Talks, Sermons and Reflections

Luke 9:51-62 We are called to follow Jesus But that is not easy. Jesus went to the cross, and if we follow Jesus we will have to walk the way of the cross, before we come to the resurrection. We are told in Luke 9.51 that Jesus set his face to Jerusalem Earlier in Luke 9, when Jesus is transfigured, he spoke with Moses and Elijah about ‘his departure, his Exodus’, which will happen in Jerusalem And now – and this is a turning point in Luke’s gospel - he sets his face to Jerusalem. He set his face – it is a great phrase – it is about being single minded, focussed and determined - to go to Jerusalem where he knows that he will be crucified. It is hard to follow Jesus It is hard when there is rejection . The disciples go to the Samaritan village, and they are rejected. We are told it is because Jesus was headed to Jerusalem, which – for the Samaritans – was the loathed capital of the people who were their enemies. But that was only the first taste of rejection for Christ’s sake for the ...

John 16.12-15 There are two ways that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all the truth He will declare ‘the things that are to come’ – he will help us to look forward. ‘He will glorify me,’ says Jesus, because ‘he will take what is mine and declare it to you’ – he will help us to look up Click here for audio of the sermon Life is difficult. Many people are feeling insecure or simply sad. Companies are closing. People are losing their jobs. Friends continue to leave. And that is nothing in comparison to what others are going through. And for Christians life can get very difficult. In some places people are suffering and dying for their faith. Last Sunday a gunman went into a Catholic Church in Owo, Nigeria, and gunned down 50 members of the congregation. Jesus, at the beginning of John 16 has told his followers that it will be hard – really hard. They will be persecuted by people who think that by killing them they are doing God’s will, or – if they don’t believe in God – that by killin...

John 14.8-17 Today we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit The audio of the sermon can be found here Jesus says, ‘I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate … This is the Spirit of Truth’ (John 14.15-17) And we read about the coming of the Holy Spirit on the followers of Jesus 1. The Holy Spirit creates a community – the community of God’s people ‘I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate’ (v15) We tend to think of the promise of the Holy Spirit as something that is uniquely personal, but we forget that Jesus is talking to his disciples, to his people, to the community gathered around him, ‘to his own’ (John 13:1) on that last evening before he is arrested and crucified. He is talking to the people who he has brought together, who have put their trust in him, and allowed him to wash their feet And he is saying to them, to the community, ‘If you – if y’all (to use the Americanism) – love me, y’all will keep my commandments, I will ask the Father...