Sermons And Gubbins

This sermon was preached on Sunday 2nd August. The Old Testament reading was  Exodus 16:2-15 Our prime minister, David Cameron, caused something of a stir this week, when he referred to the number of migrants attempting to make the journey from Calais to the UK as a ‘swarm’. This use of language, comparing this group of people to insects – whether meant that way or not – was de-humanising and antagonistic. It was also sad. Perhaps, in his role as prime minister of the UK, he can little afford to show empathy here – his focus in his job, after all, is the country he governs. The same is not true for the rest of us, however. We are called to be empathetic, to put ourselves in the place of the outsider. As Christians especially, we are called to remember that we ourselves are migrants. The New Testament reminds us several times that we are in the world, but not of the world (John 15:18-19, John 17:16) – that we are strangers and exiles upon earth (Hebrews 11:...

I'd heard somene last week point out that Jesus told sermons and asked questions, whereas we preached sermons and gave explanations. Today's sermon was my attempt to address that - an imagined account of the unnamed woman in Mark 5:21-43 She’d heard he was going to be there. The talk on the street was of nothing else. The man who worked miracles, who cast out demons, who cured the sick , was in town. She knew she had to be there too. Perhaps, just perhaps, he’d take pity on her? Perhaps this was her chance? That’s why she was there that day. That’s why she was being jostled back-and-forth in that crowd – every one of them hoping to catch a glimpse of the teacher. For her, though, a glimpse was not enough. She wasn’t just ill. As awful as the constant bleeding made her feel, that wasn’t the worst of it. She was ‘unclean’. Physically and spiritually. She hadn’t been allowed in the synagogue for twelve years – hadn’t been allowed t...

 The Trinity Shield. The corners represent Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the centre of the shield is the word 'God'. Today is Trinity Sunday; a day universally dreaded by preachers. For, today we find ourselves trying to explain the Trinity. Sermons on Trinity Sunday are expected to be academic, theological assignments, using words such as 'modalism', 'co-eternal' and 'perikhōrēsis', and at the same time, be interesting , engaging and understandable, whilst the preacher avoids being heretical (another of those theological words, there). On top of that, the sermon must have relevance to our daily lives, and leave us with a deeper understanding of God and our faith! You see my dilemma, then!  Here are the things I must tick off: Be theological Be interesting Be understandable Be relevant Don't preach an incorrect, heretical, understanding of the Trinity Actually have a point that makes a difference At this point,...

I preached the following sermon at Evensong this evening. I found it a difficult sermon to write, and a large part of me wanted to write something very different. I tried hard to be non-partisan. Whilst writing it, I found myself hoping I would have written the same sermon had the election outcome been different. I certainly learnt a lot whilst writing it; I hope you find it helpful to read. ----- How could I preach this evening without talking about the general election? And how can a preacher do that in a meaningful way without causing offence to some, or even all!? For, if God has any meaning in our daily lives, He must surely be a factor in us forming our political views. And as Christ himself will never be our prime minister, the conclusions we individually reach in determining how to vote as Christians will be as diverse as we ourselves are. No party, be they comprised of God's people or otherwise, is God's party. In our earthly battles, God, as Joshua l...