Sermons And Gubbins

This sermon was preached on the morning on 11 September 2016. The gospel that morning was Luke 15:1-10 . It was a tricky sermon to come up with the appropriate take upon; there were several different ways I could go with it, I think, and it was only on the Friday evening that I finally settled on one. I *hope* it was the right sermon for the time, but if not, I hope at least you get something out of it instead! Familiarity breeds contempt – I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase? It’s often used when people have grown apart, or perhaps just need to take a break from each other. It’s not just used about relationships, though. It can apply to anything we do often that once used to be unfamiliar – as a child, for me, pizza was one of the most exciting meals I could have. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy a good pizza, but the increased availability of it – and the regularity in which I eat it – has diminished its excitement somewhat. It applies in our faith, too. Many of us have...

This sermon was my first as a guest-preacher, preached on Sunday 21st August; I was invited to preach at St Agnes and then at St Thomas in Oldham. The gospel that morning was Luke 13:10-17 . (As an aside, ignore the heading on the biblegateway link; headings (like chapters and verses) in the Bible are not original and are added by editors to help seperate the sections. Hopefully you'll see (as you read through the sermon) why I don't think the heading is the most helpful!) I’d like to start my sermon this morning with a confession, I hope you won’t hold it against me; I’m not a sports fan.   I don’t follow any football team – and that’s tricky as it’s always one of the first questions I get asked whenever people hear that I live in Manchester – are you City or United? There’s always a sense of disappointment when I answer ‘neither’, the person I’ve met has just had their conversation-starter stopped in its tracks and needs to try to think of something else to talk about. ...

This sermon was preached on the morning of February 21st 2016, the second Sunday of Lent. The readings were Genesis 15:1-12,17-18 , Psalm 27 , Phillippians 3:17-4:1 & Luke 13:31-end .   I love stories. If you ever want to capture and hold my attention, then start me off with a ‘once upon a time’. And if you want me to stop what I’m doing, tell me a story about gods and origins. A story that has been handed down through the ages, or a twist on those tales. I like that kind of tale so much, I even studied Greek and Roman literature and drama at university, and despite that, I still enjoy reading about Odysseus tricking the Cyclops, and the greed, stupidity, and pride of the Greek pantheon of gods, and the ingenuity of the people with whom they interact. I find it fascinating that different cultures have the same kinds of stories. Tales of people wandering, cast out from home; tales of heroes battling fantastic and horrendous monsters; tales of tricksters, getting their...

This sermon was preached on the 18th October, when we celebrated the Feast of St Luke. We held our regular Wholeness & Healing service on the same day. The readings were Isaiah 35:3-6 , Psalm 147:1-7 , 2 Timothy 4:5-17 & Luke 10:1-9 . Once, there was a man. Let’s call him Noah. He was a very firm believer in God – zealous for the Lord, you might say. Now, in the place where he lived, there was a storm. The local officials in the area sent out a warning that the riverbanks would soon burst and cause flooding. They warned the occupants of the town to evacuate immediately. Noah heard the warning, and he said to himself, “I will trust in the Lord. God will keep me safe.” His neighbour came by, and said to him, “We’re leaving now – come get in our car and we’ll get out to safety!” Noah politely refused. “Thank you,” he said, “but I believe the Lord will save me.” And he prayed to God for the waters for subside. The water rose until it was the level of his porch. A m...

This sermon was preached at Evensong on Sunday 3rd April, the 2nd Sunday of Easter. The readings were Genesis 3:8-15 , Psalm 85 & Galatians 4:1-5 . This article was used in my research. A while ago, before Isaac was born, Jen & I talked about adopting. I guess many people who want children but, for whatever reason, do not have them, consider it, as a way to both satisfy their desire to raise a family and to be able to provide a loving, stable environment to a child in need. Paul, in our reading from his letter to the Galatians this evening also talks about adoption, but his understanding, and our understanding of the word are really quite different. I’d like to think about that a bit tonight, and see if it can help us to understand that reading, and God, a little bit better. I have to confess, when I read through this reading a week or so ago to prepare for tonight, I was a bit confused. Paul talks of us receiving adoption as God’s children, and my gut reaction t...

It is, admittedly, with some trepidation that I have come to lead us all in Evensong this evening. After the horrific events earlier this week at the 16th century St Etienne’s church in Normandy, there is, unfortunately, a small amount of fear in coming to church, to worship God together, at all. I suspect mine was not the only mind whose thought this crossed tonight. For, as I’m sure we’re are aware, on Tuesday morning, whilst saying mass with a small, faithful congregation in an ancient church, Father Jacques Hamel was murdered, martyred at the altar, by two young men, eager to perpetuate and escalate a religious war. I am very glad to see that you are here with me this evening. I am glad to see that you have, consciously or not, made a decision to not let the main weapon of terrorism – that of fear – win over your desire to congregate and to worship God together. I’d like, this evening, for us to think about Father Jacques, and the reaction of the world to the events...

This sermon was preached on the morning of 3rd July, when we celebrated the feast of St Thomas. In the news recently had been the EU referendum and the ensuing Tory leadership contest. The Gospel was John 20:24-29 . Today, we celebrate the feast of St Thomas. I have preached on him before, and I will try my best to not repeat myself today! That is difficult, though, because there is only ever one event from the gospels that is read out when we talk about Thomas; the one which gives him his nickname of Doubting Thomas , the familiar story we have heard again today where Thomas refuses to believe Christ has risen until he has seen with his own eyes. I wonder what Thomas himself would make of it? Every year, the same story being told of him, over and over? “ Not this again! ”, he might cry, “ Must they only ever talk about that moment of weakness? I was the first to take the Good News of Christ to India and converted thousands of people there! ”  And then, turning to Ma...