Sermons And Gubbins

This sermon was preached on our Sunday morning service on 14th June 2026. The Gospel was Matthew 9:35-10:8 .     Did you ever – at Sunday school maybe – have to learn the names of the twelve disciples? I think, for me, it was one of the things we had to do when I was a member of the Boys’ Brigade in Scotland. To be honest, even now, I’m not sure I could do it from memory…   Let’s start with the easy ones: Simon (also called Peter), James, John, Judas Iscariot, Doubting Thomas – ok, that’s five. Seven more then – feel free to shout out! ·          Matthew the tax collector – sometimes called Levi ·          Philip ·          Andrew! (Simon’s brother) ·          Another James (son of Alphaeus, rather than Zebedee) ·          Another Simon as well – Simon the Zea...

This sermon was preached at our Sunday morning Eucharist on Sunday 8th August 2021, following a few weeks of relaxation of the UK's covid restrictions. The Gospel was John 6:35,41-51 . Hope you enjoy reading it! Raising children can be repetitive sometimes. Mealtimes especially. Don’t get me wrong, my two are very, very good, but we still have those conversations every parent has: “Come on now, eat up!” “Don’t liiike it!” “You do! This is your favourite!” “Want ice-cream.” “After. Eat up your meat and potatoes first. And you, eat up your bread.” I swear I have these conversations in my sleep sometimes; “Eat up! Eat your bread!”   Eating bread There is – surprisingly – a link here to today’s Gospel. When I read it out earlier, did it feel oddly familiar? A bit repetitive? If you were here last Sunday, or even the Sunday before, you’d be forgiven for thinking that maybe I’d read out last week’s Gospel instead, or maybe that of the week before? “Hear the Gospel of o...

This sermon was preached on Sunday 4th July 2021; the morning after the England football team qualified for their first semi-finals in the Euros in 25 years! The gospel that morning was Mark 6:1-13 . In today’s Gospel we heard the story of what happened when Jesus – after travelling throughout nearby villages, towns and cities, performing miracles, healing the sick and bringing God’s good news – much like football, came home.   Coming home (well, I had to, didn't it?) You’d think that ought to be a joyous occasion, seeing family and friends again after so long, welcomed back to a home-cooked meal and perhaps even praised as the famous celebrity preacher everyone has been talking about, but… things were quite different.   Jesus, it seems, was none too popular back home. We all know this story – a favourite of many a teenage Christian: ‘a prophet is not without honour except in their home town’. Except this is actually more than a belittling; the people aren’t just d...