Blessed are the pure in heart

What does being pure in heart mean? What does that look like? And how will we see God if we are pure in heart? My sermon on Jesus’ promise from the Sermon on the Mount.

A new heart and a new spirit

What does the prophet Ezekiel have to say to someone newly ordained and us all in 2020? This was my sermon as Dawn led us in celebrating Communion for the first time.

Blessed are those who mourn

Jesus promises “blessed are those who mourn” but what does that mean? This talk looks at this beatitude.

Christmas 2018

Christmas! How do you help people to engage with a familiar story in a way that is enjoyable and meaningful? This was my attempt from our Christmas Celebration service on Christmas morning.

Christ’s foolishness and Stormzy

What do you do when Easter day and April Fool’s day coincide? We thought about the foolishness of God, and what the grime star Stormzy can teach us…

Harvest 2017

What do you want to say thank you for? What does giving thanks look like? What difference would it make?

Palm Sunday 2017

Palm Sunday asks us ‘What are you expecting? Why?’ It challenges our thinking, and highlights the mismatch between what we expect and how God is acting.

Lent

What have you given up for Lent? It’s a fairly standard question, but how helpful is it? What should Lent really be about? How can we best use the season to help us spiritually?

Christmas 2016

My all-age talk for Christmas morning was about Star Wars and Easter eggs! I’m posting this now in memory of Carrie Fisher, who very sadly died this week.

Carols by Candlelight 2016

Carols by Candlelight is a much-loved part of Christmas, and is a great opportunity to help people reflect on how the story of God fits into the story of their lives. This year I tried to do this by reflecting on what sort of year had people had, and on what sort of year the…

Jesus’ Parables

One of the major way that Jesus taught was through parables. But how do we use those stories? How do we learn from them and allow them to shape us?

Treasure

What do we treasure? What regrets do we have? What difference does treasuring different things make? And in what way is the kingdom of God like hidden treasure?

Carols by Candlelight 2015

Many people enjoy coming to Carols by Candlelight as part of their Christmas celebrations. It’s a great opportunity to help people reflect on the difference that first Christmas can make to our lives.

Welcome in action

How can our actions be welcoming? How can we show God’s love and welcome? The parable of the sheep and the goats gives us some answers whilst also raising more questions! Not least being over that dividing line, which might be less clear than we’d like to think..

Epiphany

The celebration of Epiphany is when we mark the coming of the magi. What do they have to tell us about our faith? This is a sermon I preached for our Epiphany carol service.