Saturday, June 25, 2016

Providence, Brexit and the Gospel

It is pertinent before saying anything else this morning to pass some comments on our referendum results and the resulting Brexit reality which has thrown our country and our continent into turmoil. There is uncertainty, fear, division, (along country lines in the Union, division along generational lines, division along racial lines), there is anger and a degree hopelessness regarding any quick resolution. While none of us would wish for these things ... we must see them for what they are. And what are they: they are fertile soil for the gospel of hope, the gospel of peace, for the gospel of reconciliation, for the gospel of perfect love which drives out all fear. Brexit turmoil is an opportunity for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to take root and grow and we, the church, we, Meadow Way Chapel, need to seize this opportunity with everything we have. It cannot be business as usual if we truly believe we are the bearers of Good News.

So, we continue our series The Nature of God and today we look at Providence and we have 3 readings to focus our attention: Genesis 22:1-19 Exodus 16:1-35 and Matthew 6:9-13, 6: 25-34 and the title of my sermon is: Providence, Brexit and the Gospel


Friday, June 17, 2016

Apostle Paul, the Referendum and Jo Cox.


We continue our teaching journey through the Acts of the Apostles. This is quite a long reading and I want to highlight a few things and apply our reading to events of the last week and the coming week here in the U.K.

Monday, June 13, 2016

Pastoral Prayer for Father's Day


    Loving and Merciful God, whose power is beyond our scope and whose wisdom is beyond our understanding, we turn to you in faith assured that you know our every emotion and are aware of our every need. Our thoughts and prayers today are turned towards our fathers.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Kingdom Authority: Jesus, Jonah and our Queen


Today we continue our series on The Nature Of God and we look at the subject of Authority and our readings are Jonah 1 and Matthew 22:34-40. Today we also celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday, which, since 1974, been marked on the Saturday in the range 11 – 17 June and remembered on the following Sunday. To mark the Queen's 90th birthday, the Bible Society has joined forces with HOPE and the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC) to publish a book about the Queen’s Christian faith, The Servant Queen and the King She Serves. You can order your free copy here, but we are giving away one copy to each family at this morning's service. I don't want to spoil the book for you, but here is a summary of what you will discover as you read it:

Friday, June 3, 2016

Mnason and the Refugee Crisis (Opportunity)


Paul is journeying back to Jerusalem: from Greece to Asia Minor, passed Lesbos to Miletus to Kos to Rhodes to Patara ... he is touring the Greek Isles on his way towards Syria and back to "The Promised Land" ... which is perhaps irrelevant except that many of these names are in the news daily right now as thousands travel hazardously and at great threat to their lives in the opposite direction from Syria towards the freedom of the perceived promised lands in the West ... in this past week some making the final stage of that journey across the dangerous and cold North Sea and landing in dinghies here on our beaches in Norfolk. You'll understand that I wondered whether Paul's journey in the opposite direction teaches us anything about those making the journey in this direction.

Paul's Farewell to the Elders


An important note to my wider readers: What follows are the rough notes for my sermon on the above subject. Various constraints have meant that I have not been able to flesh it out in a way that might make sense to folk who did not hear me preach it. I publish it mainly for my congregation who are in the habit of reading my blog in order to find the references made during my preaching.