[Here are some notes of a very early sermon of mine. It’s not quite how I would go about constructing a sermon nowadays, but neither am I ashamed of it!]
Once upon a time there was a king who lived in a fine palace in a great city
This king had a number of wives. By one of his wives he had a son whose name was Amnon.
By another of his wives he had a beautiful daughter, named Tamar, and a handsome son named Absalom And the king loved his son Absalom.…
Notes of a sermon preached at St. Andrew’s Eaton on the morning of 3rd November 2024.
11 Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. 12 As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town.
We’re up in Galilee, just five miles from Nazareth. …
Notes of a sermon preached at St Edumunds, Costessey, and again at St Helen’s, Costessey, on 27th October, 2024.
Here is ‘one of the most unnerving episodes in the entire NT.’ (Dunn)
‘Your God is too small.’ (Title of a book by J.B. Philips)
Resident Policeman – waiting to blow the whistle as soon as you step out of line
Emergency Firefighter – useful in an emergency
Slot-Machine – put in a prayer, and receive miracle
Cheerleader – just wants everyone to have a good time
‘The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him – and of her.’…
Notes of a sermon preached at Holy Trinity, Norwich, on the morning of Sunday 11th August, 2024. It was part of a short series covering the first four chapters of the Book of Proverbs.
How would you like to live a long, healthy, and successful life?
You’ve come to the right place!
Long life. Keep God’s commands, and you will live a long and successful life, v1f
Honour. Be loving and faithful, and you will win the favour of both God and man, v3f.…
Video and notes of a sermon preached on the morning of Sunday, 9th June, 2024 at Holy Trinity, Norwich.
On Palm Sunday, 2017, bombers destroyed two historic Coptic churches in Egypt. Nearly 50 parishioners were killed and 100 others were injured. Just hours after the blast, Father George stood before his packed congregation and delivered ‘A message to those who kill us’:
‘Thankyou,’ he said. Thankyou, because you have given the dead the honour of dying as Christ died; because the victims are now with Christ, which is better by far; because your actions have made people mindful of their eternal destinies. …
Video and notes of a sermon preached at St Andrew’s Eaton (Norwich) on Sunday 2nd June 2024.
‘Spiritual failure is more often a slow leak than a burst tyre.’
So it was with King Saul. He looked every inch a king. But deep character flaws led to rash decisions and foolish choices.
To mention just one: Saul made his troops swear, on pain of death, that they would not eat any food until they had won a certain battle. …
[Notes of a sermon preached at Holy Trinity Norwich in November 2017.
Audio available here.]
Jesus keeps his Word
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: your child at death’s door. Head throbbing, mind confused, eyes sunken, hands shaking.
No physician has been able to effect any relief, let alone a cure.
There is just one glimmer of hope. A wonder-worker, Jesus by name, has recently returned to the area. He’s about 25 miles away, in Cana. …
I guess that for most of us, Christmas and birthday are among the most exciting times of the year, because of the gifts we receive. Have you noticed that the gifts we get the most pleasure from are often not the most costly ones? What parent has not spent quite a lot of money on some marvelous new toy, only for the child to get hours of enjoyment from playing with the box the toy came in!…
[Notes of a talk given at the Service of Thanksgiving for God’s goodness during the recent illness and ongoing recovery of Sarah Mason. Holy Trinity Norwich, at 2pm on Saturday 8th July 2023]
‘Consider it pure joy’ – Really?
James 1:2f – ‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.’
Or as a well-known saying puts it:
‘God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.’…
A sermon preached at Holy Trinity, Norwich, on Sunday 20th November, 2002.
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