Talks, Sermons and Reflections

The story is told about the bride who was walking up the aisle. She was trying to remember the order of the service, and she was heard muttering under her breath, ‘Aisle – Altar – Hymn’ It is a dodgy attitude to go into marriage with. Marriage, people say, is about give and take. There is the old quip: “She gives – I take” But I would suggest that marriage is about give and give and give, and when you’ve given everything you can, you give again. It is about GIVING TIME TO THE OTHER. We live such busy lives. And in the middle of all the activity, we need to give time to the other person. Yes, we need time to be alone (but that is often not a problem). We also need time to be together. We need to give time to do the things the other person wants: going out; doing what they enjoy And we to give time to talk to each other and to listen to each other. Many couples I know will try to put aside one evening a week, even when – particularly when – there are children, in order to do something to...

ACTS 2:1-13 The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force – he is a person Ø He comes as fulfilment of Jesus’ promise Ø He comes at a time when the Father in heaven chooses Ø He comes, as a person, to persons: to ‘each one’. It is a strong theme in Acts 2. Peter, later on, recalls a prophecy made about 600 years earlier, when God says through a man called Joel: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people”, men and women, old and young. Ø He comes every time in a unique way: on this occasion he came with wind and with tongues of fire. But there is no formula, no single pattern. Sometimes he will come with shaking and heat. Sometimes he will come and there will be weeping and joy. Sometimes he comes and there will be falling over. Sometimes he comes and people will speak in tongues. Sometimes he comes and there will be an overwhelming sense of peace and the presence of God. But when the Holy Spirit comes upon the church and upon individuals, a number of things happen. 1. ...

LUKE 24:44-end It is good for the Christians in Bury St Edmunds to gather together and to celebrate the ascension here For those who do not know the story it is very simple. Jesus was crucified Three days later he rose from the dead For a period of 40 days he appeared to his disciples And Jesus uses those times to convince them that he is alive to demonstrate that the cross was as much a part of God’s plan as was the and resurrection to prepare them for their future work: the preaching of repentance and forgiveness to all nations And then, at the end of the 40 days, Jesus is taken from them into heaven. Luke simply says, “While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.” So why celebrate the ascension? Is it not a sad day, the day that Jesus was taken from us? We celebrate the ascension because it points us to another world It is the very absence of the living physical Jesus which...