever we go. |
Luke 16. 19-31 |
|
23rd Sept. |
'Come to Church Sunday'
:A
woman came up to a very well-known priest (who’s now a bishop) after
the service demanding to know what the reading meant. It was this
same parable from Luke, and like today, was read after an Old
Testament reading from the prophet Amos who was denouncing the
commercial activities of the businessmen who couldn’t wait to get
the religious festival over so they could get back to ripping off
the poor people. She’d obviously been listening hard to the
readings, but couldn’t make head or tail of what was going on. |
Luke 16. 1-3 |
|
16th Sept. |
Lost Sheep and a Lost Coin
:You’ve
just moved house into your dream location – a quiet, secluded cul de
sac backing onto a river near woods and fields. It’s your first
Saturday night in your new home. Everything seems so peaceful and
perfect and having got the kids settled you’re drifting nicely into
sleep. Then without any warning all chaos breaks loose: loud music,
amplified voices, cheering, even fireworks – all going on without a
break into the small hours – keeping the children awake, driving you
to utter distraction. And you begin to wonder: |
Luke 15. 1-10 |
|
9th Sept. |
The Cost of Discipleship
:
Imagine a party political broadcast where the leader of the party
says “ If you vote for me, you’re voting to lose your homes and
families; you’re asking for higher taxes and lower wages; you’re
deciding in favour of losing all you love best! So come on sign up –
who’s on my side? Somehow I don’t think the media would even bother
reporting such a no-hope political message – but they might be a
little puzzled. Why on earth would anyone want to publicize his
policies in such a way? |
Luke 14. 25-35 |
|
2nd Sept. |
Meals and Parties? Humble Pie?
:I
love Luke’s gospel don’t you? – for one thing it has more meal-time
scenes than all the others. And if his vision of the Christian life,
from one point of view (as we’ve been seeing) is a journey, from
another point of view it’s a actually a “party”. The story we have
here isn’t always recognized as a parable, because it looks
simply like a piece of social advice, of practical wisdom: “you want
to avoid embarrassment in front of your social guests – then take
this tip.” |
Luke 14. 7-14 |
|
19th August |
"I Came to Bring Fire and Divide" - What's That All About?
:The
feast of Mary the Mother of Our Lord was celebrated last Wednesday.
If Jesus’ mother had been in the crowd that day, I don’t think she
would have been in the least bit surprised by his words. She
knew from the beginning that he was going to be controversial.
Before Jesus was even born, Mary knew that he was the key to God’s
plan to bring down the powerful from their thrones and lift up the
lowly, to fill the hungry with good things and send the rich away
empty. We get that at the beginning of Luke in chapter 2 (v52-53) |
Luke 12. 49-52 |
|
29th July |
Deepening Your Roots
:As
we live out our purpose in this world, we quickly realize that
Christian growth is a process. We can become Christians in an
instant when we receive Jesus Christ into our lives as our Saviour
and Lord, but it takes a lifetime to work out what it means to live
out our faith. So our focus should not just be on ‘knowing’ but on
‘growing’. The Bible always links information with a change of life
- we’re to become what we’ve begun. |
Colossians 2. 6-15 |
|
22nd July |
What's Going on with Martha and Mary?
:Now
if you thought the ‘good Samaritan’ was radical, the powerful little
story we have as our gospel reading this morning suggests that Luke
the gospel writer has plenty more where that came from – as Bishop
Tom Wright puts it in his ‘Luke for Everyone’ commentary. But once
again there are ways this interaction between the two sisters has
been generally understood that doesn’t seem to fully grasp how
scandalous this incident and Jesus’ use of it might have seemed at
the time. |
Luke 10. 38-42 |
|
15th July |
The
Good Samaritan - What's Really Going on Here?
:The
best-known stories are sometimes the hardest to understand. This
gospel story of the Good Samaritan has passed into folklore, and has
succeeded, confusingly, in changing the meaning of the word
‘Samaritan’ itself in modern language. There’s the well-known
organization called the ‘Samaritans’ whose task it is to give help
to people in the direst need. But that certainly wasn’t what people
would have meant by the word in Jesus day. |
Luke 10. 30-37 |
|
8th July |
'Bringing Joy to God's Heart' Jesus Sends them Out
:Luke’s
Gospel account is the only one that tells about the sending out of
the seventy. It is also the only version that describes their joyous
return and victory over the forces of darkness. Today’s passage
reminds us that with our own faith comes the responsibility to join
in sharing the good news of God’s grace with those who have not yet
heard. |
Luke 10. 1-24 |
|
1st July |
Conversations on the Way to Jerusalem
:
Jesus set his face – “like a flint”, one version tells us – to go to
Jerusalem – where he’s going to facing torture and execution on a
Roman cross. The cost he’s prepared to pay to get us back into a
relationship with God. And you might not have considered this in the
same way before – but I wonder if you’ve ever given much though to
the cost of following someone like this? Let’s have a quick look at
what’s involved in being an apprentice of Jesus Christ. |
Luke 9. 51-62 |
|
24th June |
Healing of the Demoniac
:We
don’t know why Jesus did a lot of the things that he did. Why he
went to the Land of the Gerasenes – the area to the east of Galilee,
where for the most part the land rises steeply from close to the
lake. What we do know is this was largely Gentile territory –
although many Jews would’ve lived there as well. |
Luke 8. 26-39 |
|
June 2007 |
The Lord's Prayer - Series 1
:Today
begins a short series on what we know as the Lord’s prayer – but
should probably more accurately be referred to as “the disciples’
prayer’. I wonder whether you’ve ever asked the question ‘Why am I
here?’ You might well be asking yourself that right now – like why
on earth did I have to get up so early? – but that’s not what I’m
talking about; What am I here in this world for? What’s the purpose
of my life? |
Matthew 6:10 |
|
June 2007 |
The Lord's Prayer - Series 2
:
We’ve
come to the second of our series on the Lord’s prayer – and there’s
a shift in focus – from the emphasis on you and yours (your name,
your kingdom) to ‘us’ and ‘our’. Remember when one of the teachers
of the Law asked Jesus ‘of all the commandments, which is the most
important? What did Jesus reply? –“love the Lord your God with
everything you possess – and – (equally important) ...love your
neighbour as yourself”. It’s a subdivision that reflects the 10
commandments – if you look at them there are 5 to do with our
relationship with God; and 5 that cover our relationships with
others. |
Matthew 6:11 |
|
June 2007 |
The Lord's Prayer - Series 3
:
In
some ways this is the most difficult clause of the Lord’s prayer. It
covers two issues that are interlinked: God’s forgiveness of us and
our forgiveness of other people. You’re probably already thinking –
as I was when I was preparing this – that the subject of forgiveness
isn’t one that lends itself to cool, detached, theoretical
discussion – just the very mention gets the adrenalin going. Almost
anybody who has risked publicly about the necessity of forgiving
those who might have hurt us will have had some sort of experience
like someone coming up to them at the end of a meeting with a pale,
angry face, blurting out “It’s all very well for you to talk about
forgiveness, but let me tell you what happened to me...” |
Matthew 6:11 |
