Sermon Series
Videos of past sermons can be found on our YouTube channel here
Sermon notes can be found below:
July 17th - No False Witness
July 10th - No Stealing
July 3rd - No Adultery
June 26th - No Murder
June 19th - Honour the Father
June 12th - Trinity Sunday
June 5th - Pentecost
May 29th - The Ascension (A Poem for All Age Service)
May 22nd - Observe the Sabbath
May 8th - No Blasphemy
May 1st - No Idols here
April 24th - Love God here
April 10th - Palm Sunday
Notes for children's talk here
April 3rd - The Tenants here
March 27th - The Prodigal Son
All Age Service for Mothering Sunday here
March 20th - The Rich Man and Lazurus
March 13th - The Ten Minas here
February 27th - Zechariah's Song here
February 20th - David's Song of Thanks here
February 13th - Hannah's Prayer here
February 6th - The Song of Moses here
January 30th - The Song of the Sea here
January 23rd - The Verse for the Year here
January 16th - The Image of the Invisible God here
January 9th - Humble Servant here
January 2nd - Epiphany
Sermon notes here
Reflection notes here
Sermon Series Summer Term - Jesus and the Ten Commandments
When the Lord God spoke to Moses from the midst of the burning bush, he requested that the newly-liberated Israelites should return to the wilderness to worship him at the foot of Mount Sinai. This summons would not only shape the Hebrews, but virtually every human community and society thereafter. Following the flight from Egypt, Moses was given new directions on the crest of the mountain; only, these were not directions for the next part of the journey, these were ethical directions – rules for living well. From within the smoke and thick darkness which engulfed the summit, God delivered to his people The Ten Commandments. As a shared moral vision of human flourishing, it is difficult to overstate their significance. So how do the Ten Commandments feature in the ministry of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God?
In the summer term, we shall see how the grace of God is magnified in the way Jesus Christ engaged with the decalogue; in the way he is zealous for the holiness of his heavenly Father, and yet extends mercy to the broken. How does Jesus uphold the ten commandments, and yet extend forgiveness to those of us who break them? In the coming weeks, we shall turn to these questions, and see, once again, how perfect justice and mercy meet in the life, work, and words of Jesus Christ.
24th April - I: Love God (Jesus’ summary of the Law) Mark 12: 28-37
1st May - II: No Idols (A Test of Allegiance) Matthew 4: 1-11
8th May - III: No Blasphemy (Something Unforgiveable) Matthew 12: 22-32
22nd May - IV: Observe the Sabbath (Whose Sabbath anyway?) Matthew 12: 1-14
19th June - V: Honour your Father & Mother (Honour the Father, Honour the Son) John 5: 18-29
26th June - VI: No Murder (In the shoes of a Murderer) Mark 15: 1-15
3rd July - VII: No Adultery (Caught in the Act) John 8: 1-11
10th July - VIII: No Stealing (Payback Fourfold) Luke 19: 1-10
17th July - IX: No False Witnesses (A Rigged Jury and a False Friend)
Mark 14: 53-72
31st July - X: No Envy (Great Expectations) Matthew 20: 20-28
Sermon Series for Lent – The Stories Jesus Told
How well do you know the parables? Why did Jesus use stories to explore themes such as the Kingdom of Heaven, repentance, and forgiveness? Like me, you may have first encountered these tales as a child at Sunday School. The problem is, while the stories stick with us, we seldom take the time to re-examine them in detail to grasp their meaning, to be challenged by them afresh. This Lent we will be returning to the most famous of Jesus’ stories, to be reminded how playful, challenging, and even controversial the parables remain.
6th March - The Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37)
13th March - The Ten Minas (Luke 19: 11-27)
20th March - The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31)
27th March (Mothering Sunday) - The Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 1-3; 11-32)
3rd April - The Tenants (Luke 20: 1-19)
Sermon Series – Israel's Folk Music: Songs beyond the Psalms
(January and February 2022)
There's no doubt that the Psalms are a rich collection of prayers and meditations. We might even consider it Israel's song book. But this is not to say that all Israel's songs are contained in the Psalms; there are other melodies and choruses to be found. Some of these even function like the folk songs of our own culture: telling a story or marking a significant historical event. Coming from Portsmouth, I have something of a soft spot for this type of music, and culinary efforts in the kitchen are often helped along with a strangled rendition of some sea shanty or other. Though arguably an unrefined form of music, these songs have a beauty and a gravity of their own. After all, song is an ancient and noble way of telling stories.
Although an imperfect analogy, we are in a sense turning to Israel's "folk music" - the songs not found in the song book. Throughout the Old Testament, there are rich and profound choruses, some of which, like the Song of the Sea from the book of Exodus, have even become Jewish liturgies still in use today.
It is my prayer, that looking at these prayers over the next few weeks will enrich our own prayer lives, and the informal "folk" liturgies we weave into our own intercessions. Rev. Simon
30th January - The Song of the Sea (Exodus 15: 1-18)
6th February - The Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 31:30 – 32:14)
13th February - Hannah’s Prayer (1 Samuel 2: 1-10)
20th February - David’s Song of Thanks (1 Chronicles 16: 8-36)
27th February - Zechariah’s Song, The Benedictus (Luke 1: 67-80)
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