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Matthew 28:16-20 – “Go, make disciples, baptise, teach” (sermon notes)

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Mt 28:16-20  The Great Commission

Go to all nations (including our own; beginning where we are). “In Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” A girl returning home from Sunday School expressed disappointment with the classes’ reaction after the day’s lesson. “We were taught to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations,” she said, “but we just sat.” Jesus says, “Go.”

Make – a fuss, a mess, mistakes, faces, chocolate disappear.…

Numbers 13-14 – So near, and yet so far! (sermon notes)

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[Notes of a sermon preached in July, 2020]

So near, and yet so far!

Have you ever been on the brink of a major decision in your life, and then not gone through with it?  Have you ever wondered:

  • What if I had gone to that college or university?
  • What if I had taken that job?
  • What if I had married that person?

In Numbers chapters 13 and 14 we find God’s people, the Israelites, on the threshold of the Promised Land. …

Psalm 8 – What are we? (sermon notes)

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[Notes of a sermon preached at Holy Trinity Norwich, June, 2019]

Chemical composition

Evolutionary development

The only animal that blushes – or needs to

A speck of dust in a vast universe?

vv1,9 – Made to worship – wrapped in praise – addressed entirely to God – no petitions – we discover who we are, not by looking inwards, but by looking upwards.

vv3f – Made to wonder – not, ‘What man?’ but ‘What is man, that God, the Creator of this vast universe, should care about us?’ …

Romans 4 – Radical faith (sermon notes)

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[Notes of a sermon preached at Holy Trinity Norwich in March, 2015]

There is much interest in ‘radical’ religion these days.  But what does radical Christianity look like?

Previously (3:21-31): humanity’s perilous plight – ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’, v23; God’s drastic solution, v24f – ‘God presented Christ Jesus as sacrifice of atonement’; and the means by which we experience this: v28 – ’a person is justified by faith apart from observing the law.’…

Ruth 2 – Grace, given and received (sermon notes)

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[Notes of a sermon preached in April, 2018]

‘As it turned out’ (v3) becomes a story of God’s grace, given and received.

1. Grace given by Boaz, who has

(a) unique integrity

This is seen from his first words to his last, from his first action to his last.  From Judges 17 on, the only man with real integrity.

(b) God’s heart for the stranger

v5 – “Whose young woman is that?”  v12 – “the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take shelter.”…

1 Samuel 3 – God’s word in action (sermon notes)

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[Notes of a sermon preached in June, 2004]

What’s in a word?  “Stick & stones” – “Careless talk costs lives” – “Guilty or not guilty?” – “I do”

When that word is God’s…  “God said…” – “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” – “Out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword” (Rev)

We see God’s word in action in this passage.  Verse 1 – ‘In those days the word of the Lord was rare.’ …

1 Peter 5:1-11 – Keep going (sermon notes)

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[Notes of a sermon preached at Holy Trinity Norwich in August 2017.]

Christian faith under pressure.

Over 200 million Christians are experiencing serious persecution in more than 50 different countries.  ‘In Nigeria, Christian girls are being abducted and impregnated by Boko Haram. In Egypt, extremists are paying men to abduct women, force them into marriage and convert them to Islam. And in Pakistan, women are being kidnapped, raped and forced to change their religion.’ (Evangelicals Now).…

1 Kings 11-12 – The king who loved too much (sermon notes)

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[Notes of a sermon preached at Holy Trnity Norwich, November 2006.]

Solomon was king of Israel.  He was a very successful king.  He was good at winning things, and so brought peace to the region.  He was good at organising things, and his country became rich and prosperous.  He was good at building things, and built houses and palaces, and even a wonderful temple for the Lord.  However, he had always had a fatal weakness.  His problem was that he loved too much…

Can it be possible to love too much? …

Mt 27:45/Mk 15:33/Lk 23:44f – Three hours of darkness

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Mt 27:45 Now from noon until three, darkness came over all the land.

Mk 15:33 Now when it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

Lk 23:44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 23:45 because the sun’s light failed.

Leaving aside, for the moment, the significance of this event, what can we say about what actually happened?

Frst. a couple of notes about the text itself.…

Mt 11:2-11 – ‘A question of identity’ – sermon notes

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[Notes of a sermon preached at St. Andrew’s, Eaton (Norwich) on 14th December, 20025.  Video below.  An earlier version of this message was preached at Holy Trinity Norwich in November 2019]

Who are you?

Our culture is pre-occupied – obsessed, even – with questions of identity.

These often cluster around gender and sexuality – ‘I identify as straight, gay, transexual, bisexual, asexual, and so on.’

Sometimes they refer to political views: I identify as a socialist. …