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Remembrance Sunday 2025

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  This sermon was written for Remembrance Sunday 2025; eighty years since the end of World War  II. Today we mark eighty years since the end of the Second World War. I remember clearly standing here only six years ago, marking one hundred years since the very first Remembrance  Day. I also gave my first remembrance day sermon 11 years ago, marking one hundred years since the start of the First World War. This is my fifth Remembrance Sunday sermon. Each year that I write these sermons, I realise that fewer and fewer of us remember.  Back in 2014, I remarked that to have met anyone who had died in World War I – that great war to end all wars, you would have needed to be at least 96 years old then. You’d need to be 107 now. There are about 130 people living in the UK who are 107 or older. You would need to be over eighty years old now to have ever met anyone who died in the  Second World Wa.  That’s about 4% of the UK population. Even with that, you’d probabl...
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Bible Sunday 2025

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This sermon was given at our Sunday morning service on 26th October 2025; Bible Sunday. The gospel reading was Luke 4:16-24 . I hope you enjoy reading it!   Today, churches around the world are celebrating Bible Sunday . This is a day set aside for us to think about this book that we read from here at St Michael’s every time we meet together to worship God. I’m sure you’ve all got one – at least one – at home too. Maybe an ancient one you were given as a confirmation present? Maybe one bought as a student to aid with studying? Maybe you are in possession of a treasured family Bible, passed down from parents and grandparents, and now safely stored away in a cupboard or the loft? It probably won’t surprise you to know that – at home – we have at least twelve physical copies of the Bible, most of which are different translations. I have to be honest – this one here  is one of my personal favourites! It’s probably not that useful for when we do the readings in church, however…...
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National Poetry Day 2025

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Today is National Poetry Day. For the past two years ( 2024 , 2023 ), I've collated a list of the poems written in the last 12 months, and so I've done the same again today! Some of these below have explicit language in - those are clearly noted below if you wish to avoid reading them. Happy reading, and please let me know if you have a favourite? A Conversation with the Boss at 5:26 on a Friday Afternoon  (EXPLICIT LANGUAGE) Out of the Window Time and Tide Haikus  (EXPLICIT LANGUAGE) Vigil The English Abroad Prayer (for Isaac and Miriam) Through the Music Half Life Burning Issues  (EXPLICIT LANGUAGE) Things I Have Regretted Happy Birthday to You Give me my Country back What ( crime) Would Jesus Do?
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What (crime) Would Jesus Do?

This poem was written for our church monthly poetry group. The theme was either ‘Jesus’ or ‘Crime’. For this one, I chose both I hope you enjoy reading it! What (crime) Would Jesus Do? Would Jesus rob an international bank  and give the money to the poor? Would Jesus chain himself to a tank,  if it meant that he could stop a war? Would Jesus steal a loaf of bread to feed a hungry child?  Would Jesus break into a testing lab to free animals into the wild?  Would Jesus smuggle Bibles  into states where they are banned? Would Jesus help families  flee from war to other lands?  Would Jesus help someone die to ease their suffering? Would Jesus protest human-rights abusers’ state-visits to the king? Would Jesus face a nazi and punch him squarely on the jaw? Would Jesus follow nations’ rules? Would Jesus break the law?
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Give me my Country back

This poem was written for our church monthly poetry group. The theme was either ‘Jesus’ or ‘Crime’. This one was the latter… Hope you enjoy reading it! Give me my country back They'd like to have you think  It is a crime to speak your mind, To love your country, To wave a flag. "We can't say these things any more!", They say Whilst posting on Twitter and Facebook, And ranting on Talk Radio, And addressing thousands of people at rallies and demos; Televised and monetised for the whole world to hear. Thank God we have these every-men, These foreign-backed, violent, every-men, These stinking-rich, grifting, every-men, Standing up to defend Our Country  From the tyranny of the Liberal Elite,   With their shiny dog-whistles, their home-spun names, and their offshore bank accounts. Otherwise  We might not notice  If it became illegal for protest to be disruptive. We might not notice  If it became illegal to support those opposing genocide. We might not notic...
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