Sermons

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  As we come together today to celebrate Candlemas, I have chosen for my sermon the theme of light and darkness. Looking at today’s Gospel, let me begin with the words of Simeon, who has been guided by the Holy Spirit to come to the Temple to see Jesus. The ...

‘Be careful what you throw away’ my grandmother used to say, ‘you never know when you might need it’.  This accords well with the saying: ‘don’t buy new when old will do’.  It is fun and refreshing to buy new things but to my mind there is a gentle warning ...

by the Reverend Matt Harbage Readings: Isaiah 11.1-10; Matthew 3.1-12 On this Second Sunday of Advent, we celebrate the prophets of God. These are the holy men and women who, yes, predict the future, but more importantly and more powerfully, the prophets are those who speak the truth. Truth to ...

by the Reverend Matt Harbage Readings: Malachi 4: 1-2a; Luke 21: 5-19. Last week, on Remembrance Sunday, I spoke of the Christian calling to witness to the Cross of Jesus Christ: In the face of violence and war, we see in Christ a better way. No longer “an eye for ...

by the Reverend Matt Harbage May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. In the UK today, we live in a political culture of division and blame. It will not have escaped any of us that the language used in parliament over the last ...

Nature in the Bible and the Saving of the Lost Sheep 3 November 2019 Readings: 2 Thessalonians ch.1, Luke 19 1-10 Ros Miskin, Reader Recently I watched a television programme about children who were evacuated from town to countryside during the second War.  Some of them were found places at ...

22 September 2019 Readings: Amos 8.4-7, 1 Timothy 2.1-7 by Ros Miskin, Reader In the final sentence of today’s Gospel reading we are told clearly and simply:‘You cannot serve God and wealth’.  This sentence appears to conflict somewhat with the earlier narrative.  Here, the master commends his dishonest manager for ...

by the Reverend Matt Harbage Readings: Galatians 6.7-16; Luke 10.1-11, 16-20. “Behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves…. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.” May I speak in the name of God: Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Amen. Today I want to ...

by the Reverend Matt Harbage Readings: Deuteronomy 30.9-14; Luke 10. 25-37 (The Good Samaritan) Our Gospel reading today contains a powerful parable and it’s one of my favourite.  When I was a teenager I once knew a Methodist minister. One day I asked him, “Some of these old Bible stories, ...

by Ros Miskin, Reader Readings: In today’s Gospel reading we learn of a man in the country of the Gerasenes who is trapped by demons within himself that cause him to live outside the city in the tombs. The demons have left him as an outcast without even the capacity ...

So there he is, naked and beyond the pale.  In Mark’s Gospel narrative he even bruises himself as he has been robbed of his self-esteem.  He is an outcast whose identity has been eroded by demons to such an extent that he has even lost his real name.  It has ...

So there he is, naked and beyond the pale.  In Mark’s Gospel narrative he even bruises himself as he has been robbed of his self-esteem.  He is an outcast whose identity has been eroded by demons to such an extent that he has even lost his real name.  It has ...

So there he is, naked and beyond the pale.  In Mark’s Gospel narrative he even bruises himself as he has been robbed of his self-esteem.  He is an outcast whose identity has been eroded by demons to such an extent that he has even lost his real name.  It has ...

Here at St Mark’s we have had the pleasure of hosting walking groups who come here to refresh themselves either during or at the end of their journey and this to my mind is a demonstration of Rogation practice.  Next month we will host groups walking for charity which brings ...

Here at St Mark’s we have had the pleasure of hosting walking groups who come here to refresh themselves either during or at the end of their journey and this to my mind is a demonstration of Rogation practice.  Next month we will host groups walking for charity which brings ...

by the Revd Matt Harbage Readings: Acts 11.1-18; John 13.31-35 In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. I want to share with you a story about Martha. When I was living in Cambridge I was part of a small community which offered hospitality to people with ...

By the Revd Dr Ayla Lepine Readings: Acts 15.35-end;  Ephesians 4.7-16; Mark 13.5-13.  The Song of Solomon, a novel by the American writer Toni Morrison, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993, concludes with the protagonist’s realisation that ‘If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it.’ ...

By the Revd Matt Harbage Readings: Jeremiah 17.5-10; 1 Corinthians 15.12-20; Luke 6.17-26. Today we begin a bit of a countdown. Septuagesima Sunday: derived from the Latin for 70, followed by next Sunday, Sexagesima  – 60, next Sunday 50 – We are counting down to Easter. Lent has not yet ...

“When these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” It is a real privilege to be welcomed into this community especially at the very start of this liturgical new year. Advent is such a rich season: A time of ...

Such a welcome into the house of God surely reflects the welcoming tone of Jesus as given in the New Testament.  In Matthew, chapter 11, Jesus encourages people to come to him for rest from heavy burdens and for their souls.  In Luke’s Gospel the disciples order people not to ...

The light provided by restored vision is a gift indeed with many benefits but there is also the light of understanding which does not necessarily involve sight.  In today’s Gospel reading we learn that disciples James and John, even though they can see Jesus, have not fully understood who Jesus ...

Today we shall hallow above that 1962 installation, a roundel by Graham Jones in memory of Anne Griffiths, long-time, neighbour, pillar, churchwarden, flower-arranger friend. And how lovely that her family have been so much a part of this project. How dreadful is this place, Jacob says, this is none other ...

It brings home very powerfully the whole idea of how we are shaped by the way we are raised and taught. It also asks the question, what kind of wisdom do we live by? What is its source and its authority? How do we judge if it is really wisdom ...