Belhelvie Church - Sermons

Money, human needs and desires, justice and compassion, being your own person and going against the flow. All of these are addressed in what Jesus says to us in today’s reading from an ancient book which, according to some, has absolutely nothing to say to modern people like us… Luke 6 – the sermon on the plain – is where we’re sitting today.

He was a big man; hands like shovels. Gruff outside, but a good heart inside. Practical. Took things at face value. Trusted his senses. Nobody’s fool. Kept his religion, but kept it at arm’s length, maybe. Did the necessary. And then one day this guy commandeered his fishing boat and sent him out to the deep waters for the most life-changing catch he was ever going to have. Peter’s story is there...

I once heard the Irish poet and writer John O’Donohue say that, for each of us, there are probably about six or seven thoughts in our minds that – to a large extent – have determined how our lives play out. Just six or seven thoughts, he says, and they entirely shape your life. We’re in similar territory in today’s sermon – thinking about the power that words have over us, for good or for ill, and...

Today we read the well-known story of the wedding at Cana where Jesus turned water into wine. But how did Jesus feel at a wedding – seeing this young couple commit to one another for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health? Was there a hint of sadness knowing that he’d never know that kind of love? I don’t think so because the truth is – Jesus has a bride and the New Tes...

This Sunday, Harry Burns from ‘When Harry Met Sally’ gives us a way in to talking about why Jesus got baptised and what baptism means for us: **SPOILER !!** At the end of the movie Harry races through the streets of New York to catch up with Sally, the woman who’s been his best friend for years and who he finally realises he loves. He bursts into the New Year’s party she’s attending and confronts...

Welcome to the Cheeseboard! You know the little bites at the end of a big meal that fill out the corners? That’s what this service is – a few wee tasty stories to keep you thinking as we enter a New Year together. There’s a little extra bit after the benediction this week, so please stay tuned for that too. Every Blessing for 2022! Paul

This morning in our Bon Accord service we’re thinking about touch. One of the hardest things about the pandemic has been not being able to hug or hold the ones we love as we normally would. Touch is such an important way of expressing love, and we see that all throughout the Christmas story. Today we’re remembering that one of the reasons God became a human being in Christ is so he could draw clos...

Today we’ve entered the season of Advent, leading up to Christmas. Some will be remembering the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem; some might even remember that the man Jesus promised to return again at the close of the ages to restore all things – the so called ‘second coming’. But what about the interim time? What about now? Does Jesus just bookend history (and our lives) or does her pervade it...

Ever been on the receiving end of a ‘conversation’ that was one-way traffic? Did you leave feeling like you’d were nothing more than a conveniently receptive pair of ears? Have you ever wondered how God feels being on the end of all our prayers? All our talk? What would prayer be like if we spent more time listening and less talking? And how do you even begin to listen for God anyway? Some practic...

Poppies are everywhere just now as we commemorate Remembrance. But do you know why they became the symbol for our national mourning? And did you know that growing vegetables and even flowers in gardens was a part of life in the trenches? And did you know that by ‘magic’ you can turn a flower into a mobility scooter? One or two surprises in this morning’s annual Remembrance Service….. https://youtu...

Today, in response to COP26, we're reflecting on the climate crisis in the light of our faith.

Words can carry a lot of power. Anyone ever notice something you were doing and thank you for it, or commend you for it? How did that make you feel? Anyone ever take you apart and leave you in bits because of something they said, or the way they said it? How did that make you feel? These things stay with us because our words carry a lot of power. Today we’re thinking about how to bless others with...

We welcome Rev Ian Groves to Belhelvie this Sunday.

What makes for joy? Psalm 122 shows us that joy in worship is at least as much about ‘horizontal’ relationships as ‘vertical’ ones. Community – real community where we laugh, play, share, confess and open up to one another – is where joy is found, and also where God is found. So what can we do as church, to foster genuine community, and know more of that kind of joy in our gathering. I asked the c...

Fast food is taking over the world, but don’t our hearts yearn for slow food? Taking time over cooking, eating and meeting together? Today we’re remembering that the Scriptures have been given to us as food for the soul, and that when we read them slowly, meditatively and prayerfully, they will bring us the nourishment we need for our daily living.

“The dying leaves of a hundred million autumns have formed the soil from which our crops spring. To sink a blade into the ground is to slice through time itself.” (Maria Boulding) If creation doesn’t make us wonder, we’re probably not looking at it closely enough. Today in our Harvest Service we’re celebrating creation and allowing our wonder to draw us into thankfulness towards the one who has ma...

We hate them. We want them dead. Or if not dead, at least out of our faces and out of our lives. Enemies. How do you feel about yours? And how do you feel when Jesus tells us that the only way to really overcome your enemy is to love them until the enmity breaks down? A tough teaching from Luke 6 this morning. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate:...

We’ve had it tough the past couple of years, but not as tough as some folk have it all the time. Today we had a visit from Rachel Johns who works for Compassion UK and who spoke about their work supporting children and their families in the developing world. For about half the cost of a monthly Sky TV subscription you could sponsor a child and make sure they get the nutrition, support and educatio...

Ever tried to do a jigsaw without seeing the picture on the box? Not easy. Today I’m suggesting that becoming truly human is similar. We’re all just trying to piece together the bits that we can as best we can – but wouldn’t it be great if we knew where it was all going? What the picture on the box actually looks like? What does it mean to be truly human? Jesus tells us. Jesus shows us. And more t...

“Do you want to get well?” What a stupid question to ask someone who’s had a debilitating illness for 38 years…! And yet, when it’s Jesus who’s doing the asking, we might rightly suspect that it’s not a stupid question. It might be exactly the one that the man needs to be asked. What does it mean to be well? What happens when you get locked into a negative way of viewing your life that you can’t e...

“When the restaurant door swung open and John Blanchard stood there in his military uniform, bemusedly scanning the room for the woman in the green suit, she knew all that she needed to know about him. This was a man who was worthy of her trust. This one would be with her, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, through all the thick and thin of living. This one really meant it.” That’s how t...

Ever been overlooked? Mis-judged? Caricatured? Talked down to? Then you’ll know how significant a thing it is when someone actually takes the time to treat you as a person, and dignifies you by dealing with you as a fellow human being. The woman in today’s story was used to being ignored or gossiped about. She wasn’t used to being asked for help – especially not by a male stranger from a different...

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When she moved through the crowd she could feel the weight of people’s eyes on her; judging her. They had her boxed and labelled. ‘Trouble. Wanton. Worthless’. After a while she’d only go out at the times when everyone else wasn’t around. None of them bothered to see beyond the facts to try and understand the reasons her life had turned out the way it had. None of them made any effort to get to kn...