Sermons And Gubbins

  This sermon was given at our Sunday morning service on 15th February 2026. The readings were Exodus 24:12-18 and Matthew 17:1-9 . I hope you enjoy reading it!   I’ve been thinking a lot – for various reasons recently – about Change. I swear I saw some of you almost shudder there. I think, deep down, none of us really like change. The American journalist, Sydney J Harris, once wrote: “ our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time. What we really want is for things to remain the same but get better ”. I can very much relate to that, can you? Wouldn’t it be excellent if things were different? Not the things I like, though…   The master of self-change and reinvention, David Bowie This morning’s readings are all about change. They’re probably the readings about change in the New Testament. This morning, we heard the story of the Transfiguration . And the story of the Transfiguration is a pivotal point in God’s story of how the world changes. ...

I wrote these lyrics for a hymn for a service celebrating the Feast of the Transfiguration. It's in 7,7,7,7 meter, and would fit to the tune used for "There's a Wideness in God's Mercy". In the end, we didn't use it as a hymn for the service, but instead as prayers (changing the language to communal instead of personal). Both versions are below. It's based on a  quotation  from  Teresa of Avila . Feel free to use as a hymn or prayers if you wish! I'd love to hear about it, if you do! Hymn : The Body of Christ Where now are your hands, O my God? They are those with which I touch. They are all you have to use to heal the world you love so much. Where now are your feet, Lord Jesus? They are those with which I tread. Walk with them to take your gospel   All across the world to spread. Where now are your eyes, O my King? They are those with which I see. Open them to view your world as you yourself know it to be. Where now is your mouth, O my Lord? It is tha...

This sermon was given at our Sunday morning service on 19th February 2023, the last Sunday before Lent. I hope you enjoy reading it, and don't find the puns (too!) cringe-worthy! The gospel reading was Matthew 17:1-9 . The astute amongst you may well have spotted a theme running through our readings today.   All of our readings, from the Old Testament, to our Gospel and the other New Testament reading from 2 Peter mentioned one thing. If we had read out today’s psalm as well, we’d have heard that that theme in the psalm too. That theme is ‘mountains’. And mountains have certainly given me ‘ summit’ to think about in preparing my sermon today.   Oh – sorry, were you not ‘ inclined’ to find that joke funny? I thought it was the ‘ peak’ of humour, myself but maybe you’re just not appreciating how hill- arious I actually am? I guess I’d better leave the mountain jokes here, and ‘ ev-a-rest ’.   I’m so sorry. Feel free to come at me after the service today with ...