Sharing some thoughts

The great preacher Charles Spurgeon once said that his theology could be summed up in 4 words - Jesus died for me. I'm sure he too would have been happy to add to those words the reality we proclaim today, Christ is Risen ! One Easter Sunday a preacher got up to speak and said, 'in my hand I have 3 sermons - a £50 one which lasts 5 minutes, a £20 one which lasts 15 minutes and a £10 one which lasts a full half hour - now, we'll take the collection and see which one I'll preach.' God's love for us is a subject which can be discussed for hours - his unchangeable, limitless love, but actually there is a very simple message of Easter - God loves us and showed that love by sending his son to die for us and to rise again, offering to us new life for all eternity... This morning I want to think about the meaning of some very simple words - Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples 'I have seen the Lord' - those words   quoted in John's...

Palm Sunday is the day we move into Holy Week. The end of Lent is approaching and we are moving into Holy Week – it is the most important week of the Christian calendar culminating in the reason we’re here – the resurrection of Jesus. But of course there is a journey to travel still. And today we begin that journey as Jesus heads for Jerusalem, cheered on by well-wishers, ready to greet a new king. It was a moment of triumph, a moment where it seemed that the gospel message that Jesus came to deliver was going to be a success – at least that’s what some people might have thought, but Jesus was never amongst them. He knew that he would claim a victory, but that victory would be delivered through the pain of humiliation, torture and death. And so Jesus made his way willingly to Jerusalem with the cheers of the crowds ringing in his ears, but he knew where he was going, and he knew why.   And this was going to be a busy week – in it he would turn over the tables in the Templ...

Today is Passion Sunday in the Church calendar. It is the day when we move a little closer to the thoughts of the cross – the day when we think even more about what we have achieved in our Lenten journey, and what we still hope to achieve. And one of the characteristics we seek to emulate is that of humility. Winston Churchill was a man not particularly well known for his humility, but he was once asked, ‘Doesn't it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech, the hall is packed to overflowing?" "It's quite flattering," replied Sir Winston. "But whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big." It was a wonderful way of remembering that however high a position a person may have attained, a fall can come just as quickly – this is something we’ve seen in the last week with the jailing of Chris Huhne and his former wife. Humility is a great qu...

A woman told this story, ‘As a working mother with an office in my home, I pride myself on maintaining a professional image. One key to that image is my answering-machine greeting, which is often the first contact clients have with me. I worked on making it sound upbeat and enthusiastic and very professional, and thought I had succeeded until a friend left this message: “Judy, this is Pam. I love your greeting, but do you know that you can hear your little boy in the background saying, ‘Mummy, I have to go on my potty’?” Another story is of Karen, the mother of two high-spirited young girls. When a friend called her one morning, the conversation was constantly interrupted by the noise of children screaming and chasing each other. “Could you hold on for a moment?” Karen finally asked, putting down the phone. Within ten seconds there was absolute silence. Then, “Okay, I’m back.” Said Karen “But it’s so quiet! you must have complete control over those two.” “Not really,” K...

  It was with some trepidation that I saw the theme of the talks as ‘My life, my faith’. It’s for talks like that that I wish sometimes that I had a dramatic testimony to offer – a life of crime or addiction turned around miraculously or at least some sort of dramatic conversion – but none of that is me. Actually I think I have always believed in the God I celebrate as a Christian …  It does not mean that my journey of faith has always been easy and it certainly doesn’t mean that I have been anywhere near being the perfect Christian if such a person exists at all  this side of heaven . Recently I was asked what my favourite verse from the bible is – and after thinking for a time I have to say, I’m not really sure. I think different verses appeal to me at different times, but if I had to choose one it would probably be the opening words of Psalm 27 – ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear ? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall...

We’re now about half way through Lent and perhaps that’s a good time to think about what we’ve done, what we’re doing and what we’re hoping to do or achieve during this period leading up to Holy Week and Easter. Lent is a time to think about our relationship with God – and it’s a time to especially concentrate on what we can do to improve that relationship not just for a short time but for all time. The idea for Lent is of course to mirror the 40 day wilderness experience when Jesus went out to the desert to spend time alone to pray and to think about his work and his mission. As Jesus spent a time denying himself any of life’s luxuries out in the desert so many people will give things up as a form of denial – but, as Christians when we give something up or take something new up we must ask ourselves what it is doing for our relationship with God – and just as the 40 day period in the wilderness represented a turning point in the life of Jesus, so lent can represent a similar time ...