Sharing some thoughts

Some years ago a woman woke in the middle of the night to desperate, cries of "Help! Help!" Thinking that her husband was in distress, she shook him violently. Then, realizing that he was fast asleep, she got out of bed and headed down to the living room where the shouting was even louder. "Where are you?" she called out. "In the fireplace," was the reply... There, dangling in the chimney, was a burglar stuck upside down. Police and firefighters eventually freed the would-be thief, but only after dismantling the brickwork around the fireplace. What was funny in this story though was that whilst the homeowner waited for help, she turned on the living room lights and sat down to record the sight with her video camera, and apparently she got her Bible and read part of the gospel of John (John 10:1-10) where Jesus said, "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in by another way, is a thief and "a ba...

From Helen We all have different characters and personalities, we all have different needs. I have always been better in the mornings than at any other time in the day. I am a morning person, who whilst not always  awake can be bright and breezy . When I was a child I used to wake up and chatter, maybe sing and dance…. This was fine with my family but for one lady from our Church whose name was Gloria this wasn’t so good. Gloria didn’t like mornings, she would get up and come to services even early ones but her way of waking up meant that she liked things to be gentle and fairly peaceful. On coming to our house in the morning she would watch me bouncing around and the one morning she said to my mum,  ‘ is she always like  this ?  – if she was mine I would kill  her !! ’. I decided to be kind and ask how I could make things better and she answered that peace and quiet would be nice. So, I got an old ice cream tub and put some tissue in it, made a table and ...

Lord Halifax, a former foreign secretary, once shared a railway compartment with two rather prim-looking ladies. A few moments before reaching his destination the train passed through a tunnel. In the utter darkness Halifax kissed the back of his hand noisily several times. When the train drew into the station, he rose, lifted his hat, and in a gentlemanly way said: "May I thank whichever one of you two ladies I am indebted to for the charming incident in the tunnel." He then beat a hasty retreat, leaving the two ladies glaring at each other as each doubted the behaviour of the other. Today we’re going to think a little bit about doubt, or at least about the most famous doubter of all time – Thomas. The gospel reading this morning (John 20:19-31) begins on the first evening of the first Easter as the disciples were gathered together in the house with the doors locked... The disciples must still have been afraid that what happened to Jesus could easily happen to the...

(In this sermon I am going to use some words from the Psalm  118:21-24  and get you to finish the verse – This is the day the Lord has made –  we will rejoice and be glad in it). This is the day the Lord has made –  we will rejoice and be glad in it  !  Jesus is Alive ! Happy Easter to you all. I am sure that you all have various traditions at Easter. It may be lamb or turkey for dinner, it may be going for a walk, it may be all sorts of things including how much chocolate can one adult eat compared to the huge amounts a child can seem to eat ! I remember once being put right on Easter by a little girl who explained that that at Easter the Easter bunny comes and he brings chocolate and sweets, but she pointed out whilst it is good that the Easter bunny brought these gifts they were not as important as other parts of Easter.  Because, she said the chocolate and sweets were for after Church and not before.  She went further to say that Easter...

Peter really does have a rough deal in the Bible – he was one of the closest followers of Jesus, and yet, so often, we hear of him getting things wrong. There was the transfiguration when he wanted to keep the scene just to the selected few, later there would be the denial of even knowing Jesus – and tonight is another of those occasions. Gathered together for what we know to be the Last Supper, Jesus, we are told, showed the full extent of his love. He did this by washing the disciples’ feet. Peter is horrified by this – he waited until it was his turn and then protested ‘you will never wash my feet !’ He would never let the master be his servant. Then in language that has long reminded the church of baptism, Jesus says, “But if I don’t wash you, then you won’t belong to me.” This changes everything for Peter. If foot washing is a sign of being part of Jesus, then he wants to be drenched – soaked from head to foot. Peter doesn’t perhaps understand properly, but he’s getting the...