Talks, Sermons and Reflections

2 Corinthians 5.11-21 Our fifth and final vision statement is that we seek to introduce people to Jesus. There are many different things we differ on: prefer different styles of worship, attitude to tradition, music, how long sermons should be! Maybe we have different attitudes to our sources of authority – Bible, Church, experience and reason – and we will combine them in different ways. We will have different views on politics: Brexit, human sexuality, the environment, Donald Trump But I hope that there is something that we do agree on: And that is that at the heart of our community, and at the centre of our individual life, and our life together, is faith in Jesus Christ, who loved us, was crucified and who rose from the dead. We are Christ-ians. We are the people of Jesus Christ. And we gather because of him, around him and to meet him. And because of that: 1.       We are people who have a shared motive. Paul writes, ‘For...

A sermon preached at Bury St Edmunds' Churches Together Service to mark the beginning of the week of prayer for Christian Unity, January 2017 2 Corinthians 5.14-20 There is something very special about services like this. Opportunity to gather together as Christians from different churches in this town. Although it does remind me of the committee set up to decide what denomination God would be when he returned. The Catholic said he would definitely be Catholic because they were the true church. The Methodist spoke of how he would be Methodist because of the singing. The Baptist said that clearly he would be Baptist because they were so right on believers baptism. And the Anglican after a long silence said, ‘But I don’t really understand why he needs to change?’ Many different things we disagree on: styles of worship, attitude to tradition, liturgy, how long sermons should be! Different attitudes to our sources of authority – Bible, Church, experience and reas...

Matthew 28.16-20 Summary: The risen Jesus commands us to be a disciple making, grace offering and teaching, learning, obedient people who by faith know that he is always with us It is good on this sort of occasion to go back to basics and to remind ourselves what sort of community we are called to be. And for that I have turned to the last few words of Matthew’s gospel and what is known as the great commission. The disciples have gathered together and Jesus has said to them: ‘All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me’. I guess that is easier to take from a man who has risen from the dead. Clearly Jesus has authority over the processes of nature and over death. And he has authority over the lives of men and women. God, by raising Jesus from the dead, has shown them that he is the Messiah, the One who He promised to send as his ruler, who has authority over all people and over all rulers. There is a booklet that has been produced about our Queen...

Matthew 28:16-20 listen to ‘Are evangelical Christians guilty of arrogance?’ on Audioboo Why do followers of Jesus want other people to become followers of Jesus? I remember a conversation with the mother of one of my college friends. She was asking why I was going to work as a parish assistant in Hackney. I said I wanted people to know about Jesus, because they needed Jesus. And she responded, ‘Malcolm, you are so arrogant’. Isn’t it arrogant to think that what you believe is better than what the next person believes? They have their own faith and their own ways of doing things. And wouldn’t we believe what they believe if we had been brought up in that culture? And when we try to convert people, doesn’t that end up with the Crusades or the inquisition – people trying to make other people believe what I believe, even if it means using a sword or a gun? Have not whole populations been baptised by force? That is no different to organisations like Boku Haram claiming...

John 21:1-11 There are three times in this passage that the net is mentioned.  As the church, the people of the risen Jesus, we are called to use the net and to be the net. 1. The net is a picture of what we are called to be about.   We are called to go fishing! But not for fish, for people. The thing about Jesus' followers is that whenever we read about them they are rubbish fishermen. They are either on the shore mending their nets, or terrified in a storm (twice), or they are out fishing all night and not catching a thing (twice). The only time we read of them making a great catch of fish is when they follow Jesus' instructions. But Jesus does not want his followers to be effective fishers for fish. What he is saying here is that he wants his followers to be effective fishers for people! [invite children to come out and begin cutting out fish shapes and people shapes] Jesus has earlier told his followers: 'Follow me and I will make you fi...