Sunday 28 December 2025: Acts 2:42-47

Have you ever thought, “Is it really worth going to Church today, I might be the only one.” Well, you should be safe at Christmas and Easter, as these are the most important Christian festivals.

What is most important, Christmas or Easter? My mother told me it was Easter, because dying for someone's sins and then being resurrected for the same reason, and for ordinary people (the disciples) forming the Christian Church, is more important than just being born. Well, there is some truth in that. Would you die for someone's sins? Would you die for freedom as did the fighters in the World Wars?

If Jesus hadn't been born, He wouldn't have died for us so we should celebrate and be happy at His birth. For me, Christmas and Easter are equally as important as each other. If Jesus hadn't been born, He wouldn't have died to save us. It was a miracle that God planted a seed into Mary's womb for her to have Jesus.

So, why is it that some Christians do not go to church regularly? Would it surprise you that 88% in this country do not? In the USA it is 75%. I would assume that regularly means every week or every two weeks. I obviously can't answer for an individual, but there could be many reasons.

In countries where Christians are persecuted, many believers worship in private because, if they didn't, they could be arrested and put in jail. Some might even be tortured and put to death. Many believers invite other Christians to their houses so there is fellowship. Remember that Christ said that if two or three are gathered together in His name, He would be there with them [Matthew 18:20].

But where there is the freedom to do so, there are three other Biblical reasons why we should go to church.

First, mutual encouragement [Hebrews 10:24-25]: ‘And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Second, fellowship [Romans 12:4-5]: ‘Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.’

Third, spiritual growth [Colossians 3:16]: ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.’

Here is Jesus's example from Luke 4:16: ‘He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.’

My message is that, if you are out and about, or with someone else, or a number of other people, and they are thinking about going to a Church, but are undecided, whatever the Christian denomination, give them plenty of positive examples and encouragement.

Thursday 25 December 2025: Christmas Day

It is quite possible that we have all had the opportunity to pull a Christmas cracker as some point this festive season. If so, you will no doubt have let out a groan as you read the joke on the little card inside.

Jokes like: why couldn’t Santa sell Donner and Blitzen on eBay? Because they were two deer! Why was the snowman looking through a bag of carrots? Because he was picking his nose! And how does Good King Wenceslas like his pizzas? Deep pan, crisp and even.

Those corny puns work because they are mostly a surprise and a little unexpected. 

And that’s just how I imagine the birth of Jesus to be. The people of His time were expecting a King or a Messiah, but they wouldn’t have imagined him being born in a stable. It was a surprise. It was unexpected.

Imagine for a moment – and it shouldn’t be too hard because the events are well-known – Joseph and Mary on the road travelling to Bethlehem.

They were going to be registered as part of this great census of the Roman world that we have heard about so often in our Christmas readings, so it would have been a huge occasion and many others from the local area would have been making the same journey. Mary, by this time, was heavily pregnant and was riding on a donkey as Joseph led the way. 

When they arrived in Bethlehem, it was of course crowded. Even so, if royalty were expected, no doubt the roads would have been cleared and outriders would have ensured a quick and safe passage to the grandest hotel or more likely a palace. 

But No. That wasn’t God’s way. That wasn’t part of the plan. Instead, they went unnoticed, and Mary’s condition met with little sympathy. In the end, they had to make do with a draughty stable, and so began the enduring image of the nativity.

How inspiring, then, of our Heavenly Father to provide us with such an image which, year after year, is able to capture our imagination. All the ingredients are present to remind us of the power and perfection of God. 

The lowly stable housing the birth of the most-high. Right from the outset of Jesus's life on earth, the perfect message is given that God's own Son should receive no special treatment. Indeed, it is to the further glory of God that Jesus displayed great humility throughout His life on earth.

To local folk in Bethlehem, the birth may have been nothing out of the ordinary, since babies of course, were being born all the time.

But three wise men, or kings, travelled a great distance to see this child of humble birth. Shepherds had already visited to offer their own worship. I wonder how many of those present at that time recognised the significance of the events they were witnessing?

All of us are children of our earthly parents and children of God. We too, just like Jesus, started life as a small, helpless, baby.

But even before that, the miracle of the birthing process had begun. From the tiniest seed, we grew inside our mother’s womb and developed into this complicated body of skin, bones, blood, organs and brains. How much more miraculous, then, is the Virgin Birth of Jesus – a demonstration of God's great power through the wonder of creation?

Over two thousand years on, we live in very different times from those Jesus experienced, although I'm sure temptation was just as testing and sin was just as prevalent.

We certainly live in an age where distractions from a life of faith are at every turn. Particularly here, in the so-called developed western world, I get the feeling that with every advancement in technology or added comfort to our lives, there comes another test of whether we really have any time for God, or indeed, whether we want to have any time for God.

We can send messages and images from one side of the world to the other in an instant. The eight or nine-day journey of the Three Wise Men would take perhaps an hour today by plane. Television, radio and the internet bring us news as it happens and entertainment for the slightly less exciting moments of our lives. Food, drink and clothing are now just a click away on a computer.

Pre-occupation with our self-importance, with our self-sufficiency, with our material world, makes it harder and harder for us to embrace the spiritual side to our lives. 

And yet it seems to me that a connection with our spiritual nature is often the one essential ingredient missing for so many of us today. I wonder if we have developed our material world at the expense of developing our spirituality?

There are distractions from our faith at every turn, but if we retain our focus upon what we believe in, then we can also find reminders of God's power and perfection at every turn.

Even at this time of year, we can see the wonder of God’s creation all around us. The sky, trees and plants, birds and animals, people.

That is the God we worship here every Sunday; the God that can create our world, its nature and weather; that can create us in our complex and wonderful human form. It is a God whose power and might is beyond our imagination and understanding.

What a privilege, then, that this great God – who created all things – loves and cares for every single one of us. What a privilege it is that we have the gift of prayer that enables us to communicate directly with Him. And what a privilege that He has blessed us with the gift of His dear son Jesus, so that we can love as He loves us.

And so with these reminders of God's great power and perfection, we can find new inspiration for our daily lives. I hope that, when things do not seem quite so bright as usual for us, at our next turn we might find a reminder of God's greatness.

It might be unexpected; it might come as a surprise. But when we do find that reminder, let’s be ready to accept God’s gift of His son Jesus into our hearts, and be thankful. 

Wednesday 24 December 2025: Carols by Candlelight

One evening, a wife came home to her husband and told him: "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?" The husband replied: “The good news.” So his wife said, “The good news is that your car's airbag worked perfectly."

We have been singing carols about good news this evening, and we have been listening to readings from the Bible which tell about good news. It started with the Angel Gabriel visiting the Virgin Mary to tell her that she had found favour with God and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, she would conceive and bear a son. Then an angel visited Joseph with good news about the new circumstances he was facing and how to deal with them, and then another angel visited the shepherds to tell of the good news of Jesus’ birth.

These incidents are not the kind we come across every day in Basildon or in Britain. So, convincing others that these events are true and really did happen can be quite a challenging job. Although pretty much everyone loves to hear the Christmas story, believing it can be quite another matter.

But strange and incredible things do happen to us all from time-to-time, and I am going to give you an example in a story about my wife. As she sinks down into her chair with dread about what I am going to say, hopefully I can quickly ease her fears by telling you that everyone in our family thinks of her as a very competent and careful driver.

Unlike the wife who had good news and bad news for her husband, in over 40 years behind the wheel, she has only ever been involved in one significant accident – and even then, it wasn’t her fault.

Although that kind of driving record might be unusual, the story is probably still quite believable until I tell you that the car which crashed into her little Austin 1300 was a Rolls Royce. “Oh yeah?” I hear you say, “Pull the other one, it’s a Christmas cracker!”

But it really did happen, and I am willing to guess that all of us have stories like that which might sound incredible to others and which are difficult to accept as true without proof or evidence. Stories which always start with the phrase, “You’ll never believe it, but . . .” Stories which spawn phrases like: ‘you couldn’t make it up’; or, ‘truth is stranger than fiction’.

So, if ever we have any doubts about the reality of the Christmas story, just think of some of the almost unbelievable things that happen to us.

Recently, I read that someone once said that the Bible cannot be good news unless it is good news for everyone. It cannot be good news for Israelis and bad news for Palestinians. It cannot be good news for Russians and bad news for Ukrainians. It cannot be good news for men and bad news for women, or good news for the rich and bad news for the poor. The angel that visited the shepherds told about good news of great joy for all the people.

But thinking about that claim – that the Bible must be good news for everyone – I wondered how the news of Jesus’ birth would be good news for people who have been bereaved this year? How is it good news for people who have lost their job, or their financial security, or their health? How is it good news for a person who is homeless or in prison? How is it good news for anyone who is on their own today and wishing they were not?

What does the coming of Jesus at Christmas mean in a world currently so full of suffering and anxiety, fear and grief?

The world thinks of Christmas as a happy family holiday, a time for giving and receiving gifts and sharing festive meals with our nearest and dearest. Those are all good things if we can have them. But that is not what Christmas is fundamentally about. If Christmas is good news, if the birth of Jesus is good news, it must be good news for everyone and not just those with a warm home and a family and enough money to go shopping.

The angel brought news of great joy for all the people. The news that was proclaimed first of all to the shepherds on that hillside above Bethlehem, who were despised outsiders doing a dirty, lonely job, is that “to you is born this day a Saviour”.

But what makes absolute sense to me about this incredible story from the Gospel is that God is found, not in the sky, not in the great Temple, but wrapped in cloths lying in a manger. The one who spoke Creation into being cried for His mother’s milk and needed His nappy changed. God is shown, not in power, but in weakness and vulnerability.

That tells me nothing we experience or suffer is beneath God’s notice or dignity. Oppression, poverty, loneliness and fear are all things that Jesus knew by personal experience. When we find ourselves in a desperate situation, whether it is because of the death or illness of a loved one, or the loss of a job or relationship, or a mental health crisis or anything else, it is simply not true that the good news of Christmas is for the more fortunate and not for us.

The good news is most especially for us when we are in our greatest need, because God is on our side.

God, through His Son Jesus, has shared our skin. And not only for a single lifetime two thousand years ago, but forever, because we believe that He is eternal.

If Jesus had been born into this world with all the wealth and grandeur of an earthly king, and showed the pride and hate of some of our earthly leaders, then I think it would be much more difficult for me to believe in Him and to follow Him. But because our almighty and all-powerful God chose to humble himself and to love and serve others, then those are powerful and attractive characteristics that underpin my faith.

Paul’s letter to Titus says that the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all. It’s a free gift. It’s not just for those whose lives are orderly and successful. As this beautiful passage in Isaiah 9:2 says, ‘The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.’

This year has felt for many people like walking in darkness, and we do not yet know how, or if, next year will be any better. But we can rely on this: God’s grace has appeared and God is faithful; God is for us and we are never alone. This is the heart of our faith and every Christmas we can remind ourselves again of the angel’s words: “Do not be afraid. I am bringing good news of great joy for all the people.”

Whether we have a happy Christmas, or a sad, lonely or anxious one, the presence of God is just as much with us, and for us, as anyone else. It may be hard to believe. I myself do not understand how the many Christians around the world living in unjust conditions manage to believe it so thoroughly, but they do. They shine a light telling us with joy that the good news of Jesus is good news for everyone.

My prayer is that we will all accept that good news into our hearts, and allow it to spread peace, goodwill and love to everyone we meet this Christmas. 

Sunday 21 December 2025: Luke 1:26-33

Advent – Love

This Advent we have been following an Advent series based on the Christmas Advent candles. In week one, we focused on the Prophecy candle, the candle symbolising hope, and remembered the prophecy of the birth of Christ and the promises in the Old Testament to be fulfilled.

In week two, we looked at the Bethlehem Candle, symbolising peace, which served as a reminder of the journey that Mary and Joseph took from Nazareth to Bethlehem and the promise of the peace that Jesus brings.

In week three, we were full of joy as we focused on the Shepherds candle and the message of great joy that the shepherds had in the anticipation of seeing Christ and their journey to the stable.

This week we come to our final outer candle. The Angels candle, the candle that symbolises love – the ultimate love of God when He sent his Son for us and invites us to eagerly await the New Kingdom of God on earth which is promised.

John 3:16 offers us some of the best-known words in the Bible. ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’

This is the good news that the angels shared that first Christmas when they visited the shepherds in the field. The promise from God fulfilled that He gave us His Son, Jesus, Emmanuel, which means God with us.

Angels played such a key role in the story of the beginning of Jesus’ life on earth. It is clearly then no surprise that we often see angels on Christmas cards, we sing carols about angels, and many people have an angel that sits on top of the Christmas tree. I have an angel who has sat on top of our tree for many years. The angel has seen many Christmases and gifts unwrapped all from the top of the tree. But this angel is fragile, she fell off one year and got broken, but I managed to salvage the pieces together so she could once again be placed presiding over our Christmas.

The angels in God’s story get to see many generations come and go, and they get to watch and take part in the fulfilment of God’s plan. The angels are God’s messengers, but unlike the human messengers of God, who only get to see God’s work in their part of the world and for the time they are alive, the angels are able to reach all parts and have been watching God’s plans since the beginning.

In Luke 1:11 we see the first angel visit which was to Zechariah informing him about his wife’s pregnancy with John the Baptist. Then six months later, God sent an angel to Mary.

The angel told Mary how highly favoured she was and that the Lord was with her. She was loved by God so much that she was specially chosen to be the one who would conceive and give birth to the Son of God. Full of the love that God had poured out to Mary, she was obedient and did as the angel asked.

Joseph was considering breaking off his betrothal to Mary quietly after finding out she was pregnant. But an Angel appeared to him in a dream and explained all about this special baby and to not be afraid. Joseph, full of love for Mary and for God, did as the angel asked and took Mary home to be his wife and Jesus as his child.

Then on the night Jesus was born, an angel appeared to shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem. The angel announced “good news of great joy” about the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds. A multitude of angels then appeared, praising God saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace . . .”

Finally, after the visit of the Magi, an angel appeared to Joseph in another dream and warned him to flee to Egypt because King Herod planned to kill the child. Later, angels appeared again to tell Joseph when it was safe to return.

God used angels to send His message. The message of just how much He loves us and what He did to show His love. The sacrifice He was going to make all for our sakes. Not because we earnt it, or because we deserved it, but because simply He loves us. God did not wait until we were good enough to receive this gift, He acted out of pure, unconditional love.

Christmas is the season to give love. But thinking about the Angels in our story, are we showing our love to both God and to others by taking a leaf out of their book. We are messengers of God. God has called us to be His angels here on earth. To show the love of God through our acts, deeds, kind words, and through helping to spread His love to others. We have received the love of God into our hearts, but we were all called here in some way, through a prompt by someone else, maybe something someone said, maybe by something someone did. Will you be an angel of God this Christmas and spread the love of God with others? 

Sunday 14 December 2025: Luke 2:8-16

Advent – Joy

Our message today for the third Sunday in Advent is one of joy. In Luke’s Gospel, we can find three key aspects of joy which are delivered to us through the Angel’s visit to the shepherds. There is joy because of those who give and receive the message. There is joy because of the Good News of the message itself. And there is joy because of the grace and peace we receive from Jesus as our Saviour.

Let’s have a look at each of those aspects of joy in turn.

First, there is joy because of those who give and receive the message. God chose to send an angel as His messenger and, as the angel delivered the message, the Glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds.

Just imagine if we ourselves were on a lonely hillside at night and an angel visited us. The Bible tells us that the shepherds were terrified, and no wonder. I suspect that each and every one of us would be trembling too if that happened to us.

But then, the angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid.” I wonder if that helped? When friends or family tell us not to worry in times of trouble – as kind and caring as that is – we probably still continue to worry. But maybe this reassurance, which came as a message from God, really did help in this instance? For it was followed-up with those words I mentioned just now: “I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be for all people.”

Surely, we’ve all experienced that moment where we feared the worst, but then things turned out unexpectedly well? A good exam result, perhaps, or encouraging news from a doctor? When that happens, our emotions somersault from gloom to joy. And so it must have been for the shepherds, who trembled with fear but then jumped for joy. 

And what about the shepherds as the ones who received the message. Far from being the soft and gentle characters that a modern nativity play might suggest, they had a reputation at that time as dishonest crooks. Being out in open country at all times of the day and night had, no doubt, made them rough, tough and mean. So, they were hardly the obvious choice to be the first to receive the good news of Jesus’ birth.

But have you noticed? God doesn’t always do ‘obvious’! The Prince of Peace and King of kings was born, not in a palace, but in a draughty stable. The Good News of His birth was given, not to rulers or leaders, but to lowly and despised herdsmen.

The second aspect is that there is joy because of the good news of the message itself. “Today,” the angel said, “In the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

The Jews had waited years, centuries in fact, for the promised Messiah. And here was an angel telling the shepherds that their Saviour was here now, right this moment, today! He had been born in the town, below the hillside. His name is Jesus which, in Hebrew, means ‘the Lord is Salvation’. Thankfully, Jesus means ‘Salvation’ to anyone the world over who greets Him in the way the shepherds greeted Him that happy morning!

The angel told the shepherds how to find Jesus. In their joy, they ran down the hillside to greet the new born baby and, when they did, Jesus received them into His presence with grace.

And that leads to the third aspect of joy, the grace that Jesus brings to those who accept Him as their Saviour and the forgiver of sins. That grace demands worship, and that great company of the heavenly host showed us what that means by praising God in the highest heaven. Praise is the proper response, not only of the heavenly host, but also of sinful humanity.

Listen to this extract from Isaiah 12:2-6:

‘Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation.’ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

In that day you will say: ‘Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.’

This is a hymn of praise among the prophecies of Isaiah concerning our joy when Jesus comes to reign over the earth. That is why we need to express our gratitude to God – thanking Him, praising Him and telling others about Him.

Our joy is that we can receive the reassurance of the angel as a source of comfort today when we consider it in the context of our hope in Jesus. Our joy is that the message of Good News is for everyone, not just the high and mighty, but also the lowly, the humble and the meek. Our joy is that Jesus our Saviour offers peace on earth to those on whom His favour rests.

We can experience joy this Christmas because of the message of Christmas: God desires to save the sinful by sending the sinless Saviour. That is the glory of God shining bright in the darkness and bringing joy. 

Sunday 7 December 2025: Luke 2:1-7

Advent – Peace

If we had to relate one word to the Christmas message, I wonder what it would be? There are quite a few possibilities. We might choose ‘excitement’, or ‘celebration’, or ‘wonder’. But probably high up the list for all of us would be the word ‘peace’.

Whatever else Christmas is about, we know that it is a message of peace. And that word comes up time and time again in the Bible readings we hear and in the carols we sing. Silent Night has the line ‘sleep in heavenly peace’. Hark the Herald Angels Sing has ‘peace on earth’. We read in the Bible from the prophet Isaiah that the Messiah will be ‘the Prince of Peace’, and so on.

Peace is at the heart of the Christmas message – and it is something that we all long for in our lives.

We come to church at Christmas for many different reasons. But on some level for all of us, there is still the hope and the belief that peace is an attainable goal, and we don’t want to lose touch with that possibility.

We might long to live in a world without pain, a world without fear, a world without war and hatred. We might hope for Basildon to be a place marked by friendship and mutual support, where any loneliness and pain is met by the care of concerned neighbours.

We might long for peace in our families, where there are no misunderstandings but only mutual respect, and love, care and compassion.

We might long for peace in our hearts, for a time when we have learnt to love ourselves and forgive ourselves for past mistakes, and are able to enjoy who we are with self-confidence and self-esteem.

We long for peace.

But the truth is that, for many of us, peace seems a long way off. For some of us, this may have been a very difficult year, far from peaceful, full of hurt and pain. As we look around our world, we may be forgiven for thinking that peace will never come when we consider places such as Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon and other middle-eastern states.

And Bethlehem in Israel: which one of us would seek a peaceful sanctuary there today?

There is a poet called Henry Longfellow who once wrote this:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet the words repeat,

Peace on earth good will towards men.

In despair I bowed my head, there is no peace on earth I said,

But hate is strong and mocks the song

of peace on earth good will towards men.

We long for peace, but it is so hard to find.

We long for peace – but the truth is, no matter how hard we try, we can’t manufacture it ourselves. It doesn’t matter how many New Year Resolutions we make in a few weeks’ time, it doesn’t matter how determined we are in 2026 to be a peaceful people, we ourselves won’t be able to manufacture the peace we long for.

And the reason? Because the Christmas message is simply this: we cannot manufacture peace. Instead, peace comes to us.

If we want to know peace in our lives, we need to first allow peace to find us.

And who brings peace to us? The Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. The Christmas message is all about the Prince of Peace coming to us, coming to live amongst us, bringing us peace, teaching us to walk in the ways of peace.

If we want to live in a peaceful world; if we want to live in a peaceful community; if we want our families to be marked by peace; if we want to know peace in our hearts; we can’t manufacture that. We need to let the Prince of Peace come and dwell amongst us, full of grace and truth, and allow His presence in our lives, in our community, in our society, to bring all the peace we need.

When Jesus dwells amongst us, then we know peace. When the Spirit of Christ dwells in our hearts, then we know peace.

In one of our recommended readings for today, it says this in John 14:27:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Each one of us has an invitation from God to open the door of our heart and allow Him in. And, as we receive Jesus, so we will know His peace in our lives.

As we experience His peace and allow that to shape who we are, so our world will be transformed, because we will want to see that peace spread amongst those whom we love, and we will want to see that peace spread around the world.

Our concern will be for justice and truth: making sure there is adequate care for the poor, the vulnerable, the lonely, the homeless, the refugee, those on the margins of our society. And not just in our wider society – but the deepening of love in our families too; treating each member of our family with respect, compassion and care.

And as we experience the peace of Jesus in our hearts, we will see our own world transformed. We might come to know what it means to forgive those who have hurt us. We might see broken relationships being restored. We might discover within ourselves a renewed hope for the future.

So, Advent and Christmas are about peace. Not some fairy-tale type of peace, but a real, deep, meaningful peace that is brought to us by Jesus, who is the Prince of Peace. A type of peace that will transform our hearts.

And as we are transformed, so this peace will transform our families, our communities and our world.

A few minutes ago, I quoted this from Longfellow:

And in despair I bowed my head, there is no peace on earth I said,

For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth good will toward men.

Well, perhaps that is a depressing thought to have at this time of the year, but Longfellow doesn’t end there: he goes on to write this:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep, God is not dead nor doth he sleep,

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will toward all.

That is the hope we share for the world. That is the hope we share for our community and our families. That is the hope we share for ourselves: that wrong shall fail and right prevail. That is the Advent and Christmas hope we share today.

Our prayer could be that we know the peace of God today in a new and transformative way that re-energises us and brings glory to His name.

In Isaiah 52:7, another of the recommended verses for today, it says:

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”

If we can be the ones who bring Good News, proclaim peace, give good tidings and tell of the love of Jesus, then we will truly have engaged with the message of peace that comes at Advent and Christmas. 

Sunday 30 November 2025: Jeremiah 33:14-16 and Isaiah 7:14

Advent – Hope

Today is the first week of Advent. Advent is the season of preparation and anticipation for the birth of Christ. It is celebrated in the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day. The word ‘Advent’ means coming or arrival, and it also signifies the second coming of Christ. There are many traditions that Christians observe during Advent that include things such as lighting an Advent wreath, using an Advent calendar, reflection, prayers and reading scripture.

The Advent wreath is a circle of evergreen leaves with five candles, one for each Sunday in advent, followed by the one in the middle which will be lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Today’s candle, the candle of hope, is also known as the Prophecy Candle.

A prophecy is a prediction of what will happen in the future. In the Bible, a prophecy is delivered as a divinely inspired message from God through a prophet and can involve predicting the future, but generally is a broader message about God’s will, intentions and guidance. Prophets in the Bible acted as God’s spokespeople to convey His messages, which often called for repentance, justice and faithfulness, while also containing messages of hope and promises of the future saviour, Christ.

Prophecies in the Old Testament often called God’s people back to God’s law and also contained promises of a future Messiah who would come to rescue them. In the New Testament, prophecies were delivered to strengthen believers, encourage them and build up the church. In the New Testament, writers used Old Testament prophecies to confirm that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

There are four major prophets in the Bible; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. However, there are many prophets, including these four who spoke about the Messiah. Their prophecies describe the Messiah’s lineage, birth in Bethlehem, virgin birth, suffering, death, resurrection, and His role in establishing a new covenant and justice.

[Read Jeremiah 33:14-16]

As we commence the season of reflection and contemplation during Advent, we are invited to imagine a different kind of hope. A hope that is rooted in the unchanging nature of God who promised to restore His creation. This type of hope that Jeremiah spoke about did not minimise the pain or difficulties of the Jews at that time, and neither did it assume that, if they were going through a period of hardship, it would get better. This hope that Jeremiah spoke about gave them the assurance that God’s promises would be fulfilled. It would have given them courage to face the darkness and to put their trust in God.

In the Hebrew Bible, the words that are commonly used for ‘hope’ can be translated as ‘wait’. Therefore, to hope in God means to wait for God to fulfil His promise with patience. The reading commences with ‘The days are coming’ but it does not say when, and of course time to God is likely to be different from how we perceive time. The Jews would have been encouraged to have faith that God would send a saviour, but they were asked to trust with patient expectation.

Through this prophecy, God is saying that He is going to make good on His promise. He said He was going to do something, promised the people of Israel and Judah, and now He is going to make sure that He fulfils this promise. And that promise of course is to be fulfilled through a ‘righteous branch’. A new ruler who will bring justice and righteousness to the world. The hope is that God’s faithfulness endures and that He will restore His people with a new King, a new ruler, a new priest, a saviour who is the Messiah.

[Read Isaiah 7:14]

The first candle of Advent is purple, which is the primary colour symbolising royalty. This reminds us of the prophecy from Isaiah foretelling the birth of Jesus Christ, who will be born of a virgin and He will be called Immanuel.

The meaning of Immanuel is God with us. Isaiah’s prophecy was proclaiming the Good News that God would indeed be sending a saviour into the world, and in fact this human would be God Himself, come down to earth in the form of a man.

It’s funny isn’t it how the more familiar we get with something, the less we take notice of it? Every Christmas, we get to hear the same readings and carols, and unfortunately there is a chance that as we begin to hear the passages about the angels, shepherds and kings, they carry less impact. We know the story probably off-by-heart, we know the readings from the prophets so it is easy for our brains to switch-off and stop really digging into the meaning behind the message.

There are a few things in this very short passage that we could focus on. We could focus on the sign that God will give, or we could focus on the virgin birth, but we are going to simply focus on the name. Immanuel, God with us.

What does the name tell us about Jesus?

Firstly, God with us – tells us that God is for us not against us. As we read some parts of the Bible it would be easy to think that God is against us. He laid down commands that are hard for us to keep, which means that we keep disobeying Him. But, of course, God sent Jesus to wipe the slate clean, to take on our sins, to give us grace. To enjoy life, we need God with us not against us. With Jesus that is possible, and when we accept Him and allow Him into our lives, this gives us the hope the prophets were taking about.

Secondly, God is with us – He is not somewhere else.

In the Old Testament, people used to set up a tabernacle in the middle of where they were staying, so that God could be in their midst. People want God to be close them. Some people use phrases such as ‘I want to find God’. But the truth is that God does not hide. The hope spoken about through the prophets is that God is not just everywhere, all of the time, but also for a brief amount of time He would come to earth in the form of a man, to live as man and die as man before being resurrected to new life and ascending to heaven. He was born as we are, He lived as we do, He experienced what we do, He laughed like we do, He cried as we do and He died as we will. When Jesus went to heaven, He also did not leave us for He sent His helper the Holy Spirit to guide us, to give us comfort and to assure us of His love and His presence. You don’t need to be in a special place to talk to God, He is right here, right now. In fact, God created the first mobile phone – you do not have to find a land line, or a telephone box to dial God in, you can access Him anywhere, at any time, 24/7, 365 days of the year.

Thirdly, God is with us – we are not alone.

Have you ever felt lonely? I am sure there may have been times in most people’s lives when they have felt lonely. Even someone who is surrounded by lots of people can feel lonely. For being alone is not measured on how many friends you have, or family, but it can be felt when there is a lack of a deep connection with another person. Someone to just sit in silence with, someone who truly knows you, gets you, shares your pain and sorrow, or laughter.

God is ever-present, He is not distant. He doesn’t go away and come back at a later date. That is not to say that there will not be times in our lives when we do not feel God’s presence so much, and we may feel that He is not there. But this is just our feelings and is not the truth. The truth is that God is always there. Jesus told us ‘I am with you always, to the very end of the age’. Matt 28:20.

God does not leave us. God walks with us, comforts us when we feel sorrow, holds our hand when we need steadying, gives us courage when we are doubting, loves us when we feel unloved, forgives us when we have done wrong. And I could go on. Life can be tough and hard, but in these times in particular it is good to remember the promise and hope we have in God.

We are inviting God to be with us during Advent. Celebrating His life on earth as a man, who came down from heaven to save us from our sins. A God who is everywhere, at any time and we can meet God right where we are. A God who is always with us, He never leaves us. That is the hope we need to remember and reflect on this Advent. 

Sunday 23 November 2025: Matthew 13:24-30

The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds

Why does God let bad things happen to good people? This is one of the questions I dread being asked as a Christian, and we must all, surely, have pondered it, perhaps many times over, as we experience the pleasures and pains of life.

We hear it often from people who are looking for help when they’ve reached the end of their tether, when it seems like life has dealt them more trouble than anyone deserves. It’s a fair question, but a difficult one to answer.

Today’s Bible reading comes from the thirteenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel – a chapter with a whole string of parables. We haven’t included all of them in our series, but we did include the first one, about a sower who scatters seed everywhere, on all kinds of ground. We examined that parable during our harvest service at the start of October when we considered the type of soil we might be as the seed from God the sower fell on us.

The parables that follow are all about the Kingdom of God. In today’s reading, Jesus is still talking about planting, but He switches focus to something bad that happens to a good farmer. We heard in our reading that his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat while everyone was sleeping. Then he told his servants not to pull up the weeds until the harvest.

Listen to this story about a young mother who had lost her job. She missed too much work when her children were too sick to take to nursery. Without that income, she couldn’t pay her bills, and was worried that her utilities would be shut off, or she would be evicted from her home.

On top of that, her car had broken down, and she had no money for repairs. Without a car, she couldn’t look for a new job. One thing piled on top of another until she was overwhelmed with hardship. She felt like the world was out to get her. “How can God let this happen?” she asked. “What have I done to deserve this?”

Such a moment isn’t always the perfect time to point out that actually, none of us are good, all of us deserve far worse than we get out of life. We are all broken sinners. People like this young mother don’t come looking for a judgmental sermon. They come looking for a glimmer of hope.

The people who gathered to hear Jesus tell them stories weren’t much different. They had experienced oppression from Rome. Even among their own people, they had watched the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Life wasn’t fair. How could God allow His people to continue to suffer, while evil seemed to flourish all around them? When would the Messiah deliver them from this miserable existence, and bring judgment to Israel’s oppressors?

Yet here was Jesus, looking and sounding very much like He could be the one they were waiting for, telling them stories about farming!

There are a few ways to interpret the parable of the weeds. At its most basic level, this story might be about how difficult it is to tell weeds from wheat. The plant that looks very much like wheat is apparently a weed called bearded darnel. As the grain matures, it becomes easier to tell them apart, but by then, it’s too late to uproot one without damaging the other.

If we take this parable at face value, we simply hear that pulling weeds can cause more harm than good, destroying the very crops we want to harvest. But this story is probably more than just a farming tip for weed control.

Just a little further on in Matthew chapter 13, we see at verses 36 to 43 that the disciples ask for an explanation, once they are alone with Jesus. This is what those verses say:

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.’

He answered, ‘The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

‘As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

I think it might be good to remember that the field is God’s, and God will continue to nurture and care for His Kingdom.

But what about those troubling weeds? Why shouldn’t we pull them up, if we see them choking the wheat around them? Why does Jesus say they should be left until the harvest?

Well, there might be some pretty good reasons to leave weeds alone. Sometimes, weeds are too big to be pulled up – their roots have intertwined with the roots of the good plants, and pulling up one will also uproot the other.

Sometimes, what we think is a weed, is actually a good plant, and what you think is a good plant is actually a weed. They aren’t always easy to distinguish from one another.

We may not be good at judging between wheat and weeds – and that’s God’s job anyway. And that brings us back to that first question: why doesn’t God do something now about the evil we see everywhere?

This is one of only three parables for which Jesus gives a detailed explanation in Matthew’s Gospel, and they are all in chapter 13. The parable of the Sower, about the good seed spread abundantly on four types of soil, is the first one. And the parable of the net, where the good fish are separated from the bad fish, is the other.

This parable of the weeds has something in common with each of the other two – we hear the connection with the first story in the seeds that are sown. And like the parable of the net, this story teaches us about judgment. Judgment will come, and evil will be destroyed – but not yet.

The Kingdom has already broken into our world in the person of Jesus, and is already at work among us through the Holy Spirit. But the Kingdom has not yet reached its completion. The Kingdom is coming – like seed planted in a field.

We might wonder, “How can this be the Kingdom of God, if evil is still present?” Why is there still poverty? Why does disease still claim so many lives? Where is God in the midst of suffering? Why do people reject Jesus? Why isn’t judgment happening? When will God get around to making things right?

Our responsibility is to make sure we are focused on Jesus so that nothing can uproot us. We should follow His example so that it is easier for others to tell whether we are wheat or weeds by the way we live our lives. And we should understand that it is for God to be the judge of who belongs in His Kingdom.

Like those servant field workers in the parable, we might think it’s our job to pull the weeds, to judge who should be in God’s Kingdom and who should be rooted out. But it is not. God will take care of removing evil in His own good time.

And if it feels like ‘God’s own good time’ is getting nearer and nearer, and Judgment Day must surely be coming soon, then shouldn’t we have a greater sense of urgency to be ready for that day? 

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus described the generosity of a God who sows seeds abundantly everywhere, even on soil where it might not flourish. In today’s parable, the soil is the world, and the children of God are the good seed being scattered all around, to increase the Kingdom while there is still time.

Like the parable of the sower, today’s story asks us if we are living out of abundance, sharing generously to heal the world and increase God’s reign, or are we operating out of scarcity – insisting on our own importance, getting our own way, taking whatever we can get by whatever means?

The good grain gives nourishment; and the weeds take it. Which one are we? Are we robbing nutrients from the intended crop, or are we multiplying God’s abundant mercy?

But here’s the good news about these parables: we can’t change ourselves from weeds to wheat any more than we can change ourselves from rocky, thorny ground into good soil. But Jesus can.

Jesus invites us to turn away from a mindset of scarcity into His abundance; away from focusing on getting what we want, to receiving the infinite grace and forgiveness that God offers each of us through Jesus.

The Kingdom is coming, and Jesus invites us to be part of that Kingdom. The Kingdom comes with limitless grace in the midst of an evil world. As we receive that grace, we can offer it to others with the same kind of generosity that God has offered grace to us in the person of Jesus. What a friend we have in Jesus!

Sunday 16 November 2025: Luke 15:1-10

The parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin

This reading starts with Luke telling us who was listening to the parable Jesus was telling. He was surrounded by tax collectors and sinners. Jesus was not hanging out with the best of society, those who were keeping the law, he was hanging out with the outcast, prostitutes, corrupt businessmen, anyone who probably could not care for religious laws and acts. And this was clearly frowned upon by the Pharisees. After all, in their eyes, God did not love sinners, so why should they? They were frowning at what Jesus was doing for He was associating Himself with those who were beyond saving. But what they failed to realise was that, yes, God does not like sin, but He still loves sinners, in fact so much that he gave his one and only Son to come to earth to save the very sinners that Jesus was welcoming. It is within this context that Jesus tells the parables about lost things – the lost sheep and the lost coin.

Jesus uses the parables about everyday things that the crowd can relates to in order to engage their interest. It was likely that within the crowd would have been shepherds, or people who knew shepherds, and they would have understood how valuable it would have been to a shepherd to have lost one of them. That one sheep was important, and it did not matter that the shepherd had 99 other sheep, he was worried about the one that was lost. A diligent shepherd would carefully count his sheep, and get to know each of them individually. Sheep have a habit of wandering off and getting lost they don't have much sense of danger. This is why the role of a shepherd is so important to ensure that when sheep are lost, they get found. We hear in the reading that the shepherd does not berate the sheep for getting lost, but actually puts it on his shoulders, bearing its burden and carrying it home.

This story tells us something about the nature of God. It shows us that God cares deeply for each and every one of us. Everyone matters, no matter how small or insignificant we may think we are and God is not content to let anyone be lost. This parable illustrates to us that, like the shepherd who persistently looked for his lost sheep, or the woman who looked for her lost coin, God persistently seeks after those who have strayed away.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 says:

¹¹ “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. ¹² As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. ¹³ I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. ¹⁴ I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁶ I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

These parables should be comforting to us. It means that, even when we mess up, stray away from God or run away and try to hide from him, God does not give up. He perseveres and goes to great lengths to bring us back into the fold. Like the shepherd who braved the wilderness to look for the one lost sheep, or the woman who upturned her house to find the lost coin, God also goes to great lengths to bring back those who are lost.

In both parables there is great rejoicing once the thing that was lost was found. However, if you notice, this was not a single individual who was rejoicing, there was a communal response. The shepherds calls his friends and neighbours together to rejoice with him. Equally, the woman, when she finds her coin, also calls her friends and neighbours together so that they can rejoice. This indicates to us that it is not only God who would be rejoicing in heaven when a lost soul comes back to the Lord and is found, but the whole of heaven. In verse 10 it says, ‘I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’

When we return to God, He is full of joy. He is not disappointed, He does not shame us, He does not scold us. God is glad when a sinner repents and returns to Him.

As followers of Christ, these two parables invite us to reflect on two things

Firstly, it encourages us to reflect on the fact that we have been found. There may have been times we have felt lost, felt overwhelmed, felt distant from God, or even forgotten. But our faith is not based on feelings but on truth. The truth is that Jesus provides us with reassurance through these parables that God is searching for us and goes to great lengths to find us, restore us to Him and then all heaven rejoices when that happens.

Secondly, we are called to mirror the love of God in our lives today. We may know others who are feeling lost or alone. They may feel that God has abandoned them and that He is not searching. We are invited to reach out to others to encourage them and let them know that God is right there by their side and eagerly searching for them. We should never write anyone off to being found. And when they are, we get to share in the joy and the celebration.

We are loved, sought after, and cherished by God and we need to ensure that we seek out others who are lost, care for them and be ready to rejoice with them when they are found. 

Sunday 9 November: Romans 8:18-25

Present Suffering and Future Glory

I wonder if, like me, you find that memories have a habit of creeping up on you when you least expect it? The sound of a song that reminds us of our first love, the smell of a favourite food that reminds us of home, the look or feel of an object which we associate with a particular time of our life. 

These things, and many more, can trigger memories so strong we are instantly transported back in time as emotions and images come flooding back. Some memories we treasure and we find ways to preserve them. It is a rare person, I suggest, who does not keep any mementos as reminders of those key events and people who are important to us.

But there will be some who might say, “Memories – what are they good for? Absolutely nothing.” For some who have witnessed terrible things, perhaps they would rather wipe away those memories? Maybe you have a relative or a friend who has served in conflict situations yet chooses not to speak of it. And those who love them have learned not to ask, because there are some memories that people would rather forget. Sometimes, there are no words to express the horror of what has been seen, done and suffered.

On the other hand, you may know someone like my Dad, who was always ready and willing to tell of his wartime experiences. Just like Uncle Albert in ‘Only Fools and Horses’, he would begin those stories with that famous phrase, “During the war.”

My brother and I used to be entertained by accounts of where he had been stationed, and you may have heard me say before that it was a rare occasion when a trip out did not include somewhere he had visited during wartime. He also liked to speak of his time in the Fleet Air Arm where he prepared planes for battle. And one story that he often liked to recall was of a bomb landing nearby at dinner time which shook dust from the ceiling all over his freshly prepared steak and kidney pie!

Some of those events he spoke of might have been less glamorous than he made them sound. Maybe for him, it was his way of coping with what he had seen and heard and lived through.

So, who am I to say which one of these two types of people was right or wrong? Keeping quiet or speaking out? It is a very personal choice.

For some, Remembrance Sunday will always be personal; a time to recall the loss of people we love, when we are reminded of the scars that we carry around as a result of conflict, when we are confronted with actions that still bring with them a sense of guilt and shame. Equally, we could be inspired by thoughts of determination, loyalty and the amazing courage of ordinary human beings in the face of adversity and, yes, evil.

Just a week ago today, in a different kind of conflict situation, there were some on a train in Cambridgeshire who bravely risked their lives to protect others.

But, could it be a mistake to think that Remembrance Sunday is purely personal, just for those personally affected by loss or memories of war? Instead, could it be a time for everyone to be invited to remember? Remembrance could be an essential reminder that we live in community with one another and that the decisions we make as a nation, or as part of a network of nations, mean that, in a democracy like ours, we bear corporate responsibility for those actions.

Remembering plays a vital role in defining our identity, because through our memories we try to make sense of the world around us. We learn from our experiences, or at least sometimes we do! There is a certain hopefulness in choosing to remember, an opportunity to look forward to what we might do differently, and better, next time.

Here, today, can we imagine a Remembrance Sunday where no-one in the congregation had any experience of war? Can we imagine there was no-one who knew anyone who had died or been hurt or suffered PTSD, or watched a marriage disintegrate as a result of conflicts past or present? It would be lovely, wonderful, a blessing.

Strangely though, perhaps it is easier for people to remember while we are still, as a nation, involved with conflicts, when we are regularly confronted with the loss or injury of men and women in the armed forces, while the images of global conflicts are broadcast into our home each week.

Although the images and the memories may be more painful than we can sometimes bear, the importance of remembering is at least clear when conflict surrounds us.

Pauls tells us in our Bible reading from his letter to the Romans that sin has caused all creation to fall from the perfect state in which God had created it. There is, perhaps, nothing more obvious as a sin than conflict, when human life is cheaply cast aside to satisfy nationalistic pride, huge egos, arrogance, greed and hate.

Our world is, therefore, subject to frustration, death and decay, to the extent that it cannot fulfil its intended purpose. But Paul says that, one day, all creation will be liberated and transformed. For those of us who are believers, therefore, we do not need to feel pessimistic or despairing as we remember.

We have hope for future glory as we look forward to the new heaven and new earth that God has promised. The firstfruits of the Spirit that Paul refers to are our guarantee of resurrection life. God’s new order will set the world free from sin and sickness and evil. But even as we wait, we go with Jesus into the world to serve as examples of love, so that others might be drawn to Him and become believers themselves.

Christians regularly meet to drink wine and eat bread in memory of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. We remember that God once came to earth in human form, to live and to love, to laugh and to cry, and to die among us. In doing so, He demonstrated His love for us, to overcome evil and death. We eat bread and drink wine, remembering Jesus’ promise to return. We remember that He chose willingly to go to the cross, because it was the only way to reconcile us to God.

The peace we can share with one another each Sunday, the peace of Christ which passes all understanding, is not cheap. It cost everything.

These are more than just words, they are the way that Jesus Himself took: laying down His own life at the cross to win our freedom; offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice to bring God’s peace and love to our broken world; and, rising again from the dead to show us that the path to life is not found by getting revenge, but through forgiveness which allows for healing of the wounded hearts that keep us apart.
 
Forgiveness seeks to do away with revenge for good. It is by no means simple or straightforward, I know, but Jesus, the crucified and risen Lord, shows us that forgiveness is the path to life – for us, and for our world.
 
As followers of Jesus today, in a world torn apart by bitter divisions and wounds that go back for generations, we have an important role to play in bringing God’s peace to life. Like Jesus, we are to lay down our claims for revenge, and to practice forgiveness, not simply for our own sake, but to show our world that it is possible to stop tearing each other apart, and to break the cycles of violence and retribution by sharing the grace and love that God gives to us all in Jesus.

If only the world’s leaders could do the same.
 
On Remembrance Sunday we remember service men and women, peace-keepers and civilians, in fact all those who have paid for our freedom with their lives, as well as those who continue to pay that cost on our behalf. We remember that behind every news story, every statistic, is a human being, a much-loved child of God. And we remember them.

So, may we courageously seek to do all we can to pursue peace, here at home, and around our world. May we refuse to get caught up in the prejudice and hatred that fuels so much destruction. May we remember that Jesus laid down His life out of love for every single human being, be they our loved ones, our neighbours, or even our enemies, and may that same love be at work in us for the sake of His kingdom. 

Sunday 26 October 2025: Luke 16:19-31

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

This parable is a story about two very different lives, two deaths and two very different hereafters. This parable illustrates consequences of living a selfish life and the importance of listening to, and acting on, scripture. It helps us to realise that the worldly possessions that we think are so important, mean nothing to us in the afterlife.

It is important for us to know, however, from the outset that the rich man was not condemned to Hades because of wealth, but it was due to his total disregard of the beggar, Lazarus who was laid at his gate. Our salvation does not come from worldly possessions; it comes from faith in the Lord. The rich man could not have had the love of God within him, otherwise how could he have lived in the lap of luxury, probably with fine clothes, living in comfort and eating good food, knowing that there was a beggar living in poverty right on his doorstep. This beggar whose life was tough and seemingly without hope; who lived off of crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table and whose sores on his body were licked by dogs.

It is also important for us to know that Lazarus was not saved because he was poor. He was saved because he trusted in the Lord for the salvation of his soul. Salvation is a gift from God received through faith in Jesus Christ, who saves believers from sin and death.

John 3:16 says, ‘For God so loved the word, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.’

Upon his death, Lazarus, we are told, was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. This is symbolic to illustrate a place of bliss. To a Jew, the idea of enjoying fellowship with Abraham would have been pure bliss, but we can take Abraham’s side to mean the same as heaven and we can only begin to image how this must have felt to Lazarus after living the kind of harsh life that he was used to. He was covered in sores which would have been painful and uncomfortable, and he was likely to be emaciated with hunger, and was plagued by dogs that came to lick his sores. Upon his death, he is taken lovingly by angels to this place of pure joy and welcomed with open arms to Abraham’s side to dwell forever.  

In stark contrast, when the rich man died, he was buried and sent to Hades. Now I think it is worth mentioning here what is meant by Hades as there are different meanings. One meaning for Hades is as the Greek word for the underworld and it is generally considered as an intermediate state for the dead before the final judgement. Hell is the final place of eternal punishment after judgement. Various different versions of the Bible use different names for the place where the rich man was sent. Some say Hades, some say hell and others state the place of the dead, so for the benefit of our reading today, we should consider that the rich man was sent to hell where he was in torment.

Now to us this is probably not a shock considering how he treated Lazarus, but if we think about the audience that Jesus was talking to then we can start to see the impact that this parable would have had on the teachings of the Jews. To the Jews, the Old Testament taught them that being rich and having status would have been a sign of God’s blessing and favour. It was taught that those who obeyed the Lord were promised material prosperity, so for Jesus to then be preaching that a wealthy Jew went to Hades would have gone against what they believed. Jesus taught that simply having wealth was not a sign of blessing but actually can be a test of a man’s faithfulness.

In Matthew 19:24 Jesus said, ‘Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom.’

There is a tendency for wealth to become an obstacle to spiritual devotion, making it hard for a person to surrender their possessions and prioritise God.

In Matthew 19:21 Jesus said, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.’

But this is not what the rich man in the story did. Neither did he share his wealth with those less fortunate than himself. Instead, he stored everything up for his own gain and pleasure. So he ended up in Hell.

Then we come to the part of the parable where the rich man sees Lazarus at Abraham’s side and pleads to Abraham for mercy. But Abraham does not take pity on the rich man but instead reminds him of his life of luxury and indulgence and the life of poverty and suffering that Lazarus endured. Now we see that beyond the grave the tables have turned and of course the rich man does not like it and wants them to be reversed. He wants to have what Lazarus now has and tried to convince Abraham to let this be so. In verse 26, we learn that the choices we make in this lifetime determine our eternal destiny and once death occurs that is fixed. There is no way to cross from that of the damned to those in salvation.

Verse 26 says, ‘And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

In realising his fate, the rich man then wants to act the role of an evangelist to instruct someone to go to his brothers to warn them so that the same thing does not happen to them. But Abraham quite rightly points out that the brothers already have instruction in this matter, but they chose to ignore the Word from God and the Prophets. The rich man then goes on to contradict Abraham saying that they would listen if someone from the dead was to go to explain it to them, then his brothers would repent. This of course was proved through the death and resurrection of Jesus where still He was not believed. It is possible that Jesus was referring to Himself and what would happen when He rose from the dead when people still refused to believe.

The message we get from this parable is a solemn warning. Anyone who lives just for money, and neglects to share with those less fortunate or care for their neighbour, does so at the peril of their soul. Jesus is saying that it is better to beg for the crumbs under someone else’s table in this life than to beg for water in Hell.

The Lazarus in this parable is someone we have all met before. This Lazarus is the man we have seen lying in shop doorways. The man who is there with his belongings, maybe a sleeping bag, perhaps with a dog to keep him company. He may ask you for a few coins as you pass buy, or he may simply sit there being ignored by everyone around him.

What thoughts have we had about Lazarus? How has he got there? He must be on drugs or be an alcoholic. He looks violent so I had better not go near him. What will he spend his money on if I give him money, and will this do him more harm than good?

Perhaps we have seen Lazarus sleeping in tents in the towns or cities? Tent villages are now becoming more and more frequent as more people become homeless. Perhaps we have seen Lazarus at a food bank? Someone perhaps on minimum wage who just doesn’t have enough to pay all the bills and they rely on the generosity of others? Or people who are in debt and their debts never seem to go away and they go from one crisis to another?

The parables of Jesus are meant to challenge us, to provoke thought, and hopefully call for a response to the message we have heard. Today’s story is not about being rich or poor, it is not about whether we will go to heaven or not, it is about living out the commandment to love your neighbour as yourself. To pour out compassion and generosity towards others. To use our blessings to help those who are suffering or in need in some ways.

There are many things we can do to help others, and many of you may already be helping others. If not, then I hope this message has prompted you to think about how you can get involved. 

Sunday 19 October 2025: Mark 12:1-12

The Parable of The Tenant Farmers

Rejection may be one of the most painful things we have to face in life. We have all been rejected at one time or another. We have all experienced the pain, embarrassment and humiliation of being cast aside, turned down, or overlooked.

Surely, we have all faced rejection in school, in games and sports, and even at church? If we were not the biggest or strongest or fastest child, we would often be overlooked by friends when it came to picking teams in the playground. As hard as we may have tried, perhaps we never seemed to be part of the ‘in crowd’ at school. Maybe, we felt as if we were often on the outside looking in.

Rejection is terribly hard. It brings us to tears, leaves us with that empty feeling in our stomachs, and sends our minds into a tailspin of doubt, despair, and discouragement. But even though rejection is hard, it is also good. Why? Because it points us to the God who accepts us. Had I been a strong and fast and smart and cool and popular child, I may never have seen my need for Jesus. The rejection of the world prepares us for acceptance by God.

Rejection is also good because, when we look back over our lives, we begin to see how God used rejection to lead us and shape us and bring us to where we are today. Rejection is often the vehicle that drives us into the blessings that God has for us. Think of the process of finding somewhere to live. Rarely do we end up in the first house we try for. Because, usually, a couple of offers or bids are rejected, most of us are able to find the house that is just right for our family. Or how about our jobs or careers? Like many boys, I always wanted to be a train driver, so I applied at the first opportunity, only to be rejected for failing a test. That rejection led me down a completely different career path that, ultimately, I believe was far more beneficial for my life as a Christian.

Rejection is often what reveals God’s wise plan for us. It is often what shows us how sufficient Jesus is for us. Rejection, therefore, is a marvellous gift from God.

Our reading today says that Jesus also experienced rejection, but that it was marvellously used by God to accomplish His purposes. The main point of the parable of ‘The Tenant Farmers’ is that God’s Son would be rejected only to be vindicated, and that those who rejected Him would be judged. 

In verses 1 to 5, we see the tenants of the vineyard reject the owner’s servants. The owner is God. The vineyard is God’s people, Israel. The tenants are Israel’s leaders. The servants are the prophets. And the owner’s ‘beloved son’ is Jesus.

Jesus is saying that God entrusted the land to the Jewish leadership, but when He sent His servants, the prophets, to collect fruit from Israel, they were mistreated and killed. So, He sent more servants, but they received the same treatment. Finally, God sends His Son, Jesus, because surely He will be respected. But the Jewish leadership would get rid of Him, too, in the hope of retaining authority and respect for themselves. At this point God intervenes decisively to bring judgment on those who rejected and killed His Son, and to bless those who, instead, chose to follow Him.   

The parable was aimed at the chief priests, teachers of the law and elders who were questioning Jesus at the time. Verse 1 would have immediately reminded them of one of the most famous parables from the Old Testament in Isaiah 5:1-7. There are many similarities between these two parables, but the one major difference is that, in Isaiah’s parable, the problem is a fruitless vineyard where the nation of Israel was failing to produce the fruit of righteousness. In Jesus’ parable, the problem is the unrighteousness of the tenants, or leaders of the nation of Israel. Verse 12 of our reading tells us that the Jewish leadership knew Jesus had spoken the parable against them.

What landowner in their right mind would send their child to talk to people like this? What kind of father would send his son to people who despise his authority and mistreat his servants, to people who have beaten and killed every single other person that he has sent?

God is the kind of the Father who would. The simple act of God sending His Son shows us how much He loves people who do not love Him. God loves us so much that He sent us His Son. God is holy and we have rejected Him. We, therefore, deserve His judgment. But in mercy, He sends us Jesus instead of judgment. The sending of the Son of God reveals the love of God. We need to remember this when we doubt or wonder whether God loves us. He does. He sent Jesus.

Everyone who marvels at Jesus’ rejection for their acceptance is called into a new family, the Church. In 1 Peter 2:4-5, the Apostle uses the imagery of chosen stones to describe this: “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

In Christ, we become living, precious, beautiful, choice stones that make up God’s house, the place where the holiness of God dwells on the earth, the place where God is worshipped among all the nations. We should, therefore, not underestimate what we are in Christ. We are one of millions of ‘living stones’ holding up the house of God, created by the Word of God, built on the Son of God, full of the Spirit of God. Our local church is more precious and powerful than we might realise. It is where God choses to live. It is where we will find spiritual life. Christians who neglect or reject their local church do so to their own detriment.

The rejection of Jesus is marvellous because it brings us to God and makes us the house of God. Everyone who admits their sin, who realises their need for a Saviour, and who puts their trust in Jesus will be granted full acceptance by God. 

Sunday 5 October 2025: Matthew 13:1-23

I wonder if, like me, today's hymns bring back lots of memories for you? I can certainly remember from my junior school harvest festivals singing ‘we plough the fields and scatter’. It has always been a favourite hymn year after year. But I also wonder if the familiarity of such hymns sometimes leads us to overlooking the meaning of the words they contain.

In the case of ‘we plough the fields and scatter’ it is just possible that its words may help us to see the parable of the sower from a slightly different perspective to the traditional way. After singing that famous first line, 'we plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land', we then go on to sing, 'but it is fed and watered by God's almighty hand'.

In a literal sense, we know that to be true. In our everyday world, we are the ones who sow and harvest the crops, and we depend on God working through creation to provide the conditions for those seeds to germinate and grow. But could our reading today be telling us to see ourselves not as the Sower, or as the seed, but as the soil, and then to ask ourselves what type of soil are we?

If we think of the seed as the Word of God, then Matthew is perhaps inviting us to ask ourselves how we can be rich, fertile soil, enabling God to be a living, growing and life-enhancing presence in the world. We can do this by letting go of all destructive feelings like pride, hate, greed and jealousy, and all the harmful thoughts and emotions that tempt us to exploit the world and those around us for our own ends.

These are the things that distance us from God. When we give in to these desires, we are like the rocky ground, where the soil is thin and sparse leaving the seed, the Word of God, to remain dormant. The question we need to ask in response to Jesus’ parable in Matthew’s Gospel, is what kind of soil are we going to be?

Jesus wants us to be the good soil of the parable, but that means asking ourselves what are we doing to enable the seed – which is the presence of God in the world as the Spirit of Life and Peace – to grow and thrive?

Soil is messy, dirty stuff; and if we try to live independently of God then we remain messy and dirty, governed by desires and impulses that we know are not good for us. But if we accept Jesus’ invitation to follow Him, then even with all our faults, we can be changed and transformed; we can be the means by which God's living presence, in the form of the Holy Spirit, can grow and thrive.

Jesus must have spent time observing and talking with people who knew and understood the relationship between the natural environment and human needs. He knows about sheep and shepherds, vines and vineyards, and today, maybe we can think of Him sitting on a hillside near Nazareth, watching someone sowing, throwing the seeds out onto those different types of soil that He described in His parable?

But what do we need to do to become 'the good soil' today? How can we enable others to grow in their knowledge and understanding of God? Well, if we want to be good soil, then we have to concentrate on being close to God. Being good soil is setting our minds on the Spirit. It isn't necessarily about doing lots of good works (although that is a most worthy thing to do); it is about being receptive to God, allowing our knowledge and understanding of what it is to be Christ-like to grow day-by-day, so that eventually we find ourselves helping and encouraging others to be like the seed sown on good soil, growing towards the sunlight.

Today's reading from Matthew contains a question in verse 10 that the disciples ask Jesus: 'why do you speak to them in parables?' Jesus responds that parables help people to better understand what He means by the Kingdom of Heaven. Some people, like the disciples, have that understanding already, but for others it's harder to reach, and parables are a means of helping them to see the truth.

As we are discovering together in this series on the parables of Jesus, they invite lots of different interpretations. My interpretation of the good soil may not be yours, but that doesn't necessarily matter. The more we come up with different ways of explaining what each thing might represent, the more we come to understand the mysterious richness of God's Word and His presence in the world. They are a way in which Jesus gets us to see how we can think imaginatively and creatively about the Kingdom of God.

But it is important that we use our creativity within the framework of the Church family to ensure that, together, we reach the right conclusions when interpreting God’s Word. Without that, we risk creating our own personal religion according to our likes and dislikes, and that would be heresy.

In the case of our reading today. the parable of the Sower contains an explanation of its meaning from Jesus himself, and His view is absolute. So, when we think creatively about God’s Word, we should always check within our Church family or with other authorities to keep on the right track.

And so today, as we reflect on the ways in which we can be the good soil of the parable, let us also reflect on how we can all find ways of enabling the Spirit of God to grow and thrive through what we say, think and do. We might do this by being silent and still, or we might do it by showing God's love through our words and interactions with others.

Ultimately, we each have to discover our own personal way of becoming the 'good soil' of the parable, knowing that by doing so, we will be enabling the Spirit of God, which is already part of who we are, to become evident in our everyday lives.

Has the seed of God’s Word taken root in your life? If so, what kind of soil are you going to be?