Sermons from 2025

It had been raining, and the path around the lake had flooded in various sections. But Taryn and I had some time to spare before I had to be in the city, so we decided to just walk around the flooded parts of the path where necessary. It was a nice walk… until I saw it. A snake,  slithering away from us on a bit of unflooded ground. I yelled out, urgently, “Snake!” throwing my arms out and pirroutting to…

The Magician’s Nephew is the prequel to the more famous, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It tells the story of the creation of the world of Narnia, a world where Jesus is represented by a great lion Aslan. A couple of human children, Eustace and Polly, stumble upon Narnia as it is being formed. They find the songof creation that Aslan sings wonderful! But the children had inadvertently brought two others along with them: the wicked witch, and…

In 2018, a reporter asked a prominent Christian leader in America why so many Christians were happy to support political candidates who seem to revel in disobeying Jesus’ teachings. The leader replied that Christians were just happy to have someone “on the playground that is willing to punch the bully.” “What happened to turning the other cheek?” the reporter asked. Replied the leader: “You know, you only have two cheeks.” What if Jesus was serious about calling on Christians to…

When I was a child, I had a pretty major problem with my sister. You see, although we were both part of a Christian family, my sister had fallen into evil practices. I didn’t think she was a real Christian. What was she doing? She was listening to Christian rock music, rather than to classical stuff! Fortunately, it wasn’t long until I realised how ridiculous my position was. She was celebrating God; I was setting up my own rules about…

When we meet someone for the first time, we tend to try and figure out who they are. It’s interesting to hear how people define and describe themselves. Some people, often men, will tell you about their qualifications and achievements in life. Others will speak about their nationality or ethnicity. Others might tell you about their family. You might hear about the clubs that they are part of, or the various people you might both know who connect you. Who…

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been exploring God’s description of His character, given to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7. We have seen that God is full of compassion, grace, love and faithfulness. But He is also a God of justice – He does not let the guilty go unpunished.  This doesn’t, of course, contradict the fact that God is full of mercy and grace. The good news is that God Himself bore our punishment, and invites us to trust and…

In 2018, a reporter asked a prominent Christian leader in America why so many Christians were happy to support political candidates who seem to revel in disobeying Jesus’ teachings. The leader replied that Christians were just happy to have someone “on the playground that is willing to punch the bully.” “What happened to turning the other cheek?” the reporter asked.Replied the leader: “You know, you only have two cheeks.” What if Jesus was serious about calling on Christians to turn…

As I write this, it is Valentines Day. Across our city, people are expressing their love and commitment to one another. It is a wonderful thing to know that you are loved. I would content that humans need to both be loved and love in return. We are social creatures, designed for deep relationship. The absence of love is both painful and malformative. There are doubtless many today who are feeling alone, unloved and deeply hurt. Over the last few…

It’s not nice being around someone who loses their temper at the drop of a hat. I suspect that all of us have some experience of people like that. Say the wrong thing, or say it in the wrong way, and you will soon know that you have caused offence. In the worst cases, people lash out against those who have angered them. In other cases, their simmering anger sets out to make you feel guilty for upsetting them. Even…

There’s an old saying: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” The idea is that children tend to take after their parents. But this isn’t just in terms of physical resemblance. We learn character from our family of origin. We learn how to relate to other people. It’s amazing how, even if we don’t realise it, we find ourselves echoing the attitudes and approaches of our forebears. These days, I find myself speaking to Daniel about how we do…