Faith in Society

What does practical giving look like? What does having faith to serve our society look like? How can we get involved? Why should we get involved? My sermon looks at how Paul and Isaiah answer these questions.

Christmas news 2017

What does good news look like when there’s so much fake news around? What about the links between our own news, fake news and good news?

Harvest 2017

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

The Bible and eclipses

The Bible doesn’t use the word ‘eclipse’, but does describe the effects of both solar and lunar eclipses. This is a good example of how, as we understand more about the world, we understand more about the Bible as well.

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.

Trees of Life

Decorating Christmas trees is a good opportunity to reflect on some of the trees in the Bible, particularly the Trees of Life that are used as symbols for God’s kingdom.

Harvest 15

What’s the point of harvest festivals? Why should we celebrate them? How should we mark harvest and what are the problems with the ways that we often do mark it?

The Syro-Phoenician woman

A woman from Syria needs help. How do those capable of giving that help respond? Do they feel her pain, or dismiss her because she is ‘different’ in some way? This was what happened 2,000 years ago, and what is happening today…

God our Mother?

Can we talk about God being our mother? Can we use feminine pronouns to refer to God? Is there advantage in doing so, and what might the dangers be? This issue is currently making the news, with reports of calls for the Church of England’s liturgy to be altered to reflect this set of ideas.…

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.

Prophets

Who are prophets? What is prophecy? How does this impact on us? What should we do in response? This is a sermon I preached on prophets at a church then in vacancy during Advent last year.

Remembrance 2014

How do we remember? What do we remember? Why do we remember? And what do we do when we have remembered?

Swords and ploughshares

How do we respond to the tragedy of the First World War and the bravery shown by so many people? How can we remember properly? What should we be remembering anyway? As many people did across the country, we gathered in church to remember the ‘lights going out’ at 11pm on 4th August, the time…

Weeping over War

How can and should we mark the beginning of the First World War? What should we say? This is my first of two attempts, as we mark the hundredth anniversary. This sermon is from the ecumenical service last night, at which the Royal British Legion and ATC Squadron were also present. We lit candles, listened…

Saint Boniface

Christmas Tree Festivals are a great addition to the church calendar at Christmas, and the story of Saint Boniface and the first Christmas tree is a good topic for the talk!