Category: Sermons

Pentecost & The Holy Spirit. Sunday 8th June 2014.   Numbers 11:24-30  Acts 2: 1-21 John 20 19-23   Language is fascinating. If we say ‘hello’ to each other in a foreign language we may not have knowledge of what each other was saying, but we understood. There was a common thread, which told us…

The Holy Spirit. Genesis 8:20 – 9:17 Acts 17:22-31 John 14:15-21 I wonder what would happen if an alien landed in this country; If they had a concept of God. Who would they think we worshipped? If they were like Paul, visitingAthens, an alien country, what would they conclude about us? Would they assume that…

SERMON: 23rd March 2014 The (Samaritan) woman at the well.  John 4:5-42.  May I be helped to speak in the name of the Living God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.  Amen.  In today’s gospel reading, Jesus encounters a woman from Samaria.  He is sitting by a well when the woman comes – as she does every…

Sermon for Sunday 16th March. Readings: Genesis 12:1-4a. Psalm 121.  John 3:1-17.  Nicodemus.  Who is saved? Who goes to Heaven?   The gospel reading today contains one of the most famous verses in the bible and probably its most controversial, ‘ For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believeth…

9 March 2014 1st Sunday of Lent.   Temptations of Jesus.  What sort of person do we want to be? Genesis 2:15-17 & 3:1-7. Romans 5:12-19. Matthew 4:1-11.    At the Junior Youth Club we run on a Friday night there is one rule:  respect; respect for the building, respect for the equipment, respect for the…

Ash Wednesday Service.   5-3-2014. The Woman Caught in Adultery.  May I be helped to speak in the name of the Living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen. Yet again, the Pharisees try to draw Jesus into a trap.  This time the bait is a woman caught in adultery.  It’s tempting to focus on the…

BE THE LIGHT AND THE SALT. Matthew 5: 13-20 A friend of mine at college had a hoodie with the words ‘salt and light’ written on the back. Of course this is a reference to Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount which we heard today, when He says to the disciples that they…

Sermon for Sunday 26 January 2014. Matthew 4: 12-23 How do people become Christians? It sounds like a simple question, one that should have a simple answer. While I was at college I heard many different theories about what makes someone a Christian. Some would say that you become a Christian when you get baptised.…

Epiphany 2014. Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12. Each Christmas when my children were small we would bring out the stable and set it up minus the baby; of course, and minus the kings. The three statues representing the wise men would begin their journey around the rooms of the house; sometimes moving from window…

Isaiah 11:1-10.  Romans 15:4-13. Matthew 3:1-12. As many of you know, I live in a flat and we have communal gardens.  During this last year, “things” have been done to some of the trees and it’s been interesting to watch the different techniques used for different trees:  for one tree a man swung like Tarzan…

Nobody knows the day or the hour.     Matthew 24 v 36-44. ‘The Father alone knows’-There is something very real and assuring that God alone only knows when the end of time or our time will be!  In a day and age when so many people profess to know and want to know everything and furthermore…

Sermon:  The King.  24 November 2013. Jeremiah 23:1-6. Colossians 1:11-20. Luke 23:33-43. May I be helped to speak in the name of the Living God …  Amen. The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely.  He…

St. Chad’s All Saints Service 3rd November  2013. Whatever inspired the designer of the altar in the church to choose archangels as the focal point is probably lost in the mists of the 1920’s. It is unusual because the seven archangels are more often associated with the Roman Catholic traditions and given that this church…

Humility. Luke 18: 9-14 A little while ago I preached on Jesus’ parable of the guests at the banquet, which Jesus told after seeing how guests at a dinner gave themselves the places of honour, and warned His disciples not to behave in the same way. He says this to His disciples, “All who exalt…

The sermon below is a comprehensive interpretation of complex and ambiguous readings and is skilfully related to our current national economic situation.  It is a really good read. Sermon for Sunday 22nd September 2013. Readings. Collect. Gracious God, You call us to fullness of life: deliver us from unbelief and banish our anxieties with the…

Here is yesterday’s sermon about the cost of following Christ. Luke 14:25-33 Give Up All Of Your Possessions To Follow Christ?  There has been a lot of talk of war this week. Our Government was defeated in the Commons when it urged elected members to support an offensive strike in Syria. At the G 20…

Sorry that this sermon is a bit late being posted, but it has been worth the wait.  Read it.  The message is very powerful. Love Not Tradition! Luke 13:10-17 A few years ago, I remember sometimes seeing a man in the town, lying on a bed, which looked similar to a hospital trolley. It must…

Sermon for Sunday 1st September 2013 How to please God.   Luke 14 v 5-14  Hebrews 13 v 1-8 ‘The leading Pharisees and people were watching closely’ !!!!! ‘Remember your former leaders who spoke God’s message to you, think back on how they lived and died and imitate their faith.’ Can you remember back that far…

Sermon for Sunday 11 August 2013. A child is a precious gift from God and baptism is God’s gift wrapping. Luke 12 v32-40  I suppose one of the longest waiting times many of us have to endure is the birth of our children, with particular reference of course to the dear mother – but it…

Be Inspired on the Journey to Heaven. August 18 2013. Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Mo Farah became Britain’s greatest ever track athlete with a fifth global gold medal and became only the second man in history to complete an Olympic and World double in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres events at the Moscow World Championships. Just over…

The Rich Fool.  Luke 12 13-21. I had hoped to be standing here today giving thanks that our stewardship campaign had been a success. But as it stands, next week the church’s  Finance Team will be looking at the returned pledges and working out what we will cut from our budget next year. Over 200 letters…

Attitudes to the Wealthy and the Poor.  Luke 11: 1-13  Some of you may have noticed that the Archbishop of Canterbury has made the headlines because of his desire to tackle pay-day loan companies, particularly a company called Wonga.com. It’s this company that the Archbishop hopes to ‘compete out of business’ by creating a culture…

The Sending Of The Seventy Two.   Luke Chapter 10. We all comment how times have changed- but the only people that this is relevant to are those with whom we may share this comment with  and are of a similar age or older. For any others the comment is possibly irrelevant or the changing times…

The Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head. St Chad’s  June 30 2013.    Luke: 9-51-end. When we moved to our house in Donisthorpe nearly 30 years ago it  ticked all the boxes as they say these days.  The house stood on the corner of 200 acres of intensively farmed field, it had a…

Trinity Sunday.  2nd June 2013 Luke 7:1-10. Today I want to talk a little bit about relationship: what does it mean to be in relationship with other people? And for us, as Christians, is there something special to think about in terms of relationship, with God and with each other? Well, to explore this I…

Second Sunday of  Trinity . June 9 2013  Widows and Sons.  1 Kings 17:17-24; Galatians 1:11-24; Luke 7:11-17. Some of the sadder funerals I have taken have been those where a parent is left bereft following the death of their son or daughter. Their child might be in their 40’s, 50’s or even 60’s but…

Below is Brian Scotcher’s sermon.  ‘Promises, Promise, Promises’.                      John 14 v 23-29 Some people have a beautiful fantastic gift of story-telling, something I enjoy tremendously. A few weeks back I finished reading a novel entitled ‘The Good Father’ by an American writer I had never heard of but the novel was given such praise by…

Sunday 28th April 2013. The Collect Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ have overcome death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: grant that, as by your grace going before us you put into our minds good desires, so by your continual help we may bring them to good effect;…

14th  April  2013 Third week of Easter .  John 21:1-19. Have you ever wondered why the exact number of fish is mentioned in this passage from John?  Can you remember how many large fish there were? (153) The exact number reflects the known species of  fish at the time, so saying 153 were in the…

St Patrick’s Day 17 March  2013 Joseph of Arimathea Gertrude of Nivelles How many of you can tell me which three saints we celebrate today? What about the patron saint of Gravediggers. It’s his day today too. Who is it? Well that is Joseph of Arimathea. Probably the owner of the most famous grave in…

Sunday before Lent (Transfiguration) 2013.  Recognising our family likeness.  Luke 9:28-36. It’s very good to be with you.  I come with greetings from Birmingham Cathedral and the assurance of our prayers.  We pray for you and your ministry every day. I’ve been Dean of Birmingham now for two and half years.  One of the good…

Readings: Nehemiah 8:1-8, 5-6, 8-10. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a.  Luke 4:14-21. May I be helped to speak in the name of the Living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.  We’ve just heard what is arguably my favourite passage of the New Testament. Jesus comes to his hometown, to the synagogue where he worshipped as a…

The Kingdom of God.  Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14.  Revelation 1:4b-8. John 18:33-37. It’s been a difficult week in the Church of England so I hope you will excuse me if I begin with a joke. What did the inflatable teacher at the inflatable school say to the inflatable child caught holding a pin? You let me…

Sunday 4th November 2012. All Saints’ Day. Isaiah 25:6-9. Revelation 21:1-6a. Gospel: John 11:32-44. Oh, you can’t get to heaven in a limousine, cos heaven aint got no gasoline. Oh, you can’t get to heaven in dirty jeans cos heaven aint got no washing machines. Oh, you can’t get to heaven with an old girl…

The Power of Words.  16th September 2012.  15th Sunday after Trinity. Readings: Isaiah 50:4-9a; James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38.  ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never harm me.’  I wonder how many of us grew up with that saying ringing in our ears.  I wonder how many of us believe it is…

Readings:  Deut. 4:1-2, 6-9; James 1:17-end; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23. Two weeks ago my parents came to visit, and as there wasn’t much on television we thought we’d try and play a board game that I’d been given for Christmas. The game turned out to be quite complicated with lots of fiddly pieces and complex…

  Healing Division. Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: graft in our hearts the love of your name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of your great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is…

Sunday 1st July 2012.  Mark 5 v 21.  It is somewhat odd having this passage of scripture to teach and preach from when both Janet and myself over the past weeks have had our difficulties health-wise.  Janet has suffered a complicated painful hernia and for myself it was a blocked artery and high blood pressure…

Everyone has gestures special to them.  Distinctive little things that they alone do: the raising of an eyebrow when sceptical; holding a coffee cup in a particular way; beginning a question with a certain tilt of the head. These things can be the stuff of love or of irritation.  But actually most of them are…

Genesis 17:1-7;15-16. Romans 4:13-25. Mark 8:31-38. The three of them stood there looking out over the sand. Well it wasn’t all sand. There were rocks and boulders, hard packed yellow stuff and occasional dust clouds as the lighter soils billowed in the wind. The three just looked.  One was dressed in shorts and t-shirt with…