(Semon 12 Aug 14) Précis – Jesus talks about the Kingdom of Heaven and not about sin. …………………… I want to pick up on two things this morning: first the phrase ‘Kingdom of God’ we heard in the gospel today – and that is unusual in Matthew where the phrase Read more…
(Thought 3 Jun 2014) …………………… Do you believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God? Do you believe in the Trinity? Do you have a personal relationship with God? All these questions have been set up to distinguish between the ‘sheep and the goats’ throughout Christian history. What Read more…
(Thought 3 Jun 2014) Précis – Jesus is the Word of God NOT the Bible. …………………… I often hear the description of the bible as the divinely inspired word of God; but it cannot be that if you think about it. It puts you in dangerous territory and here’s why. Read more…
(Thought 3 Jun 14) Précis – a thought questioning the oft quoted line of orthodox Christian thought. …………………… Why do we insist on claiming the God is working your purpose out thro the church? All the evidence is to the contrary. The history of the Christian church from the point Read more…
(Sermon 29 May 14) Précis – a sermon probing at God’s dream for creation – based on Matthew 13: 31-32, 44-52 – The Kingdom of Heaven. …………………… If we look closely at the four gospels as stand alone narratives – and by that I mean NOT being read in the Read more…
(Sermon 2 Mar 2014) First an admission – this sermon was written for Candlemass one month ago and has been adapted to this week’s readings; so you’ll be relived to know that I’m only going to touch upon the Transfiguration rather than attempt a full exposition When I first looked at Read more…
(Thought 29 Jun 13) Let me start off by floating a controversial idea: and it’s that we in the church, and indeed in the faith at large, concentrate on the wrong things about Jesus and that we’ve become a self centred, if not ‘selfish’ faith. Why do I suggest this Read more…
We think in modern terms, where an admirable leader doesn’t want worship but rather wants their ‘people’ to be happy & fulfilled; and this is very much in contrast to an Old Testament and Greek mythological view of God and gods where obeisance and worship were requisite. We ought therefore Read more…
If Jesus wanted us to have loyalty to his ministry rather than believe in what he was then what we do out in the community around us matters far more than any medieval concept of worship. When people say “you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian” Read more…
Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute, the Eastern Orthodox tradition never recognised it and Pope Gregory the Great deliberately fudged unconnected incidents in the gospels and trashed her reputation to make a point about repentance. In savaging the reputation of a woman who was as close to Jesus as any Read more…