Talks, Sermons and Reflections

Luke 9.1-11 Being a disciple of Jesus was not and is not an easy ride. It involves taking new steps of faith: of jumping into deeper and wilder water. On one occasion the disciples were in a boat when they see Jesus coming towards them. He is walking on the water. They are freaked out. But Peter says, rather foolishly, ‘Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you’. Jesus takes him at his word and says, ‘Come’. We can imagine the other disciples. They’re beginning to enjoy this. Peter has got to get out of the boat and walk on water to Jesus. John Ortberg wrote a book based on that incident, and he gave the book the title, ‘If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat’. But it is not quite as completely scary as that. Because Jesus only asks his disciples, his apprentices, to do what they see him doing. And here, in Luke 9, Jesus has been proclaiming the Kingdom of God; he has been casting out demons; he has been healing people. And n...

1 Thessalonians1.1-10 This is the second in our series on leaving footprints, on being a – and I appreciate that this is a very churchy word – disciple of Jesus Christ. A couple of weeks ago Andrew spoke about how that means that we are to respond to Jesus call and follow him. It is a radical call. It does not depend on our goodness or ability – but completely on the love of God. Today we look at another dimension of what it means to be a disciple. We are called to become imitators: imitators of Jesus and imitators of other followers of Jesus. I guess most of us have dream idols. I wish I could be like them: a mega-pastor with a mega-church, sports star, commentator, astronaut, MasterChef, celebrity. It is not really that we want to be like them, but we would love to have their success, wealth, skill, influence and star status. But even if we don’t have the dream idols, the reality is that we do all have role models. We learn by watching and imitating. Small ...

Isaiah 40.27-31 We are thinking of you, Jenny and Peter. There is something about losing a second parent, however much you were looking after her – and Peggy's final illness was relatively recent: even if her body stubbornly hung on to life long after the doctors expected. And you must feel pretty drained and weary. It was also really good to see the support you gave her in those last days. If it  wasn't  Jenny by her side, it was Pete and Judy or Colin. And we particularly appreciate how hard it will be for you, Jenny. You cared for her for so long, and life will seem empty in every sense of the word. But I am pleased that you have the support of your wider family, friends and members of your house group. It was a privilege to know Peggy – both in the earlier years before the stroke and dementia and also after. She  didn't  want a fuss, was very faithful, had that lovely knowing, slightly wry, smile that lit up her face, was quiet, a lady wh...