Date: 23 Apr 2017 Text: 2 Corinthians 6:3-13 Introduction Many of us have probably suffered hardships of some sort in our lives. How we regard and deal with those hardships varies of course between people depending on their starting point. Philip Green would probably feel some form of hardship were he to lose his Knighthood over the BHS Pension Fund debacle. Meanwhile someone on any form of disability benefit and who suffers a cut in that benefit would feel real hardship as t

Date: 16 Apr 2017 (Easter Day) Text: Matthew 28:1-15 Introduction So here we are on that glorious day when we celebrate and give thanks to God for the resurrection of His Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It truly is a day to celebrate as we think about the power of God at work in this amazing event. As we celebrate today we have reached the culmination of a tumultuous week; a week that started in triumph and ended in tragedy. Throughout the week we have seen the power

Date: 14 Apr 2017 (Good Friday) Text: Matthew 27:11-26 Introduction At our service on Palm Sunday we gave some thought to the issue of the power of the people. We thought about that tumultuous welcome given to Jesus as He arrived in Jerusalem when there was loud and exuberant cheering from a happy and excited crowd. It’s possible that some in the crowd were even ecstatic as they saw the person they were desperate to see; the person who may have been the One to rescue them fro

Date: 09 Apr 2017 (Palm Sunday) Text: Matthew 21:1-11 I hope that we all realise that today is Palm Sunday, the day that signals the start of what we know as Holy Week, the final week of Jesus’ earthly life. In a few minutes I’ll be sharing some thoughts on the events of that incredible day but before that I want to think about what happened shortly before Jesus’ triumphal entry into the Holy City of Jerusalem. There were a number of things that happened in the days shortly b

Date: 02 Apr 2017 Text: Philippians 4:4-9 Introduction The Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy wrote one of the most famous novels in the world, a book titled War and Peace. It is a huge novel that deals with Russian society in the period 1805 to 1820. Rather interestingly, it is one of those books that many have tried to read only to never get past the first 3 or 4 pages and given that most editions contain approximately 1300 pages, that isn’t too good. The Peace of the title deals

Date: 26 Mar 2017 (Mothering Sunday) Text: Luke 2:41-52 Introduction As today is Mothering Sunday or Mother’s Day, whichever you prefer, I decided to just share a few thoughts on the lady who was probably the greatest mother of all, Mary the mother of Jesus. I realise that many people think that theirs is the best mother ever but for me Mary has to be the greatest. We frequently hear today of teenage girls becoming pregnant unexpectedly and, generally speaking, most certainly