Sermons

May I speak in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit At present, if we look at the state of the world today, you could say that joy is in short supply.  So many disasters; the terrible rail crash in India, the death of 800 people...

Today’s readings present on the one hand in the Book of Exodus the calling of the Children of Israel to be Kingdom and Nation of Priests, and on the other the naming of the 12. The first is in some measure the precursor of the second of course. Just as...

“And now, the end is near, the time has come, the final sermon”  If someone had said to me in 2018 that I would have to sing in public (I admit, badly!), then I don’t think I would have even continued talking to William about priestly ministry. I don’t sing...

May I speak in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit It gives me much pleasure to have this opportunity to preach to you this evening here at St Mary’s. An evening that is of great significance in our Christian calendar as it is the evening...

“To the unknown god” – perhaps it should be ‘to the unknown song’ given Britain’s latest Eurovision disaster! But it was “to the unknown god” that the words inscribed on an altar in Athens 2000 years ago appealed, and they are the words St Paul leapt upon. The unknown God:...

Well, I received a phone call at 8.30pm yesterday asking me if I was free to help out, so apologies if this is a little ill-thought out! There is a bumper sticker somewhere along the lines of “He who dies with the most toys, wins.” The aim of the game...

St Mark 13:5 And Jesus answering them began to say, “Take heed lest any man deceive you:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations :13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the...

We are continuing a study of the Coronation rite. Last week we covered the early part of the service. This week we shall explore three things: The reality that this rite takes place within a Eucharist, which connects nicely with today’s Gospel passage about the Road to Emmaus. Secondly we...

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.”...

May I speak in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit In our Order of Service here at St Mark’s we are invited to ‘draw near with faith’.  In faith to put aside our worldly concerns and focus on our relationship with God. On this Maundy...

From today’s reading of the Gospel of St Matthew, 17: v5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And 2 Peter 1: v19...

Today is the first Sunday in Lent.  In my sermon today I am going to explore the meaning of Lent. The first thought that comes into my head is that Lent is a time when we feel we should give something up that we like and in that period to...

Our gospel reading today comes from the Sermon on the Mount, a foundational text of teaching for what it means to live life as a Christian. The verses we heard today break into three sections: First, the importance of Salt and Light; Second, the Law and the Prophets; and Third...

I’m sure you are all just itching to be a vicar. I can see it in your eyes well, when you finally get round to taking that step, I have some good news. Presuming you get selected, you then get offered a plethora of theological training institutions across the land...

1 Kings 17: v15. “And she went according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.” John 2: v5. “His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” Welcome to the Fourth Sunday of Epiphany, when both our...

It’s a game of two halves – and our gospel reading today definitely had two parts! The Kingdom of God, and the calling of the first disciples. In the latter, we have four names given to us: Simon Peter and Andrew, and then James and John, sons of Zebedee (not...

Happy new year and if you are Orthodox, Merry Christmas to you! It is of course the Orthodox Christmas, though William was most disappointed to learn I have never seen the Orthodox practice that we are going to do today actually put into practice, even though I lived in an...

Happy new year and if you are Orthodox, Merry Christmas to you! It is of course the Orthodox Christmas, though William was most disappointed to learn I have never seen the Orthodox practice that we are going to do today actually put into practice, even though I lived in an...

An old man was sitting in his chair in Bethlehem when a young man walked up to him, with a notebook and pencil in hand. “What are you selling?” cried out the old man. “I’m not selling anything sir”, replied the young man. “I’m taking the census”. “The what?” said...

It is midnight in Bethlehem. Tonight’s Gospel evokes Bethlehem’s hillsides. The angel of the Lord proclaimed to shepherds that their Saviour had been born. “This will be the sign. Ye will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel...

I like to be organised, and wrote today’s sermon two weeks ago. I focused on Joseph. And then William and Joanna sent me the orders of service, mentioning that we celebrate Mary today. Thus this past week left me rewriting everything from scratch! But that’s great news, because I can...

In today’s Gospel reading we learn of John the Baptist appearing in the wilderness of Judea, calling upon people to repent and be baptized by him, confessing their sins.  Yet when the Jewish leaders, known as the Pharisees, appear, John dismisses them in their attempt to be baptized by him. ...

Well here we are on the first day of advent, yet we start at the beginning by talking about the end! I am standing here today largely because of “THE END TIMES”! I grew up in a home where there was great interest in the ‘signs of the times’, and...

There is certainly a lot to remember this year, especially with the passing of HM the Queen, herself a war veteran, and the ascendency to the throne of King Charles III, who has experience in all three services. And it will be to the war in which the Queen served...