Ezra 3:6-11 Acts 17:24 During the time of Queen Elizabeth the first, there were many Christians in Farnham who discovered God through the Reformed way, known then as being puritans (don’t judge that term through 21st century thought!). Despite the residence of the Lord Bishop of Winchester in Farnham Castle, the town was stocked full…
Building on the past… Psalm 77:11 Does anyone know what we’re celebrating today? How long? 355 years since the formation of the Presbyterian Church in Farnham 222 years since the formation of the Independent (later known as Congregational) Church 143 years in this (our fourth) building. What do we know about those churches? If the…
Acts 5:30-32 Psalm 25 Genesis 12:1-3 You know you’re getting old when the candles on your birthday cake contribute to global warming. A reporter was interviewing a 104 year-old woman: “And what do you think is the best thing about being 104?” the reporter asked. She simply replied, “No peer pressure.” Clement Freud, towards the…
Jeremiah 11:18-20 Mark 9:30-37 I’m told that in Harrogate crèche is what’s happened when you’ve driven into another car, and sex is what the coal is delivered in. Harrogate acquired its fame because of the spa water, and people came to take the waters for all manner of troubles. This was no quick fix:…
John 15:12-14 Isaiah 40:27-31 Ephesians 6:10-17 Seventy five years ago Britain stood on the brink of invasion. Churchill declared, “I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation”. But could there be hope in the midst of uncertainty? Could there a glimmer…
Ecclesiastes 3:1-12 Ephesians 5:15-20 An old man was standing on a crowded bus. A young man standing next to him asked, “What time is it?” The old man said nothing. As the young man walked away, the old man’s friend asked, “Why were you so rude to the young man?” The old man answered, “If…
John 3:1-8 Michael Faraday had just invented the dynamo – the first means of generating electricity – and showed it to a distinctly unimpressed Queen Victoria, who asked him what use it was. He’s reputed to have replied, ‘what use is a baby?. Today we see why that was so wrong, as we’ve been enraptured…
Psalm 109:12-16 Luke 6:32-36 Ephesians 4:25-5:2 It was in 1755 that Dr. Samuel Johnson published the first edition of his famous Dictionary. Johnson was well known for his dry wit, with entries such as: Lexicographer: A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words. Oats: A grain, which…
Sermon – part 1 What we’re doing this morning is more of a Bible Study then a sermon, in some respects. We’ve had a number of readings from the letter to the Ephesians, and people have asked me to say a bit more about it. Ephesians is one of a number of letters which were…
John 6:24-35 If Jesus was a loaf of bread today, what kind would he be? Mother’s pride? King’s Mill? Son blest? Best of both (human and divine)? I’d better not push that any further, or I shall be toast! The immediate question that Jesus’ declaration that he is the bread of life raises for me…