Sermons

A sermon from our annual memorial service, held for those who have lost someone they love in recent years or longer ago.

The Christian message is such good news! It offers hope. Not insubstantial hope, no more than wishful thinking that all would be well. But real, solid hope. Actual promises from God that he will not fail to keep.

There is a danger in talking like that. The danger of pretending life is neater than it is. All of us here tonight know that losing someone we love hurts a great deal. Grief is painful and all too real.

Welcome to week 5 in our series on the theme of money. If you missed the first 4, they are all on our website. We have looked at what money is, earning money, spending money, and not having enough money. And today, we come to the theme of giving.

If you’re visiting us today, please do bear with us. We don’t talk about money often. We are far more interested in celebrating what God has given us. The money we give really is not what we’re about.

This morning we return again to the theme of money. In January, we asked what money is, and then thought about how we get money and how we spend it. Today’s sermon is entitled “no money”. We’re going to be thinking about the theme of wealth and poverty.

The Bible recognises that poverty is a reality. Many cultures look down on the poor, and see them as somehow less important. The Bible never does that. It is refreshingly counter-cultural. No matter how much money someone has, or doesn’t have, they are a human being made in God’s image. We all have equal value.

If you look at the world around us, there is lots that’s not right. There’s a great deal of unhappiness in the world. A great deal of aggression. And in increasing amount of anxiety.

“Surely we don’t need a sermon on how to spend money! That’s easy!”. So someone said to me last week.

But step back a bit, and ask how we are to use our money, and the Bible has a great deal to say.

If you missed either of the past two sermons on money, they’re both on our website. We’ve asked what money is, and we looked at earning money.

And now reach the third instalment. Spending money. Using money. And as you look at the Bible on this topic, it warns us of the three dangers. They come up again and again.

This week, a couple called David and Carol Martin from Scotland attended a news conference to be given a cheque for just over 33 million pounds. The National Lottery had rolled over 14 times in a row, bringing the jackpot to a record 66 million pounds. The Martins only won half of it, but I doubt they were complaining.

I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay. Ain't it sad. And still there never seems to be a single penny left for me. That's too bad. In my dreams I have a plan: If I got me a wealthy man, I wouldn't have to work at all, I'd fool around and have a ball

Money, money, money; Must be funny in the rich man's world. Money, money, money; always sunny in the rich man's world. Aha-ahaaa. All the things I could do if I had a little money: It's a rich man's world

It’s easy to feel sorry for Joseph. He finds the girl of his dreams. They get engaged to be married. And then he discovers she’s pregnant.

What is Joseph to do? Most people would react in one of two ways. Some would simply forgive. Everyone makes mistakes, and this is Mary’s. Let draw a line on under it. We won’t speak of this again. For others, that would be too hard. They could never forgive unfaithfulness like this. The wedding’s off, and if Mary is humiliated in the process it’s no more than she deserved.

Well, wasn't that reading boring?!

Some bits of the Bible leave you wondering why they're there. And this is one of them.

In fact, it's worse than that! This is how Matthew chose to open his gospel. It's even how the New Testament begins. Plenty of people attempt to read the whole Old Testament, and give up when they get bogged down in long lists of names and obscure laws. But surely you should be able to read the New Testament without getting stuck on page one!

This morning, we’re going to be talking about joy.

I don’t know whether the thought of talking about joy fills you with joy, or not!

We are at the end of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. For a while, we worked our way through this letter, during our quarterly combined services. We had a break last year for our Bible tour, and we’ve done other things so far this year. But it’s time to return to the letter, so we don’t miss the closing sections.

As Paul wraps up, he gives the Philippians some general instructions that he wants to leave them with.