‘Defend and Contend for the Faith’ Letter of Jude I was wondering if anyone here has heard of The Great Wall of China? Apparently it’s quite a big wall, and famous. Its origins go back to as early as the 7th century BC. The 7th century BC is the era of the Prophet Jeremiah. And... Continue Reading →
‘Hold Your Nerve’ – a new year’s day sermon
1st January 2023 (Mk 5:35-43) Today’s Scripture reading is quite deliberate on my part. I’d like us to think about it as the preface to our 2023 Key Verse (Mk. 1:17). Every human being is called by the living God to follow Jesus Christ. We’ll explore what that looks like throughout January. But for now... Continue Reading →
The Curse and the Crown
Easter Sunday: ‘The Curse and the Crown’ Glory be to Jesus Christ who has rescued us from sin and death. Today is Easter Day, it is the greatest….. Day in world history.Fact of world history.Benefit of world history…… Jesus was dead but he is alive. And Christians today are the witnesses that stretch back nearly... Continue Reading →
Shameful Behaviour
Sermon preached on 13th September 2020. Luke 13:10-17 ‘Shameful Behaviour’ The last time I entered a synagogue was in Cairo, 2007. It was a beautiful experience and nothing much happened. In Luke’s gospel, this is the last time Jesus enters a synagogue too. Unlike my visit, which was quite sedate; With Jesus (as usual), it... Continue Reading →
That’s Not Right!
Sermon: September 6, 2020 watch here. “That’s Not Right” Luke 13:1-5 (and 12:54-56; 13:6-9) My first two years of Secondary School were at a Boys Boarding School. It was also in the days when kids had milk at school. We had those 1/3 pint bottles. But sometimes the bottles arrived early and so were left... Continue Reading →
A Pentecost Sermon: Uniting Some Biblical Strands
“When the Day of Pentecost arrived…” Pentecost….from the Gk meaning 50th. 50th what? 50th day after Passover. In the OT it is called The Feast of Weeks (Shavuot). A national holiday of rest, offering and celebration of the harvest (Lev. 23). Now that’s interesting. On the day of rest and offering and celebration:... Continue Reading →
Extreme Metaphor: Salt and Dung
Luke 14:34-35 Salt and Vinegar; Sea salt; Salted peanuts; Salt and pepper; Bath salt; Salted babies; Ready salted; Table salt; Salted Pringles; Salt tablets; Salted slugs; Salted dung; Saltless salt. Salted speech; Road salt; Salt is an amazing thing. Very important to the... Continue Reading →
The necessity of the ‘upon-ness’ of the Spirit
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed, To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour." Luke 4:19-19... Continue Reading →
The Smell of Christmas
Luke 2:7-8 ‘The Smell of Christmas' What is the smell of Christmas to you? For the smell of Christmas, we can only go to certain places in the Bible. We would think the obvious place is the Gospels. Well, Bingo! in Matthew and Luke; But not a wiff in Mark and John. Maybe... Continue Reading →
A couple of John Wesley gems
Sermon 32 - ( between 1737-1746) The Nature of Enthusiasm - Acts 26:24 "And Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, you are beside yourself." "And so say all the world, the men who know not God, of all that are of Paul's religion: of every one who is so a follower of him, as... Continue Reading →