No Condemnation Romans 8:1-11 There is therefore now no condemantion for those who are in Christ. . . . if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies. . . This is Paul at his most […]
A Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (12/07/20): No Condemnation Read More »
Come to me, I will give you rest Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 There’s no pleasing some people There is just no pleasing people! “You people!” Jesus says, “You people! What are you like. You are like squabbling children, who can’t decide whose game to play. You won’t kick a ball when we want you to. You
Abraham’s Faith – the Binding of Isaac Genesis 22:1-14 Often when God speaks in the Bible it is to set a test. God speaks to Abraham, but what is the test which God sets? God said: “Abraham, Abraham!” . . . “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the
Jesus Brings a Sword Matthew 10:24-39 Jesus repeats the most frequent commandment of the Bible. He says: Have no fear Typically for Jesus’ commandments, it can be read also as a promise or as an assurance. “Don’t be afraid, because you have no need to be afraid.” The context of Jesus’ commandment/assurance is the expectation that the Church
A Sermon for the Third Sunday after Pentecost (21/06/20): Jesus Brings a Sword Read More »
Christian Philosophy of Life Romans 5:1-8 Everyone has a philosophy of life. That seems a bold claim, since most of us are not in the least bit philosophical. But everyone has a philosophy of life. In an informal sense what that means is that everyone has some basis for their character. There is something that makes each of us
A Sermon for the Second Sunday after Pentecost (14/06/20): Christian Philosophy of Life Read More »
Trinity: Grammar and Puntuation Matthew 28:16-20 Today is Trinity Sunday. The Sunday which is famous, or infamous, as the one which preachers, if they can, try to avoid preaching. That is because this Sunday’s theme has the reputation as the most difficult one to address. Trinity is the Christian doctrine about God. This is the
A Sermon for Trinity Sunday (07/06/20): Trinity, Grammar and Punctuation Read More »
Pentecost – A Day of Miracles Acts 2:1-21 The day of Pentecost is a day of miracles! The Holy Spirit creates a disturbance. The first most obvious miracle. The one we’re most likely to notice, the one we tend to pay most attention to, is the disturbance which the Holy Spirit creates. Suddenly from heaven there
A Sermon for Pentecost (31/05/20): Pentecost – A Day of Miracles Read More »
Not doing nothing – Waiting Acts 1:6-14 “Men of Galilee why stand there looking up into the sky? This Jesus who was taken from you up to heaven will come again in the same way as you have seen him go.” There’s an odd pause in the Church year. We reach the climax (which we
A Sermon for the Sunday in Ascensiontide (24/05/20): Not Doing Nothing – Waiting Read More »
Making the Unknown God Known Acts 17:17-31 Athens is the most challenging place Paul has ever preached. He has been brought here, having left Thessalonica in a hurry. There his preaching had found considerable success in the synagogue and among those Greeks who were already attracted to the God of Israel. But his success had
A Sermon for Sixth Sunday of Easter (17/05/20): Making the Unknown God Known Read More »
Speaking Truth to Power from Powerlessness Acts 7:55-60 The first Christians very quickly discover that Jesus wasn’t exaggerating when he told them that to follow him meant taking up a cross and dying. They find out that if you are doing Christianity right it is liable to get you killed. Stephen is the first of the long