Category Archives: Sermon Notes

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 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. …

Psalm 5 – Praying under pressure – sermon notes

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[Notes of a sermon preached in August, 2016]

Psalm 5 – Praying under pressure

Do you feel under pressure as a Christian?

  • a home situation where any mention of Christ and his message is met with frosty silence, if not downright hostility?
  • a class or lecture theatre where any challenge to secular humanism is dismissed with contempt?
  • a workplace where any advocacy of God’s good plan for women and men is regarded as the height of intolerance?
…

Matthew 5:37 – ‘Let your “Yes” be “Yes.” – sermon notes

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Notes of a sermon preached at St Andrew’s Eaton, Norwich, on Sunday 2nd November 20025.

A link to the video can be found at the bottom of this page.

Scripture passage; Matthew 5:33-37

Especially v37 – ‘Let your “Yes” be “Yes.”

Context

At the beginning of this section of the Sermon on the Mount, we have:-

An affirmation: v17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”…

Psa 139:1-19 – God knows me (sermon notes)

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Notes of a sermon preached on 8th September 2025 at Christ Church, New Catton (Norwich).

Text: Psalm 139:1-16

1. God knows me – completely, 1-6

V1 – ‘O Lord, you have searched me and you know me’ – though others may misunderstand and misrepresent me, you, O God, know me as I really am.  Though you might have been fully occupied with keeping the galaxies in their orbits, you are aware of my every thought, word and action. …

Acts 1:1-11 – This mission cannot fail – sermon notes

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Lots of people are ‘on a mission’.  So are God’s people – all the time.

Success seems a remote hope, considering the state of the church then and now.

But “I have no other plan.”  We know that it cannot fail, because of:-

1. The Father’s rule

Kingdom of God central in Jesus’ teaching, v3.  Inclusio with 28:31.

A good question, v6.  ‘Are we nearly there yet?’

But Jesus corrects them with respect to (a) timescale, v7; (b) extent, v8 (‘table of contents’). …

Exodus 8:20-9:12 – Who hardened Pharaoh’s heart? – sermon notes

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The story so far: Israelites slaves in Egypt.  Moses raised up to by God’s deliverer.  The Lord’s command to Pharaoh: “Let my people go.  If you do not…”

Three more plagues:-

Swarms of flies, 8:20-32

Diseased livestock, 9:1-7

Boils and sores, 9:8-12

  • Increasing intensity; they are no longer merely nuisances; they cause actual damage.
  • Discriminating: Egyptians affected; Israelites protected (8:22f; 9:4).
  • Pharaoh isolated; his magicians slink away, defeated, 9:11. His resolve shows a few signs of weakening – asks for prayer, 8:28; offers concessions, v25, 28. 
…

John 20:19-23 – Equipped for mission (sermon notes)

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On a mission?  Yes! All God’s people are on a mission.

Key thought: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Three knotty problems:-

(a) Who was there?

(b) When was the Holy Spirit given?

(c) What message were they to proclaim?

Answers in Luke 24:36-49.

1. Feel alone? – He gives us his presence, v19.

Do you feel like you are ‘the only one’ (in your house, family, class, workplace)?

‘Jesus came and stood among them.’…

Acts 21:17-36 – Dealing with difference (sermon notes)

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[Notes of a sermon preached at St. Andrew’s, Eaton (Norwich) on 4th May, 2025.  The introductory questions were posed with tongue somewhat in cheek.]

Acts 21:17-36

Are you a Calvinist, or an Arminian?

Do you think that the universe was created in six literal days a few thousand years ago, or did it begin with a ‘Big Bang’ nearly 14 billion years ago?

Do you prefer to sing traditional hymns, or contemporary worship songs?

In the current crisis in the Middle East, are your sympathies more with Israel, or with Palestine?…