Genesis 15:1-11 Psalm 27 Luke 13:31-35 All of our readings today are about having faith, not fear. “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield,” God says to Abram at the beginning of our reading from Genesis. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the…
Genesis 15:1-11 Psalm 27 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35 “Oh dear, oh dear,” whispered Mrs Bonner loudly, “a very interesting sermon, but what a lot of talk about sin. I suppose it’s only to be expected at the beginning of Lent, but it’s all so miserable, don’t you think?”, so wrote Barbara Pym in Excellent Women….
Joel 2:1-2 & 12-17 John 8:1-11 I’m beginning, totally unsuitably for Lent, with an expression of pride. I’m very proud of my collection of the complete set of Carry On films – it’s the earthy British humour of the 1960s and 1970s at its best (or worst, depending upon your point of view!). One of…
I’m told that it’s impossible to be hungry in the desert because of the sand which is everywhere. Today our readings take us into the desert, or the wilderness if you prefer (the words are the same in the Greek and Hebrew). Why is this relevant for us? Few of us regularly travel to the…
Luke 8:22-25 Deuteronomy 31:1-8 Colossians 1:9-14 One hundred years ago today news arrived in London of the death of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his fellow Antarctic explorers. Scott and his fellow explorers had set out in a race to discover the South Pole. They arrived there in January 1912, only to discover that the…
Matthew 5:1-12 Isaiah 49:14-16 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 A gas engineer walked into a bar and ordered a pint. “Certainly”, said the barman, “I’ll serve you sometime between 8 am and 1 pm”. We all know the rules. A bag of crisps walked into a bar and ordered a pint. “Sorry”, said the barman, “we don’t…
At the beginning was the light, a light more brilliant than any we had ever seen, out-shining all the stars of heaven, illuminating the whole world, turning night into day. It appeared from nowhere, in the sky above the eastern ocean, and streamed towards us, becoming brighter and brighter, so that we were dazzled, almost…
A man was once eating fish and chips at the bus stop, and a lady with a small dog came along to wait for her bus. The dog clearly liked the smell of the fish and chips, and kept jumping up around the man’s legs to try and get at them. In the end the…
Luke 1:39-45 Micah 5:2-5a Hebrews 10:5-10 A man was in bed on a Sunday morning, and his wife urged him to get up, so he wouldn’t be late for church. “I don’t want to go to church,” he replied, “no-one likes me, they all think I’m boring, why should I go?” “Because you’re 36 and…