Talks, Sermons and Reflections

Jesus' birthday party You are a King. You’ve had a baby. He or She is going to be the next ruler. You want to celebrate their birth. You are going to have a party.  Because you’re a big King and you want people to know how big you are, you throw a big party: big parade; a big palace, amazing fireworks, glamorous VIP’s, lavish gifts.  You’re a bigger King. You’ve had a baby. He or she is going to be the next ruler. You want to celebrate their birth. You are going to have a party. Because you’re a bigger King and you want people to know that you are bigger, you throw a bigger party: a bigger parade, a grander palace, more amazing fireworks, A-list glamorous VIP’s, astonishingly expensive gifts You see, in our world, the bigger the king, the bigger the party: you need to show people how big you are.  So what if the one born is the Greatest of kings .. the King of kings and the Ruler of rulers.  What a party!! And yet Jesus, the Son of God, the K...

The light shines in the darkness When Jesus was born that first Christmas, it was dark He was born to a people under foreign occupation The law of God, all that was right and true, had been trampled underfoot. Evil and fear and death ruled. It seemed as if God, if he existed, had abandoned them. But then, John writes, ‘The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world’. (John 1:9) For many people, particularly this year, things can feel quite dark • Anxiety overwhelms you: exams, someone you love is sick; maybe you are facing serious illness • Financial worries – not sure whether you will get a job when you leave school; you’ve been made redundant; not sure about your job; the pension is not going quite as far as it used to; and people talk about economic melt down and a repeat of the great depression.  • Facing Christmas alone – someone has walked out on you; you’ve been bereaved; the children have moved far away • Deep disapp...

Revelation 12 Guidelines for reading the book of Revelation ·        Revelation is revelation! However it is not just about a revealing of the future. It does do that. But it does much more. It is about a revealing of the reality behind the present. It draws back the curtain so that we can see what is really going on. It is a bit like watching a Punch and Judy show. A child, who is completely wrapped up in what she is seeing, will think that that is all that there is. But we know that if someone pulls away the curtain below the stage, we would see what is really going on. Now I am not saying that we are simply puppets being manipulated by some celestial puppeteer. But I am saying that behind this current reality there is a greater reality. So, for instance, the Christians of John’s time were a tiny minority people in a very hostile world. They lived in a state that demanded your ultimate allegiance, and an emperor who claimed to be divine. They were p...

A talk at the Hospice light up a life service. It is when things are at their darkest that the light shines brightest. When Jesus was born, that first Christmas, it was dark He was born to a people under foreign occupation The law of God, all that was right and true, had been trampled underfoot Evil and fear ruled. It seemed as if God, if he existed, had abandoned them. But then, John writes, ‘The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world’. (John 1:9) It is when things are at their darkest that the light shines brightest. When Jesus was born, a star appeared A star is phenomenal light, billions of miles away. The nearest star is 4.2 light years away, a mere 25000 billion miles away. You can only see a star when you are prepared to go out into the darkness, when you are prepared to turn off all the lesser lights ·         If you are in London, you can hardly see the stars ·         If yo...

Listen to this talk We are looking at 2 Peter 3 It is an appropriate reading for today, Advent Sunday. We prepare to celebrate Jesus' first coming, and we look forward to Jesus' second coming. And in chapter 3 Peter focuses on one particular promise: the promise that one day this current heaven and earth will face judgement, come to an end, and be replaced with a new heaven and earth, the home of righteousness (3:13) We may believe that the world is going to end. Scientists tell us that in about 4 billion years this planet will be burnt up by an expanding sun. But the idea that Jesus will return, and that there will be a new heaven and earth (in which stars do not turn into red giants on us) belongs to the realm of Bermuda triangles, UFO's and little green men. It's there for odd people walking about with billboards, which say, 'the end is nigh'. And anyway, Jesus said that he would return, and the first Christians expected that he would ...

St Peters vision at St Peters Church by vicar@stmarystpeter.net We seek to worship the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, teach the bible, grow people in faith, love and understanding, equip people to serve, and make Jesus known. We aim to do this at St Peter’s by being a community of Jesus Christ, submitted to His Word and serving His world Our vision is to be a united community, of all ages, meeting together on the first day of the week, focussed on Jesus Christ. Our vision is to listen to Him, receive from Him and be equipped to live as His body in this place: an open, loving, welcoming, forgiving, growing, empowering, serving and witnessing community. We long to be a people who are open to God’s word: gathering together expecting to meet with and hear from the crucified and risen Lord Jesus. We long for our worship to be real, relevant, exciting and life-giving. We long for our teaching (whether in age relevant groups, or preaching) to be biblical, stimulating, ...

Hebrews 7:15-28 According to Hebrews we have three great human needs our need for purification – so that we can stand in the presence of God our need to live the good life – perfection our need for eternal life PURIFICATION We are cut off from God because of sin. I wonder whether you have ever been in a situation where you are seriously underdressed. You come to the front door in your torn jeans and dirty T-shirt, and it is the Bishop. What you need is a good scrub up. We cannot come into the presence of God with our metaphorical torn jeans and dirty T-shirt. We need to be scrubbed up. And with God it is not about something on the outside. We need to be purified within. We need a deep clean. When we stand in front of God, he sees us as we are. What is inside us becomes completely transparent: the laziness, the resentments, the selfishness, the arrogant pride, the lack of love and hard-heartedness, the fears that drive us, the unforgiveness and jealousy which crippl...