There are about 300 words in our reading from John’s first letter this evening. Nearly 30 of them are the word “love”, or related terms. Just about 10%. It is not difficult to get hold of what John’s main theme is in this section of his letter. John has mentioned love before in the letter. […]
I thought more than twice about changing the subject for this morning’s sermon. It’s difficult enough to speak about these things when I can see who I’m talking to, when I can get some clues about how it’s landing with people. When I know that we’ve got prayer ministry folk around who can come alongside […]
As I’ve said, this morning we are exploring one of our church’s values – loving each other, and in particular we are thinking about how we value kindness. Now, one of our other values is celebrating, and I’ve heard it said that you should celebrate what you value. So, this morning, I thought we might […]
I’m going to start this morning in what might seem to be a slightly odd place, which is by addressing something that I now think that I missed in what I said last Sunday morning. You see, last week we were thinking about what it means to be expectant to meet with God, as part […]
I wonder who here has special plans for this coming Friday? I can see that some of you are sat there thinking, “why should we have special plans for this Friday?” Who can enlighten our bemused brethren? It is, of course, Valentine’s Day. An opportunity to celebrate romantic love, particularly poignant perhaps for those in […]
For those of you who were here last week, you will know that we are now on the second slice of the sandwich. For those of you who weren’t here, I’d better explain. Two weeks ago, we looked at 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and Paul’s teaching about spiritual gifts and the richness of unity and […]
It is said that familiarity breeds contempt. It’s often struck me as a slightly depressing world view, one which I hope isn’t necessarily true. It seems to me much more hopeful to believe that familiarity might breed insight, affection, and comfort. Maybe, though, this does take a bit of work, and maybe a choice to […]
A sword will pierce your own soul too. It’s not exactly the kind of thing that you’re likely to find in a lovely Hallmark Mothering Sunday card is it? It’s the not what you’d expect to hear at a Christening party either. A sword will pierce your own soul too. It had all been going […]
I wonder if you’ve ever had that deeply frustrating experience of calling after someone who just keeps walking away from you as you call. Or a pet. Have you ever had a cat that just ignored you, or even worse, seemed to take you calling as a sign to disappear even further into the bushes? […]
Neighbours, Everybody needs good neighbours Just a friendly wave each morning Helps to make a better day Neighbours, Need to get to know each other Next door is only a footstep away Neighbours, Everybody needs good neighbours With a little understanding You can find the perfect blend Neighbours, Should be there for one another That’s […]