Tag Archives: Sermon

Palm Sunday (Luke 19:28-40)

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-5)

Palm Sunday reminds us both of the claims to kingship that Jesus made about himself, claims that were embraced by many who had witnessed his miracles, but rejected by those in power as a threat to their position.

Jesus’ Anointing (John 12:1-8)

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12)

This week, we are looking at the story of Jesus being anointed at Bethany (John 12:1-8). As Jesus reclines at a dinner held in honour of him, Mary anoints him with perfume worth the equivalent of a labourer’s annual salary. This is an extravagent and incredibly expensive act of devotion. For Mary, devotion to Jesus is what matters most. But what do we spend our money on? Do we spend money on our personal needs? Do we support the ministry of the church to promote worship of Christ? Or do we give to charities that care for the poor? For Christians all these things are important, all should feature in our budgeting. We need to pray for wisdom on what proportion of our wealth we give to each.

Jesus’ Invitation (Isaiah 55)

“It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.” (Revelation 21:6)

In our verse above, Jesus makes clear that when we come to him and become part of his family, we receive freely from him the water of life. That is life in abundance, eternal life. This is God’s amazing grace. Will you accept the invitation?

Jesus’ Sorrow (Luke 13:31-35)

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, from the house of the Lord we bless you!” (Psalm 118:26)

How have we as churches (as opposed to individuals) disappointed Jesus? The shortcomings of the Pharisees are itemised in Matthew 23, but what might Jesus want to say to us today? Given that His summary of the Old Testament Law was that we should love God and our neighbour, it may be that we should give thought to this question: are our rituals becoming more important than our relationships?

Paradise Regained (Luke 4:1-13)

“We have a high priest who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin” Hebrews 4:15

What has forty days in a wilderness fasting and being tempted by the devil to do with paradise? Everything. In the wilderness experience, Jesus wrestled with what it really meant to be God’s son. In so doing, he prepared himself to resist the temptations of a public ministry. Let’s all use this Lent, to learn afresh what it means to be a disciple of Christ and to prepare ourselves to resist the temptations we may face.

Confessing (Psalm 32)

‘I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.’ Psalm 32:5

There are earthly consequences to our sin, broken relationships, justice, maybe if a law was broken. When you remember back to times you have confessed something you may have only got back guilt and shame from that person or done the same for someone confessing something to you. We are not perfect, things hurt us and we respond. However let’s look together and what Confession is, how we can confess to God and how we can better support others who confess to us and want to accept God’s forgiveness.

Fearing (Psalm 34)

“Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.” (Psalm 34:9)

We often think of spirituality as bringing us a sense of peace and comfort from connecting with God’s love and that is true. But it should also bring us into a healthy fear of God. Fear of God is freeing not limiting, it brings peace, because we are confident that justice will win out and it develops a wisdom in us, that will enable us to prosper in life.