Matthew

Sermons based on readings from the Gospel of Matthew

A Sermon for the Second Sunday of Advent (04/12/22): A Necessary but not Sufficient Preparation

Matthew 3:1-12 A Necessary PreparationOne thing which all of the gospel writers are agreed on is that Jesus’ ministry is preceded by that of John the Baptist. Whilst only Matthew and Luke find it necessary to tell us about the birth and childhood of Jesus, all four of them are clear that Jesus’ ministry follows …

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A Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent (27/11/22): Advent, back to front and inside out

Matthew 24:36-44 Advent is the season of looking forward and getting ready. Both in a small and brief sense, but also in the largest and most long-lasting sense. Mostly we think of Advent as the about four weeks before Christmas. That time of year when we allow ourselves to look forward to the celebration. It …

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A Sermon for the Epiphany (06/01/22): Following the Star and the Scriptures

Matthew 2:1-12 The wise men are some of the oddest characters in the Bible. They are almost out of place. They are from a culture that is alien to the Bible. They are in possession of knowledge, of a kind and a quality that makes them seem, to ordinary folk, like magicians. Their careful study …

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A Sermon for the Second Sunday of Christmas and Epiphany (03/01/21): Unexpected Homage, Unexpected Opposition

 Unexpected Homage, Unexpected Opposition Matthew 2:1-12 The birth of Jesus is announced in Jerusalem by the arrival of a group of foreign magicians! We call them wise men, and in comparison to most of their contemporaries they seemed wise. They studied the stars, and other natural phenomena, in order to discern what was happening or …

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A Sermon for the Last Sunday before Advent (22/11/20): When the Son of Man Comes

  When the Son of Man Comes Matthew 25:31-46 This is the end of Jesus’ teaching ministry. Three years of wandering and three years of speaking to everyone who would listen reaches its climax here. This is the completion of everything he has tried to reveal. Jesus pictures “the Son of Man” coming in glory. He takes up the …

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A Sermon for the Twenty Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (15/11/20): Theology Matters!

 Theology Matters! Matthew 25:14-30 The Parables of the Talents is an odd parable. It is something of an outlier in Jesus’ story telling. It seems out of place. It is odd because it appears to run counter to most of what Jesus teaches elsewhere. The conclusion seems particularly troublesome: For to those who have more will be given and …

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A Sermon for the Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost (08/11/20): Keep Awake! You Foolish Bridesmaids

  Keep awake! You foolish bridesmaids Matthew 25:1-13 Christianity is a religion of looking forward! Perhaps it is hard for people sometimes to recognise that. Much of our talk is, of course, about event that took place 2000 years and more ago. But all of those events, in fact, have a bearing on the future. …

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A Sermon for the Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost (25/10/20): The Last Two Questions

The Last Two Questions Matthew 22:34-46  Something is happening in Jerusalem. It is one of those moments when everyone knows that a crisis is coming. Like one of those hot heavy afternoons, when the air feels thick, close and dense, that can only end in a thunderstorm before evening. Jesus arrived in the city on …

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A Sermon for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost (18/10/20): A Trick Answer to a Trick Question

 A Trick Answer to a Trick Question Matthew 22:15-22 Jesus’ answers the question which the Pharisees put to him: “Give therefore to the emperor the things that the emperor’s and to God the things that are God.” There is a fundamental question which God’s people must always answer, how does God’s people live in the …

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A Sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (11/10/20): Accepting the Invitation and Going Properly Dressed

 Accepting the Invitation and Going Properly Dressed Matthew 22:1-14 There is a picture which is repeated all the way through the Bible of what God is offering people. It is the picture of a banquet. Jesus says – on more than one occasion: The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave …

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