Scripture for this Sunday: Hosea 11.1-11 (God bewails the turning away of the people of Israel); Psalm 107.1-9,43; Colossians 3.1-11; Luke 12.13-21 (the parable of the rich fool who builds bigger barns to keep more for himself only to die suddenly). Several years ago, I was asked to lead the funeral for a lady who had […]
Archive | Themes
Theme of each week.
Theme for the Week – 24 July 2016
Scripture for this Sunday: Hosea 1:2-10 (the naming of Hosea’s children); Psalm 85; Colossians 2:6-19; Luke 11:1-13 (Jesus teaches his disciples about prayer). It might seem rather flippant to ponder what happens when, for example, the football teams of Argentina and Uruguay meet, and large portions of the population of each country pray for their team […]
Theme for the Week – 17 July 2016
Scripture for this Sunday: Amos 8:1-12 (Amos sees a basket of fruit); Psalm 52; Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42 (Martha and Mary of Bethany) A week that has focused attention on human pain, suffering and death has also seen the fruit of emancipation of women, with Theresa May becoming prime minister of the UK. There are […]
Theme for the Week – 10 July 2016
Scripture for Sunday: Amos 7.7–17 (the plumb line); Psalm 82; Colossians 1.1–14; Luke 10.25–37 (the parable of the Good Samaritan) Once upon a time, a newly ordained curate was sent to take communion to a wealthy, elderly lady, who apparently preferred not to go to church regularly. Bursting with desire to change the world and bristling […]
Theme for the Week – 3 July 2016
Scripture for Sunday, 3 July: 2 Kings 5:1-14 (Elisha and Naaman the Syrian with skin disease); Psalm 30; Galatians 6:(1-6) 7-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 (Jesus sending out 70 disciples, “like lambs amongst wolves). Someone sent me an e-mail during the week asking – pleading! – for the sermon to avoid, “Brexit, Spanish politics, and the Somme.” […]
Theme for the Week – 26 June 2016
Scripture for this Sunday: 1 Kings 19.15-16,19-21; Psalm 16; Galatians 5.1,13-25; Luke 9.51-62 Yogi Berra was a baseball coach in the USA who was famous for odd little sayings, such as, “It ain’t over until it’s over,” and, “It’s like déja vu all over again.” He once said, “When you come to a fork in the […]
Theme for the Week – 19 June 2016
Scripture for this Sunday: 1 Kings 19.1-15a (Elijah and the still, small voice of God in sheer silence); Psalm 42; Galatians 3.23-29 (we are all one in Christ); Luke 8.26-39 (Jesus heals a demon-possessed man in Gentile territory, and the demons are sent into pigs who drown). It would take an awful lot of pigs to […]
Theme for the Week – 12 June 2016
Scripture for the week: 1 Kings 21.1-21a (Jezebel arranges for her husband Ahab to acquire a vineyard by having the owner killed); Psalm 5.1-8; Galatians 2.15-21 (the Apostle Paul reflects on faith); Luke 7.36-8.3 (Jesus goes to dinner with Simon the Pharisee, has his feet anointed by an unknown woman, and compassionately forgives her). Simon the […]
Theme for the Week – 5 June 2016
Scripture for this Sunday: 1 Kings 17:8-24 (Elijah gives sustenance to a widow in Sidon, and then restores her son’s life); Psalm 146; Galatians 1:11-24; Luke 7:11-17 (Jesus restores life to the son of the widow of Nain) The question of refugees continues to challenge governments in Europe and beyond. The Canadian government has so far […]
Theme for the Week – 29 May 2016
Scripture for this Sunday: 1 Kings 8.22-23,41-43 (Solomon dedicates the temple); Psalm 96.1-9; Galatians 1.1-12; Luke 7.1-10 (Jesus heals a Roman Centurion’s slave) My Spanish teacher has worked out that what I need to work on is my ability to listen and understand in Spanish. I can read the written word and understand reasonably well; […]