Tag: Jesus
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One Man Went to Mow? Rethinking Churchwarden Roles for a Balanced Community
We reward long service rather than good service (which can be both), we value those who work hard, we revere our elders, and in doing so we can become like the labourers in the vineyard.
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Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat: Trust Insights from Jonah and Peter
Peter, the impetuous one, speaks out ‘You are the Messiah’ and Jesus responds by blessing him. He also calls him ‘Simon, son of Jonah’. I haven’t truly noticed this before, but now it has me questioning. ‘Simon’, I know is the name his father had given for him, the name he had gone by before…
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One More Step: Encouragement from Peter’s Failure to Walk on Water
Jesus liked small things. He spoke about mustard seeds, and microscopic elements of yeast, he praised children and called them to him. Jesus isn’t rebuking Peter for the size of his faith. He is encouraging him.
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I Believe in Miracles: Finding Abundance in Small Churches
We move away from parables of hell and damnation this week, and into the territory of miracles, much more fun! This is one of my favourite miracles, it involves a picnic and wise and generous children: what’s not to love?
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Exploring Jesus’ Teachings: Parables of the Kingdom
Reading the passage it is as though Jesus has somehow turned into a holy Duracell bunny: he spins from one parable to another, ‘the kingdom of heaven is like this’ he says and then jumps straight into another descriptor. I imagine the heads of the disciples and other followers are spinning: is the kingdom of…
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I’ve Got a Brand New Combine Harvester: Separating the Wheat from the Weeds.
Today’s passage is one of those ‘oof’ passages. If I wanted to preach brimstone and hellfire sermon this would be the perfect text to base it on. I don’t. Instead I am trying to work out how a loving and just God deals with freewill but also sin. I am trying to see the love…
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Feed me Seymour! Lessons from the Parable of the Sower on Nourishing Your Faith.
As I walked home in the cool of the day, a member of the team shared with me that she was going to water her pots. It wasn’t just a daily chore for her though, it was a time of reflection and meditation at the end of the day, listening to the ‘rain’ falling from…
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Easy like Sunday Morning: Finding Rest in Jesus’ Yoke of Peace
I am weary and so I turn to my Bible, I close my eyes in prayer, I listen to worship music, I meditate in silence. It’s what you would expect of an ordained priest, a vicar, the Rector. Except I don’t! It is what I need to do, but instead I make myself a cuppa,…
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Daddy Cool: A Reflection on Fatherhood in Faith
Father’s Day isn’t a Christian festival in the same way that Mothering Sunday is, which means that we don’t tend to celebrate our dads. Today let’s do that. Let’s, with thankful hearts to our heavenly Daddy, give thanks to all the Dads: all who have fathered us, who have been strong role models for us,…
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Come One Come All: A Reflection on Faith and Service in Matthew 9:37
As Christians we are all called to serve. It is in our baptism vows which as adults we renew and take on for ourselves at confirmation. As a church we are to be a family, and yes many families are a little dysfunctional, but the best ones pull together each with their own roles according…