Sharing some thoughts

  Today we celebrate in the church calendar the baptism of Christ. And in our readings we are reminded that we are called to be active participants in God’s kingdom. In our reading from Isaiah (43:1-7), we heard some incredible words, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine’.   That idea of God wanting us, each one of us, to be a part of his work, his family, is one that I think needs to be acknowledged every moment of every day – when we’re feeling good or when we’re not… God calls us by name…  Baptism offers an incredible symbol of God’s unbelievable grace. Today we have heard the account of the baptism of Jesus, an experience which led to the real beginning of his ministry.  The reasons for Jesus being baptised can be thought about separately but, for us too, baptism must be a beginning – Martin Luther said that baptism is something that's done in church one day but takes the rest of our lives to complete…  As Jes...

  We’ve arrived at a new year – Christmas seems a little way back. Lots of decorations have been taken down and put away and there are a lot less houses decorated with pretty sparkling lights as I travel around.  I hope Christmas was good and I hope you have a great new year. Some of you may have made new year resolutions, some may have made them and already broken them!! But with God’s grace, we are constantly given the chance for something new and something lasting.  At Christmas so many people celebrated and it was wonderful to hear so many churches talking about encouraging attendances at the Christmas services and in the lead up to Christmas. Lots of people will try to say that Christianity is an outdated message, but time and time again we’re reminded that isn’t true!  But this morning I want to think of some verses from the gospel (John 1: 10-18) which began, “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He ca...

  It’s great to be here this evening to celebrate Christmas! Whatever December has looked like for you, whether it has been really busy, really quiet, full of carol services and or parties, shopping or trying to get work done by the end of the year, trying to calm excited children, or perhaps spending time reflecting on Christmases of the past with whatever memories you have of them, we’ve reached Christmas.  Through December the church calendar follows the season of Advent when we wait and look forward to the celebration of Jesus’ birth and all that event meant and means. But now the waiting is over and into whatever is going on around us, Jesus is born…  We’ve just heard a very famous Christmas reading from the Gospel according to John (1:1-14) – it begins, “In the beginning was the Word and the word was with God and the word was God…” but in a modern adaptation of the Bible, it says rather more plainly, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbou...