Stewardship

Luke 14:25-33 It’s always embarrassing when people talk about money, least of all in church. We will be talking about money in a moment, because the church has bills to pay, like everyone else. What I wanted to do was to set it in the wider context of God giving us all that we have,…

All saints and all souls

Hebrews 11:32-12:2 When you’ve lived in the north-east of England, thinking about saints takes on a whole new meaning. St Aidan, St Cuthbert, St Bede, St Oswald, St Chad, St. Hild, and St Wilfrid. The same handful of saints names live on in countless churches, schools, colleges, roads, etc., throughout the region, but not elsewhere….

What kind of a world?

Deuteronomy 26:12-13 James 1:26-27 Even by Monday evening, there was already an internet campaign for the re-broadcasting of the Oxo television adverts, the day Lynda Bellingham died. National treasure has been over-used to the point of becoming meaningless, but Lynda Bellingham was certainly a popular and much loved actress and television presenter. I think those…

God and Caesar

Matthew 22:15-22 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 It was a very crafty move. We know from the end of Matthew chapter 21 that the chief priests and the Pharisees wanted to arrest Jesus, and their latest ploy was for the Pharisees to join forces with members of Herod’s party to try to trap him. The question they…

The Wedding Feast

Philippians 4:4-9 Matthew 22:1-14 The biggest worry of most Ministers conducting weddings is whether one or other of the bride and groom won’t turn up. The second biggest worry is whether the bride will be sufficiently late to cause problems for the rest of the Minister’s schedule, or their pay and display ticket! Our reading…

Grown Up Christianity

Deuteronomy 7:7-12 Ephesians 4:1-16 Thank goodness the author of Deuteronomy said that, “it was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you”. If size mattered, as it were, the United Reformed Church would be an abject failure, this church would have been…

How do we make decisions?

Matthew 12:1-14 Canticle: A song of Love (R&S 753) Joshua 2:1-7 and 6:12-17 Hebrews 11:29-31 We all love a happy ending, and we finally got one, when Ashya King’s parents were freed from prison, and re-united with their obviously beloved son. Except the happy ending isn’t really, because all know that Ashya’s chances of surviving…