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In the name of Jesus. (Easter 4)

Acts 4: 5-12; John 10: 11-18   What do we mean when we use the phrase ‘in the name of Jesus’?   We have probably all seen scary film footage of sharp-suited evangelists shouting a blessing at people kneeling for healing. ‘In the name of Jesus I heal you’ – hand on forehead, knocking them over.   A few weeks ago I saw a Facebook notification of someone stating that their church will be ‘praying the name of Jesus over the city’. It felt a bit  like an incantation or a spell. I wondered how the residents of the city might feel to have the ‘name of Jesus prayed over them’ in that way?   Of course for some people the name of Jesus is used as an expression of surprise or shock – it becomes a swear word ‘ Jesus!’   Meanwhile in our quieter corner of the church, we may find ourselves reluctant to speak the name of Jesus much at all. I think for many of us the embarrassment factor begins at ‘church’.. goes up for ‘God’.. up again for ‘Christian’ and is highest for ‘Jesus’.   Fortunately, Peter
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Palm Sunday - Hosanna: Lord, save us!

Psalm 118; John 12: 12-16 I have had reason to do some hospital visiting over the last few weeks. And twice now I have had the experience of someone other than the person I’ve gone to visit asking me to pray with or for them. It’s no surprise, really, is it, being in hospital makes us feel especially vulnerable, and I don’t mind anyone, spotting the dog collar, asking me for a prayer. It is a privilege sometimes to be the right person in the right place at the right time, to offer words which will reassure someone that God has not forgotten them, that they are loved and cared for – that God’s love surrounds them. I don’t think it’s only in hospital that sometimes we want to pray ‘God save us/ God help me/ send your loving Spirit’.   Just for a moment, I invite you to think about what you want to be saved from: what your deepest need is that you would like to bring to God today..  You don’t need to tell anyone, just take a deep breath & offer to God your own need.   You might be pra
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We would like to see Jesus

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  Jeremiah 31: 31-34; John 12: 20-33   ‘We would like to see Jesus.’ I would like to see Jesus – wouldn’t you? Out of curiosity, if nothing else -  wouldn’t it be fascinating to know exactly what Jesus looked like. Did he look particularly kind (I hope so) or wise (I expect so). Was there anything in the way he looked which gave a hint to his identity as the son of God?  Yet all four gospels remain frustratingly silent on the subject of what Jesus looked like – because they’re far too busy wanting to give us the good news about who Jesus was, and what he did and said.   So John’s story of the Greeks who say ‘We would like to see Jesus’ is so much more than just a story of idle curiosity of wondering what Jesus looked like: it cuts to the heart of who Jesus is and what he has come to do.  These Greeks are in Jerusalem for the Passover festival, they have come to worship God.  And presumably they have heard something of Jesus of Nazareth. So they come to Philip and ask ‘Sir, we would lik
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Lent 4: Mothering Sunday

Numbers 21:4-9;  John 3: 14-21 Introduction    Mothering Sunday Today is Mothering Sunday – a term I confess I prefer to ‘Mothers’ Day’, because it is a day that is about more than just mothers. All of us begin life with a mother. But not all of us still have a mother living. Some of us are lucky and have or have had a good relationship with our mothers – but I realise that isn’t true for everyone. Not everyone’s life journey leads to them being a mother. And not every mother is able to raise her child. But mothering is for everyone.  Mothering, at its best, is about nurturing, caring, constancy, and unconditional love. The Bible talks of God as Father, Shepherd, protector, redeemer, saviour, rock, refuge… we might very easily speak of God’s love as a mothering love – and God as mother. In our worship today we will think of God’s love – and especially God’s loving offer of healing for those who are broken, wounded and in need. If Mothering Sunday makes you feel wounded in some way, the
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Lent 3: Clearing the temple

  Lent 3 :  John 2: 13-22 Very soon now the building of Crundale Chapel will go on the market for sale. I notice that RK Lucas, who will be marketing it, have at least two other small churches for sale at the moment, and we can probably all think of churches or chapels we know which are struggling.  These are not easy times to be the church.   So it’s time for me to tell you something said to me by a very wise teacher of mine, about 20 years ago. Helen Cameron is a member of the Salvation Army and a wonderful theologian and teacher. As we were discussing the difference between the  form  of the church (the way we do things) and the  essence  of the church (who we are) she said “the way we do things may change, but  the church of God is indestructible ”.   I think our Gospel reading today tells us about Jesus demonstrating that very thing : the church of God is indestructible.   Today’s story of the overturning of the tables in the temple might feel familiar, but we might be surprised b
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Take up your cross and follow (Lent 2)

 Mark 8: 31-38 We can have phrases in the Bible which are so familiar – yet when we stop to think about it, we might wonder what, exactly, they mean. This is one of them : Jesus said ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me’. What does Jesus mean? ‘Take up your cross’ – and what might his first hearers have thought? We are used to seeing the cross as a familiar symbol of our faith. Just this week, as I was having my hair cut, Emily, who was cutting my hair, noticed the cross I was wearing and pointed out her own. It belonged to her grandmother, who has now died, and was given to her Nan as an anniversary present by her grandfather. She said ‘I love to have it, to remember them both by. Their faith meant a lot to them, and its lovely to have it right here’ (at which point she patted her chest). For us today, a cross can be an identifying mark, a badge of belonging, a family treasure, a bringer of comfort. But Jesus’ first discip
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Transfiguration: "how things really are"...

Mark 9: 2-9 I know from conversations I’ve had over the last few weeks that many of us are feeling the same thing about the state of the world, and the bad news which just keeps coming. Sometimes the news feels unbearable – please bear with me while I very quickly summarise a few things: 2023 was the hottest year on record, bringing floods, droughts, wildfires and heatwaves and taking our planet’s temperature closer to the point when we will not be able to reduce increasing global warming no matter what we do. We are fast approaching a crisis point which could leave a lot of the earth uninhabitable for animals, plants or humans. The shocking case of the murder of Brianna Ghy by two teenagers who planned together to kill her has made people worry about how we keep children safe from the terrible influence of violent games and films, as well as how we equip young people to cope in a world which can be frighteningly dangerous.   The destruction of war just keeps rolling on despite efforts
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