Sermons And Gubbins

This sermon was preached at our Evensong service on Sunday 24th March, a week that had been pretty eventful in the political life of the UK, as the country prepared to leave the EU - the original 'Brexit Day' was supposed to be 29th March, but at this point in time, who knows if/when it will be! The Old Testament reading for the evening was Genesis 28:10-19 . Hope you enjoy the sermon... What a week it’s been for the UK politically! As the now-potentially-postponed Brexit-day loomed ever nearer, concerns this week grew amongst the public and politicians over the possible impacts of the UK leaving the EU with no deal. We’ve heard about all sorts of planned emergency operations on how as a country we’ll mitigate any fallout, including measures to control traffic, a ministry of defence underground control-centre and the stockpiling of food and medicine; and across social media, the UK’s fastest growing petition has been shared thousands of times garnering literally mill...

This sermon was preached at our Evensong service on the first Sunday of Lent 2018 (Sunday 18th February). The Old Testament reading was taken from the book of Genesis, chapters 2:15-17 and 3:1-7 . Today is the first Sunday in Lent; the start of our solemn journey with Christ towards his cross. During these forty days, we might choose to fast, or devote more time to prayer and Bible study. Perhaps you might have started a book of Lenten devotions? We probably should also be using this period of time to look at our lives, calling to mind the exhortation of Wednesday just gone – “ Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin, and be faithful to Christ. ” It’s appropriate, then, that, as we contemplate our failings, and turn away from sin, we at this point turn the pages of our Bible to contemplate the first sin. It’s appropriate that here, at the  start  of Lent, we have heard a story from the start of  time .  It’s ...

This sermon was preached at Evensong on Sunday 29th May 2016. The Old Testament reading was Genesis 4:1-16 . I came across the idea for the sermon from an article on a website I've referenced before. Whilst the idea of reciprocity is probably one that isn't really found in the Genesis passage, I thought it was a good one to explore, especially as no reason for the rejection is given. It would be hard to make an academic argument that this is what the passage is about, but, to be fair, it would be hard to make that argument with any interpretation. I hope you find the sermon helpful at any rate!   It’s interesting how the rivalry between brothers can become legendary. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a fan of myths and the ancient world, and have recently enjoyed watching Mary Beard’s Ultimate Rome on the BBC – the first episode harked back to the foundation of Rome, and the two famous brothers, Romulus and Remus, who vied to found the city. In English legend, we have the...

This sermon was preached on Sunday 4th October. It was a very difficult sermon to write. I knew, from the readings, that it must be about marriage, and I certainly did not want to be disengenuous in my preaching. It's the sermon I've done that's generated the most conversation at the door afterwards, as well as, I'm very pleased to say, generated the most compliments. There was, of course, some disagreement, and sadly, one lady seemed particularly put out, but at least stayed until the end of the service to tell me so. The readings were   Genesis 2:18-24 , Psalm 8 , Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12 and Mark 10:2-16 . A few weeks ago, Vaughan challenged me to refer to God as Mother during a future sermon, for God, as we know, is above, and beyond, and before gender. In this sermon, then, for reasons I hope will become clear, I refer to God the Father, as our Mother, using the feminine form. One of the great things about the Church of England is its lectionary. The rea...