Sermons And Gubbins

This sermon was preached at our Sunday morning service on 26th July 2026. The gospel was Matthew 13:31-33,44-52   Do you ever sometimes get that ‘aha!’ moment? When someone’s been trying to explain something to you for ages, and then it finally twigs? I remember back in school being taught quadratic equations in maths. Lesson after lesson, the teacher taught us what we needed to do, and – whilst I was in class – I vaguely understood. As soon as I left the room though, it was like I tucked my understanding back under the desk alongside my chair. I distinctly remember (long after the rest of the class) the feeling when I finally understood what it was that I needed to do to solve these monstrosities; that sudden click when it all became clear. Of course, I can’t remember any of it now…   At the end of our gospel reading this morning, Jesus asks his disciples a question: Have they understood what Heaven is like? We’ve had three Sundays’ worth of gospel passages from Matthew...

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 service on 10th May 2026, the week of the local elections in the UK. The Gospel was John 14:15-21 .   My sermon this morning is not a complicated one. It holds no deep esoteric theology. There is no secret knowledge that I will impart.   Instead, I’m going to look at just a few words from our Gospel reading today. All very simple words. Well, most of them anyway.   “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. These nine words from Jesus at the beginning of our Gospel reading are straight-forward. All but one of them have four letters or less. They’re all easily understood with little context. All but one, maybe.   If you love me, you will keep my commandments.   Those people who don’t know Jesus – who, in not knowing him, don’t yet love him – won’t know what commandments he is talking about here. But for those of us who do, connections will be being made in our heads as we think about this phra...