Sunday service for 3 January 2021

Matthew 7:1-5 Romans 14:4, 9-10 Psalm 145 Dr. Ian Paisley, the fiery Ulster cleric and politician was reported to have been preaching one Sunday on the End Times – and in particular on the Day of Judgement. As he reached the climax of his address he said that on the Day of Judgement “there would…

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…

Isaiah 7:10-16 Matthew 1:18-25 A television interviewer was walking streets of Tokyo, where Christmas shopping is as big as it is here. The interviewer stopped one young woman, and asked, “What is the meaning of Christmas?” Laughing, she responded, “I don’t know. Is that the day that Jesus died?” The way she answered, I felt…

John 15: 1-8 Acts 8:26-40 Who inspired you in your Christian faith? Who nurtured you in being a Christian? Whose fault is it that you are here? When people are asked questions like that, the answer is very rarely clergy, but usually ordinary people like all of you. Over the years, many people in this…

Pause for Thought is available to watch here:https://youtu.be/dBf3RfK0igk The text is also available: Perhaps you saw the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol? I’m one of those people who instinctively finds actions like that very difficult. Here’s a short video what happened. My first reaction is to question who gets to decide…

Mark 10:32-45 If ever there was a moment when the disciples didn’t get it, this is it. Jesus has just gone through yet another explanation about his death and all that that entails and he’s as graphic as he ever gets in describing his death. It’s as if all of that goes right over the…