Category Archives: Sermon Notes

Mk 4:1-20 – The sower- sermon notes

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Text: Mark 4:1-20

Spring-time by the Sea of Galilee.  A large crowd gathered to hear Jesus.

What he said to the crowd, in public

The pathway – the stony soil – the thorny ground – the good soil.

No explanation given.  What was it all about?  Imagine a conversation between four family members:-

Father – “He’s a charlaton.”

Miriam – “I just love those charming stories.”

Mother – “He talks a lot of sense – but I have chores to do, friends to visit, letters to write.”…

Luke 5:27-32 – The call of Levi – sermon notes

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What would you rather do: eat your last Rolo yourself, or give it to me?  Spend and hour and a half watching TV, or an hour and a half in a prayer meeting?  Have a moan at your nosey neighbours for being nosey, or make friends with them so that it becomes the most natural thing in the world to invite them to one of our services here at HT?

Simple choices like this illustrate the chasm that so often looms between theory and practice, between what we know we should do, and what we actually do do. …

Mark 1:1-20 – Four witnesses – sermon notes

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A book by Philip Pullman : ‘The good man Jesus and the scoundrel Christ’.  This reflects the popular distinction between ‘the Jesus of history’ and ‘the Christ of faith’; the simple Galilean teacher, as depicted in the Gospels, and the exalted object of the church’s worship, as found in the Epistles.

How is Jesus actually presented in this, the earliest and shortest of the Gospels; the one that most emphasises his humanness?  Let’s call four witnesses.…

Rom 5:12-21 – A tale of two families – sermon notes

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I wonder how far back you can trace your family tree?  Not many of us can rival the claim of Canadian furniture-maker Michael Ibsen, who is the nearest known relative of Richard III, who died at the battle of Bosworth in 1483.

But did you know that, in fact, each of us is a member of one or other of two very ancient families?  These families are discussed by Paul in Romans 5.

At the head of each of these two families stands a representative. …

James 4:4-17 – Talking, planning – sermon notes

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[Asked to preach twice on the same day from James 4:4-17, I developed two sermons, the first focussing on what this passage teaches about pride in relation to talking (verses 11-12), and the second on pride in relation to planning (verses 13-17).]

Sermon 1

Overall theme of this section: arrogance.

Specific danger areas: talking (v11-12), planning (vv13-17), spending (5:1-6).

Let’s focus on the first of these.  James has yet more to say about the tongue, and so must we.…

James 2:14-26 – Is your faith in good working order? – sermon notes

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We ensure that our cars, our central heating boilers, and our teeth are in a healthy condition.

But what about your faith?  Is your faith in good working order?

What do we mean by ‘faith’?

  • The sceptical view. Dawkins: ‘Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.’
  • The popular view. In the movie Miracle on 34th Street, Santa Claus says: “Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.”
…

Acts 14:8-20 – How do you do that? – sermon notes

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How many people sometimes feel inadequate, discouraged or even ashamed when it comes to their efforts to share Jesus Christ with others?

Although Jesus told us to be fishers of men, we are content to be keepers of the aquarium.

A girl returning home from Sunday School complained about the class’s reaction after the day’s lesson. “We were taught to go into the world and make disciples of all nations,” she said, “but we just sat there.”…

Acts 10 – I’m not eating that! – sermon notes

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This is a wonderful story of how God worked separately in the lives of Cornelius the Roman soldier, and Peter the apostle, to bring them together and grant a priceless gift to each of them. To Cornelius and his household the Lord gave the gift of new life in Jesus Christ. To Peter he gave the gift of a new understanding – a new realisation that this new life in Christ was for everyone, and not just for Jews like himself.…

1 Pet 3:8 – Togetherness – sermon notes

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1 Peter 3:8

We live our Christian lives under intense scrutiny.  1:12 – angels, 3:12, the Lord; 2:12 the world.

What astonishes the angels, delights God, and convicts the world, more than almost anything else?  To see the followers of Jesus Christ living in harmony with one another.

Five qualities.  Apple pie & fatherhood?

This is addressed to ‘all of you’.

1. Harmony

‘Like-mindedness’.  Unity of thought, purpose and action.

It is a unity in diversity. …

1 Peter 3:8-15a – Live in harmony – sermon notes

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Peter’s purpose in writing was to encourage persecuted Christians to stand firm in their faith, 1 Pet 5:12.  Accordingly, he repeatedly reminds them of the blessings that belong to those who belong to Christ: so much so, that this letter has been called ‘the epistle of hope’.  Moreover, he instructs them in the behaviour that Christians should exhibit in the midst of suffering: what kind of relationships they should have with the world in general (1 Pet 2:11f), with the state (1 Pet 2:13-17), within the home (1 Pet 2:18-3:7).…