Jesus, when he taught, often told stories that provoked and unsettled the status quo. He draw images and pictures from the world around him, that were familiar to his hearers. But he would put a little spin on a story that would be surprising, that would evoke emotion, and move people from the acceptance [...]
Continue reading about An eighty mile journey to build a bridge
Last Sunday, I spoke from Isa 30:1-14, in the first part of a two talks continuing to look at why we don’t pray – part 2 is this Sunday. We also built a wall – click on the photo for a larger image, and read on to find out what it was all about…
When [...]
This Sunday I will be continuing to look at reasons why we don’t pray. Generally, Christians know the value of prayer, but mostly we still struggle to pray.
It has often been thus. Even in the days of Israel, keeping God at arms length served their purposes. Isaiah parodied their response:
Give us no more visions of [...]
This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series Why Don’t We Pray?
The Prodigal Son is an incredibly well known story (Luke 15:11-32). But often the focus is on the younger son, who leaves home with his inheritance from his not-yet-dead Father, squanders it, and returns to find and experience the grace and kindness [...]
This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series Why Don’t We Pray? There are deep movements of our hearts, that in the normal course of events, we are often unaware of. They surface during times of change or transition. They surface when things that we have relied on for a sense of meaning, [...]
This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series Why Don’t We Pray?
Part 1 – the sermon teaser.
Part 2 – the depths of our desires – the first part of what I shared on Sunday.
The second part of Sunday’s Sermon was Mary and Martha (Lk 10:38-42).
Martha and Mary are found in other gospel [...]
This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series Why Don’t We Pray?Or “Why don’t we don’t we Pray? – Part 2
Part 1 can be read here. This is a short summary of the first part of what I said yesterday (Sunday 13th September) at church. The audio will be available from our website [...]
This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series Why Don’t We Pray?Why don’t we pray?
If I knew the answer to that one, I could write a book, become famous …
Bill Hybels did it, in 1988, when no-one had heard of Bill Hybels or Willowcreek. “Too Busy not to Pray”. I was a [...]
This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Sermon on the MountSo we proceed to the next verses of the Sermon of the Mount (Mt 5:13-16):
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, [...]
Continue reading about Sermon on the Mount – Salt and Light (Part 1)
This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Sermon on the Mount
Over the next year in our church, I am speaking on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Over the last few months, I have been reflecting on the famous inaugural speech from Jesus, as he seems to outline his manifesto. [...]
