Pilgrim

Preaching at GMC 29.12.13. Sermon Sermon 29.12.13 GMC The last time I preached here on the second Sunday on Advent, we talked about seeing or experiencing the Kingdom of God arriving in great power.   Well, I guess you might agree that this is pretty much what happened to the people in Bethlehem on that first Christmas.   If we look at the accounts from Matthew and Luke, we might well agree that the Kingdom of God had just hit the town and people of Bethlehem square in the face.   A group of Shepherds, minding their own business had had their lives turned upside down.   Suddenly they are given a place at the top table at Jesus’ birth!    And then they get a visit from a diplomatic mission from somewhere near Babylon probably.   These VIP visitors bring a selection of gifts to a young teenage couple who have recently given birth to their first child, in less than palatial surroundings.   Quite literally, the world will not be the same again be...

Today is the first Sunday of Christmas in the Christian Calendar.  It was my pleasure to be preaching again at GMC today where I spoke about the cost of discipleship.  The readings from the Lectionary spoke of the massacre of the innocents, a sermon topic I have not heard abut before.  We included a dialogue piece and the congregation were included in the delivery of prayers for others, with 13 voices from around the Church providing a different verse. For my sermon I painted an alternative picture of the first Christmas, on of risk and inclusion by the Bethlehem community, a welcome that was to prove costly with Herod's maniacal response. I linked this to the cost of discipleship and next weeks service which will be the annual covenant service. During the sermon I spoke at some length off notes, talking about living conditions in 1st century Bethlehem. I felt inspired during the service, that despite a challenging word, that the Spirit was with me. The comments...

I had the pleasure of preaching at GMC today, for the second Sunday in Advent.  The church was filled with 24 Christmas Trees for the Tree Festival.  Worship was fantastic,  with some really good and uplifting songs, a mix of contemporary and traditional.  The theme for my sermon was Looking for God today with a reflection on Mark V 1-10, the story of Jesus' transfiguration, and considering its relevance for us today in the Advent season when we are preparing for the coming of Jesus. We considered ways that God makes himself present today in peoples lives.  And our challenge was to be ready for Jesus at any time.  In the prayers of intercession we remembered South Africa coming to terms with the loss of Nelson Mandela this week, the churches in North Korea under threat of persecution, the political leadership of this country, on the day when they have been awarded a disgusting pay award whilst the rest of the country is struggling to make ends meet. The...

Sermon from today 6.10.13 Free to be a Slave. Lord, let your Spirit reside over us this morning as we reflect on your word, may we absorb your truth afresh and rise refreshed as the morning dew.  Amen. I wrote this sermon amidst the backdrop of the horrendous atrocity that occurred in Kenya.  That a human can shoot another just because they do not know the words of a prayer defies understanding.  It challenges our call to forgiveness.  How can we forgive such evil? The first reading today which we heard from, suitably called Lamentations, was initially thought to have been written by Jeremiah, but is now considered to have been written in the years after the destruction of the temple in 587BC by Nebuchadnezzar.  It is likely that a lot of energy and thought had been put into the meaning of the disaster – why did this happen to us?  I am sure we can all resonate with this at one time or another.  Certainly the picture that the author paints for ...

Today I was at South Green Methodist Church preaching as part of my on trial status and as part of the preaching plan for the North Kent Methodist Circuit.  Despite there being only 4 people in the congregation, an organist and myself we made a good noise and one of the congregation  - an ex local preacher made the comment that " that was proper worship" at the end of the service. It remains a thorny issue of how to support these very small rural chapels that are part of the historic fabric of our culture, and are so obviously so passionately supported by the people who do attend them.  In essence they are small groups, though rather expensive ones. Perhaps in the end it is the community and companionship between the people that is important rather than the chapel or the church.

Sermon from today's service 08/09/2013 at GMC Message  08/09/13 Holy Father, let this message be all that you want to say and none that I want to say.  Lay your Holy Spirit on this place, open our hearts and minds to your Good News, and stay with us as we go into our own  mission fields, wherever they may be.  Amen At first reading, the verse from Mark can be awkward, to say the least.  Let’s face it, Jesus just sounds so rude.  There is no getting around it.  Here is a person who has been telling the temple authorities that they are too exclusive, they have too many rules on cleanliness and as a result they are excluding people from society.  Jesus has been saying those on the outside, the tax collectors and sinners are welcome to the Lords table.  And then this.  Jesus is telling a woman that she is no better than the dogs.  It is so cringeworthy and embarrassing it just has to be true.  What Gospel writer in their rig...

Since my last entry, I have managed to successfully rewrite one of the exegeses required for section B (the second of 4 sections A,B,C,D which make up the entirety of Faith and Worship).  I am now almost ready to submit Section C at the end of this month.  Today I gave an assessed service at my home Church,  Gillingham Methodist Church, which was received very positively.  The comments afterwards were very encouraging, and I am grateful for both assessors for their constructive critique afterwards.  The worship group again sparkled, the sermon was clear and succinct.  The prayers were relevant.  It seemed clear to me that the Holy Spirit was present, especially with the contribution of the congregation and their mood after the service.  One person came to me after, and said he had come to Church this morning fearful for the state of the world, and was leaving re-assured.  Praise God.