This is the sermon I preached this morning at Barnes Methodist Church on the first Sunday in Lent, on the theme of reconciliation. The texts were Matthew 5:21-25 and Romans 5:6-11. Reconciliation is much in the news at the moment. Recently, Prince William joined the Queen, and many others, in urging the nation to 'come … Continue reading True reconciliation

This is the sermon I delivered today at Barnes Methodist Church. The set text today was Luke 6:17-26 but I added Matthew's account of the same passage (the Sermon on the Mount) to it, Matthew 5:1-12. Introduction This year, our lectionary gospel readings are generally taken from Luke. For many Christians, his is the favourite gospel. … Continue reading Blessings and woes

This is the sermon I preached today at Putney Methodist Church. Today, we were thinking especially about the music we sing and exploring some of the newer hymns in our latest hymn book, Singing the Faith. The Bible texts was Luke 5:1-11, the call of the first disciples. Christians have been singing about their faith since … Continue reading Singing from the same hymn sheet

Last Friday, we said goodbye to a wonderful man and a great friend to the churches in Putney and Roehampton, Rev'd Jim McKinney. Jim served for over twenty years as the vicar of Holy Trinity Roehampton, part of the ecumenical parish of Roehampton. We worked very closely together and his sudden death a few weeks … Continue reading Thanks, Jim

This is the sermon I delivered today at Barnes Methodist Church. The readings were Jeremiah 1:4-19 and Luke 4:16-30. Introduction What do these various objects and animals have in common? a basket of summer fruit, a pan boiling over, a plumb line, figs (good and bad), a scroll to be eaten, an almond branch, sheep without … Continue reading A sign of the times

This is the sermon I preached today at Putney Methodist Church. The set texts were John 2: 1-11 (the wedding at Cana) and 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (the gifts of the Spirit.) The passage we have just heard read to us – the miracle at the wedding at Cana – immediately presents several challenges to the listener. … Continue reading The super-abundance of God

Happy new year! This is the sermon I preached at Barnes, Putney and Roehampton Methodist Churches, as we marked the start of the year with our Covenant Services. The texts for all three services were: Genesis 17:1-7; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Mark 14:22-25. Introduction For many years, Methodists have begun the year in a very distinctive way with … Continue reading An unequal covenant

Merry Christmas! This is the sermon I delivered at Midnight Communion at Putney Methodist Church. The texts were Isaiah 9:2-7 and Luke 2:1-14. One of the pleasures of Advent for me every year is to tell the stories of the season to children in schools and in our churches. To talk about our advent traditions, our … Continue reading “How silently, how silently”

Amid the excitement of advent and the busy activity of nativity plays and carol concerts, it is good sometimes to reflect more deeply on what our Biblical texts actually tell us about the birth of Jesus. To think about how the two different evangelists who chose to write about Christ’s nativity presented their material. What … Continue reading Looking backwards and forwards in Luke

This is a personal review of a recent resource produced by the Bible Society called 'The Bible Course'. I hope it's helpful to others either considering running it, or those looking for new teaching material for their churches.  The problem One of the greatest challenges I face as a preacher and small group leader is … Continue reading The Bible Course: a review