Sermons And Gubbins

This poem has been over ten years in the making, but it has only come together properly in the past couple of weeks. It was written as a response to our church poetry group theme of 'Prayer'. And this is my prayer for my children. I hope it resonates, and you're also more than welcome to lay claim to it! Prayer (For Isaac and Miriam ) May you be strong and independent May you always know your mind May you always make good choices  But most of all, be kind. May you always love the person you are May you find it easy to unwind May you always know where home is But most of all, be kind.  May you work hard at a job you love May you avoid the daily grind May you never find yourself in need But most of all, be kind. May you always stand up for what is right  May you never be undermined  May you have true friends who have your back  But most of all, be kind. May you be brave, but never foolish  May you leave your fears behind  May you soar and shine and chang...

 This sermon was preached on our Sunday morning service on 8th September. The gospel was Mark 7:24-37 . I hope you enjoy reading it! The Jesus of the first half of today’s Gospel is – I have to say – a Jesus I don’t really recognise. I don’t know if you feel the same? It starts off normal enough; in our gospel, we hear that Jesus leaves his own community and sets off travelling. Maybe he’s visiting extended family, or perhaps he’s on a tour, spreading the Good News to other members of the Jewish faith (or, potentially more apposite to today’s Gospel, the Jewish race ). Either way, he’s in foreign climes. Whilst there, he finds a place to stay. He’s approached by a local woman who asks for his help. Not for her, but for her daughter, who, she says, is possessed. And here’s where Jesus looks to go off the rails. He says ‘no’.   Jesus and the Syrophoenician Woman     He says ‘no’, and really not politely. He’s rude to her. His language is discriminatory...

This sermon was preached at our Sunday morning service on Sunday 21st May, the Seventh Sunday of Easter. The Gospel was John 17:1-11 . I hope you enjoy reading it! Before I start this morning, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge Peter, who is leading our intercessions today. Today is a really hard week to lead the intercessions, because today’s Gospel is basically one long prayer, and so, maybe you can guess what I’m going to be preaching about! Sorry about that, Peter! Don’t change anything in what you’ve written in response to my sermon today though! Don’t worry; I’ll make that clearer later as to why! Who knew the Pope had a holy hotline? All the commentaries I’ve read on today’s Gospel passage talk about it being a model for prayer. And I think there is certainly something in that. In the other three Gospels, the disciples ask Jesus to show them how to pray, and he duly does as he is asked. “ When you pray, ” he says, “ pray like this… ” And then we get the most famous prayer ...

This sermon was first preached at our Sunday morning service on 7th November 2021. The Old Testament reading was  Jonah 3:1-5,10 . Our readings today are odd readings to have at this time of year. In fact, for those of you whose memories are particularly good, you may well recognise them from back at the end of January. Of course, due to covid, back in January, we were only holding services by Zoom, so only read the Gospel lesson on that particular Sunday. I’m not entirely sure why we’ve got them again today; the lectionary is a strange beast sometimes! But actually, I’m delighted that this morning we had a chance to hear these readings again – mainly for the opportunity that we did not get in January to hear from the book of Jonah for our lesson from the Old Testament this morning. I love the book of Jonah. We all know it of course from Sunday school, with the famous story of Jonah being swallowed by a whale; but there is more to the story. If you’ve never read it, I recommend it....

There's something a little bit odd about our Gospel reading today. I wonder if you noticed it? Maybe not. After all, 'odd' these days is really rather a relative concept isn't it? A bit like time.  They say that time flies when you're having fun. I think we need a new saying for what time does when you're in lockdown. 'Time melds together in a conglomerate mess when you're staying home, staying safe, and saving lives'. Perhaps I need to work on the catchiness of that.  I remember reading a meme on facebook the other day that renamed the lockdown days of the week. No longer are we subject to the linear confines of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and so on. Instead, until further notice, the days of the week are now called Thisday, Thatday, Otherday, Someday, Yesterday, Today and Nextday. I say I read it the other day, it might have been two months ago for all I know. I guess that proves the point. (Nextday, by the way, is the mythical day long...