Sermons And Gubbins

This sermon was written for our Trinity Sunday service on Sunday 26th May 2024. I hope you enjoy reading it! Eleven years ago, I sat in what was then Vicky Johnson’s office, over the road, and talked to her about the possibility of me becoming a Reader. I remember saying to her at the time that I was worried about preaching, as some of my views about God were probably heretical! Vicky laughed and replied that someone had once told her that all good sermons had a bit of heresy in them! Whether she believed that or just said it to make me feel a bit better at the time, it’s often brought me a bit of courage when writing sermons – it’s allowed me to say the braver thing, rather than the safer thing – and I like to think, it’s helped me to become a better preacher.   And – if it’s true – well, buckle up, ‘cause today’s sermon is going to be a doozy!   Today is Trinity Sunday. And today, brave preachers up and down the country are going to be preaching heresy – accid...

This poem was written for our monthly poetry group. The theme chosen for this month was ‘friendship’ - I hope you enjoy reading it! Best Mates  You're my best mate by miles, by far! We help each other prop up the bar. I'll always let you drive my car; You know where the bodies are. We're there together, through all life's strains. Through lows and highs, with loss and gains. You've got the brawn and, well, you've got the brains. I know my place; you hold the reigns. I'm the Sundance Kid, and you are Butch, You're Starsky - I will be your Hutch I know we'll always be in touch. We have to be; you know too much. We just work; like an air tank and an ocean diver, Like streaking goes with Lady Godiva, Or duct tape, and TV's MacGyver; So... pretty please, guv, lend me a fiver?

  This sermon was preached at our Sunday morning service on Sunday 16th August. The gospel that morning was Matthew 15:21-28 Today’s gospel is difficult. Difficult because it presents us with a Jesus who – at least at first – doesn’t seem particularly Christ-like. Jesus in this passage is parochial. His concern is for his people and his nation. He’s got a mission to the House of Israel, and that is where he believes his focus needs to be. He's not concerned about helping the Canaanite woman who begs for his aid. She is not Jewish, and she is, seemingly, not worthy. I’m sure you’ve heard it before that different Gospel-writers had different focuses. John, for example, was particularly concerned with writing a theology about Christ, and Mark was writing for the benefit persecuted Christians in Rome. Matthew – who wrote our passage today – was particularly writing for a Jewish audience. Perhaps this makes Jesus’ viewpoint here more understandable; it’s an expression of solidar...