At the funeral of a friend
Ian B. The hospital called me about 7.30 in the morning to tell me that Dave had died. I went to the hospital a little later to collect his belongings and to…
We Need Jesus!
Photo by Clemens van Lay on Unsplash Here’s the text of a sermon I preached at The Good Shepherd, Lee on 5th July 2026. You can listen at the church…
Living in the rest of God
Preaching at The Good Shepherd a couple of Sundays ago I enjoyed starting a conversation around the idea of Sabbath rest. Our gospel reading was Luke 13:10-20, which describes Jesus…
The Lord Reigns
Here is the (approximate) text of my sermon yesterday on the Sunday after Ascension, reflecting on the relevance of Psalm 97 to life then, and life now. Or you can…
Who believes in Paradise?
Recently a friend drew my attention to an article by Matthew Parris in The Times newspaper, which you may be able to read here. He was moved to write a…
St. Paul on Mothers’ Day
As we approach Mothering Sunday, let’s be grateful for all the people who ‘mother’ children, whether or not they are biologically related to them. We think of everyone who can…
A-list, B-list…
Preaching at The Good Shepherd on Luke’s Blessings and Woes – Luke 6.17-26; Psalm 1 There’s a Christmas song that is banned in our house: Santa Claus is coming to…
Joseph was a Righteous Man – be like Joseph
Just before last Christmas I preached on Joseph, drawing on some of my MA research a few years ago into Joseph’s care for Jesus and its correspondence with foster care.…
Love’s austere and lonely offices
There’s a poem titled Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden which ends with a question about the love of a father. It’s a beautiful little poem about remembering childhood and…
An Advent Prayer
For our church Advent booklet this year, members of the congregation were asked to reflect on Psalm 20.1-5, which is perhaps quite a surprising prayer, and then to offer a…