Sermons And Gubbins

This sermon was preached on Sunday 4th June - Pentecost Sunday, a few days before 2017's General Election. The main reading for the day was from Acts 2:1-21 . I did not have time to edit it to reflect yesterday's attack in London , but all those affected by that horrible event were (and are) in our prayers this morning. Are you ready for the world to change this week? For a change in our nation? Have you felt it in the air? Something stirring within you? Can you feel it? The sense of anticipation? Excitement? Maybe even a sense of fear around what might happen next? Don’t worry; I’m not talking about the election. This is not a party political broadcast on behalf of any prospective government; you can relax! But not too much – don’t get too comfy. There’s no time for that. Today, we celebrate Pentecost , and if you’re comfortable with that, it’s possible you’re thinking that today is a commemoration, an anniversary, a birthday, a historical event, and nothing mor...

This sermon was preached on the morning of 10th April 2016, in the wake of the breaking of the story of the Panama Papers. In preparing for the sermon, I realised that it would feel somewhat divorced from reality if it did not deal in some way with the news that has dominated the media and conversations all around the world this week. The readings were Zephaniah 3:14-end , Psalm 30 , Acts 9:1-20 and John 21:1-19 . What a week it’s been for the world’s elite. Of course, by ‘elite’, I, like most of the English speaking world, mean the super-rich. It’s funny that we don’t really use the word to refer to the most faithful people in the world, or the most hopeful, or most charitable and loving.  No – this week has not been especially remarkable for them ; but, for the wealthiest people in the world, it’s been somewhat of a worrying one. I refer, of course, to the leaking of the Panama Papers to the media. These papers showed how many world leaders and movers and shakers used ...