NT Sermons

Matthew 15:21-28: Dogfood

Sun, 25/02/2018 - 10:30 -- James Oakley

I wonder what you made of that story.

Many people find it a hard one to read. I don’t know how you picture Jesus.

To some, Jesus was a bit of a hippy. Long hair. Goatee beard. Watching butterflies flap around the field.

Charles Wesley wrote a hymn for children entitled “Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild”. The hymn actually has moderately rich content. But for many people the title of that hymn sums up the Jesus they picture. Meek and mild.

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Matthew 15:1-20 (part 2): External ceremonies

Sun, 18/02/2018 - 10:30 -- James Oakley

Last week, we were thinking about how easily a religion can become a clique. An exclusive club, that leaves you feeling left out if you’re not one of the initiated ones.

Judaism was never meant to be exclusive. God gave his people great privilege, so that they might share this with all the nations. But instead of sharing those privileges, they’d hoarded them.

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Matthew 15:1-20 (part 1): Human traditions

Sun, 11/02/2018 - 10:30 -- James Oakley

Religions can make for very exclusive clubs. A clique. It can be hard to break in from outside. All kinds of little signals that you don’t belong. You don’t know how things are done around here. So it’s hard to fit in.

Ancient Judaism was never meant to be a clique. God’s plan was for the people of Israel to be a light to the nations. Their privileges were meant to be shared. Instead, they’d become something to feel superior about. Which meant it was hard for those who were not Jews to break in, to become part of God’s people.

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Matthew 14:22-36: Stay in the Boat!

Sun, 28/01/2018 - 10:30 -- James Oakley

Many of us know from experience that the waters of life are not always calm. Things can get decidedly choppy.

A number of us have had the experience of Jesus being with us and looking after us in the stormy times. But others would say that those times have been even harder because Jesus has felt absent.

Today’s Bible story is for everyone who’s known a season when their life is like rowing into the wind. And for everyone who will ever have such a season. Which means all of us.

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Matthew 14:13-21: Not Bring and Share

Sun, 21/01/2018 - 10:30 -- James Oakley

What do you make of the person of Jesus? To many he was little more than one of the great figures of history. A good teacher, who said some memorable and wise things. Some doubt he even existed. To Christians, he’s much more than a good teacher. He’s our Lord and our God. Our Saviour and our King.

To work out what you make of him, you’d need to look at the evidence. It’s something many people have never done. Look at the evidence for Jesus’ claims.

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John 17:6-19 Part 3: Sent by Jesus

Sun, 29/10/2017 - 10:00 -- James Oakley

This is the most important service we hold each year – our quarterly combined services. It’s such a precious thing to come all together, to worship God as one church. There are good reasons why we don’t do it every week, but it’s vital that we come together, once in a while.

Indeed, the two PCCs have been going through the process of formally merging our two parishes. It is increasingly the case that our two churches work together in partnership, so we’re cementing that partnership for the generations to come. That’s a really good thing to be doing.

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Acts 4:23-37 Jesus the Appointed King

Sun, 13/08/2017 - 10:30 -- James Oakley

Here’s the question: Have Jon and Hannah just done something marvellous, or something mad, in having Eben baptised?

He will grow up in a very different world from the one I grew up in. Christians are less welcome in modern Britain than they used to be. Well, it’s fine to be a Christian, provided you keep your views to yourself. But insist on speaking about Jesus — even more, if you insist on seeking to influence society based on the teaching of Jesus — you’ll find you’re less and less welcome.

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Acts 4:1-22 Jesus the Cornerstone

Sun, 23/07/2017 - 10:30 -- James Oakley

How do you keep speaking about Jesus when you’re persecuted for doing so?

Assume for the moment that you want to share the good news about Jesus, how do you keep doing so if you’re threatened, or silenced in other ways?

That may not be the question some of you are asking. Some of you may be wondering: “Why would I want to tell other people about Jesus at all?” We’ll answer that question as well. If we come up with some good reasons to keep talking about him when it’s costly, those will also be good reasons to start talking about him.

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Acts 3 Everything Restored

Sun, 16/07/2017 - 10:30 -- James Oakley

Sadly, we live in a world that is full of pain and suffering.

It’s easy to feel powerless to help. Even if we wanted to alleviate everyone’s pain, we just don’t have the resources to help more than a few people. We resonate with Peter’s words from that reading: “Silver and gold I do not have.”

The government also does not have the resource to help everyone who is in need. You could print Acts chapter 3 verse 6 and display it above every hospital reception desk: “Silver and gold have I none”.

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