Ordinary Times

 By what authority? Matthew 21:23-33 It has been a dramatic couple of days! Yesterday! Yesterday Jesus rode into Jerusalem in triumph. The crowd welcomed him like some kind of conquering hero, waving palm branches, laying their coats in his way and singing patriotic songs. No sooner had arrived in town than he went up to the Temple. For a …

A Sermon for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (27/09/20): By What Authority Read More »

 The Stone that the Builders Rejected Matthew 21:33-46 Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; This was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes”?’ The builders have been incompetent, because they have rejected as useless the stone that …

A Sermon for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (04/10/20): The Stone that the Builders Rejected Read More »

The Kingdom of Heaven is not Fair!Matthew 20:1-16 The kingdom of heaven is not fair! “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.”  The complaint of the labourers who have worked all day is that it is …

A Sermon for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (20/09/20): The Kingdom of Heaven is not Fair Read More »

 Forgive without limit as you have been forgiven Matthew 18:21-35 Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? . . .” Peter is actually asking for some clarification. He wants to more clearly understand the boundaries of the practical instructions which …

A Sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (13/09/20): Forgive Without Limit As You Have Been Forgiven Read More »

After five months of being unable to meet in church, this is the first sermon which I have published on this blog that will actually be preached live with a congregation. Where Two or Three are Gathered Matthew 18:15-20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am among them. Powerfully over …

A Sermon for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (06/09/20): Where Two or Three are Gathered Read More »

Must Matthew 16:21-28 From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and the scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised  When reading the Bible, and especially when thinking about preaching …

A Sermon for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (30/08/20): Must Read More »

 Peter’s Confession Matthew 16:13-20 Jesus has a question and he takes his disciples out of earshot of the crowd, to Caesarea Philippi, to ask it. He says: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” That’s an easy one! Voices speak up from various places within the group of disciples “Some say John …

A Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (23/08/20): Peter’s Confession Read More »

 Jesus and Peter Walk on Water Matthew 14:22-33 Immediately he made the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side. . . He went up the mountain by himself to pray. Very often in the Bible locations are symbolic. There is a kind of spiritual geography in the Bible. So …

A Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (09/08/20): Jesus and Peter Walk on Water Read More »