Sermons from All Souls Church

Jon uses Winston Churchill's and Spiderman's phrase "with great power comes great responsibility" to ease us into today's passage. Words can uplift or wound. He takes apart several of James's parallels recognising how "spreading like wildfire" is yet more relevant in today's society given the proliferation of social media - "be quick to listen and slow to type". Reflect on what you say but don't b...

Joe begins today's session by asking those physically present to ask their neighbours for opinions - their favourite food, music, day of the week and... church members(!). James focused on favouritism so Joe does too - all lives matter and are to be framed not by status but by love. Whilst discrimintation may have been more evident in James's time it is still a challenge to us, now - look to see e...

"Quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry"; Joe invites us to reflect on our abilities to live out this phrase. "How long is your nose?" He also asks; the hot-nosed are short-tempered per the idiom of the time. James's teachings are as relevant to today's audience as to his listeners then. Tune in and work out how they apply to you.

Joe starts a new sermon series for becoming like Jesus. He uses the launch of SpaceX's biggest rocket to date - ts rapid, unscheduled disassembly and the whoops and hollers this triggered - as a way to see success in apparent failure; pure joy from difficult circumstances. Maturity, completeness, wholeness - this is what suffering builds and we can find sustenance going through it - look for commu...

Joe takes us through Jesus's 4 trials: chief priests, Pilate, Herod, the crowd. The chief priests question his identify... and pass Jesus on - the saviour not fitting their expectations. Pilate is pressured by others and their expectations - seeing opportunity to involve another, he passes Jesus on. Herod's curiosity is piqued and he probes Jesus looking for fulfilment - not finding it he loses in...

Hannah zooms in on Jesus's vulnerability and fragility in the garden of Gethsemane - being honest about his fear and resolute in his commitment to honour God's will. She contrasts Jesus attitude with the shortcomings of the disciples - falling asleep when called to pray, fighting when that's not needed and denying Jesus when challenged. Hannah cites modern experiences of hope shared and encourages...

Joe starts our stretched-out look at holy week - from palm sunday to easter sunday. Though greeted with joy on palm sunday Jesus wept over Jerusalem knowing what was to come. From tears and cheers he turned to taking out his anger, not on the Romans, but upon those in the temple. Joe looks at how our modern connections with the wider world - e.g. doom scrolling on phones - means we may not have th...

Joe looks at Genesis 3 and Matthew 4 - two parallel stories of temptation; to choose to redefine good and evil/right and wrong or to trust God and his boundaries. Eve and Adam go one way, Jesus the other. Rather than listening to one's own thoughts Jesus resists temptation with words from scripture - God's revealed truth - respecting its authority. Jesus didn't come with an army and he didn't issu...

Debs encourages us to practice the holy habit of sabbath keeping - recognising that God us in charge and we are to orientate our lives around him and rest, reflect and delight in him on the seventh day. She chats through practical examples of how to make this happen - including restraining our phone use - finding time to be thankful for we are, who God is and for all we have been given.

Dan dips into a tale of hospitality and inclusivity. Feet washing was an everyday and intimate service to welcome guests. Jesus welcomed the service of a woman who others thought it improper to associate with. He recognised her dignity and value and used Simon Peter's "gotcha" challenge to open his eyes to the need to treat outsiders as equals. Dan similarly encourages us to look out for opportuni...

Joe highlights that loneliness is called out right at the start of the bible, Genesis 2, as "not good". He goes on to look at how Jesus sowed community into the fabric of his day; a necessary and messy business. "Come follow me, along with these others" - an invitation to share. Community is not just connectedness nor chemistry but rather vulnerability and accountability enable us to meld and grow...

Joe highlights that "pausing" machines stop them, "pausing" humans starts reflection. As 2023 gets going Joe invites us to reflect on our intent to be "with Jesus, like Jesus, for everyone". Silence and solitude supported Jesus' ministry - so it should feature in our lives. In our age of distraction Joe talks about how to decompress and listen to God's quiet voice cutting through 24/7 noise. Good...

Richard imagines restarting 2+ years ago pre-crises and points out that problems are inevitable - but who do we look to for help? Well, that depends on what we think the problem is. At the end of the church year Richard explains 3 things: we need an inside out solution - dealing with the heart of the human problem... us; we need to recognise our need to be rescued; and, the full stop at the end of...

Joe starts our advent countdown with Abraham's story and the hinge point of Genesis 12. Genesis 1-11 tells of a good world gone bad. Genesis 12 (to Revelation) tells the story of redemption and blessing. Blessing starts with noticing someone, then speaking well of them (affirmation) and finally giving - off yourself - for them (sacrifice). Joe uses this year's John Lewis Christmas ad to illustrate...

Joe remembers the first Christian martyr, Stephen, as a source of inspiration. He takes us back to Jesus' circles of intended growth "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, ends of the Earth" and zips through a recap of the story of the gathered - empowered by the Spirit - and their astonishing progress. Stephen echoes Jesus in his death and appeal for mercy on those throwing hatred and rocks; the early churc...

Rachel Bedford from St Stephens Church, talks about the wisdom of Saint Stephen - he was full of grace and power and also experienced the ridicule, insult and martyrdom of Jesus. She shares stories from her own recent experiences to help us recognise the importance of togetherness, curiosity and commitment to enable us to be with Jesus, like Jesus and for everyone.

Joe takes us back to the killing of George Floyd to illustrate our societal recognition of the need to change. He then considers what we can learn from how the early church dealt with issues of discrimination using this passage from Acts 6. An issue was raised, the disciples noticed, they acted like allies and took action. We should similarly look to unlock growth in our own context.

Dan looks at how people in the bible (the apostles, Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Esther, Nehemiah, John the baptist, the magii, Zacchaeus, the disciples, Saul) were called to be changed and to be change. He looks forward to more recent heroes of the faith and encourages us to similarly embrace kindness, forgiveness, humility as easy on ramps for us to do likewise. He asks us too not to...

Joe intros a "dropping down dead" episode in Acts with paintings of Churchill and Cromwell and the subjects' respective responses of "where's the respect?" and "where are the warts?". The gospel is either all or nothing - so Luke shares an unvarnished retelling of what actually happened with Ananias and Sapphira; Joe invites us to be similarly honest with how we treat God and one another as we jou...

Joe completes the vision series fed from John 15 (for now) with a call to steadfastness. Our pattern to follow is a person - Jesus - what would he do if he were living my life now? We should expect to be pruned and cleaned and to be better for it - in time bearing much fruit. All Souls is doing discipleship together - join in - we're for everyone.

"Anchor and role model" was how the Queen described Jesus. Joe looks back on his own life to ask: if I'm not like Jesus now is transformation possible? His realisation is that "yes" but it is also inevitable that we will constantly be formed by what is around us. What we believe matters. Our habits shape who we become - even something us innocent as drinking tea(!). Parents know well that those wh...

Joe starts by reflecting on the life of the Queen and her living with Jesus, like Jesus and for Jesus. The only guidance Jesus gives in today's passage is "remain" with me. Proximity is key. Don't go your own way - like Adam and Eve - but be "in his dust". This is where the Holy Spirit comes in - making God accessible everywhere. "Habit eats will power for breakfast" so we need to practice his pre...

Introducing this 4-week series Joe asks us to consider the moon's relationship to the earth, our relationship to God (here and now), a Jewish rabbi's relationship to his disciples (there and then) and Jesus's relationship to his apprentices (always and everywhere). Are we becoming apprentices - being with him, learning from him and doing what he does - or remaining observers?

Joe starts this Summer series with a reminder of our imperfections and the opportunities we have to press the reset button and try again. Today's passage is a reset for Simon Peter, after his thrice denial, with the simple and deep encouragement to "follow me". Joe encourages us to similarly reflect and restart.

Joe recaps the series so far, lays out post Summer intentions and revisits what it means to be Jesus in our today. What's the point of a one-off act if it doesn't change the big picture? Joe looks at gun crime in the US - including this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9-IYiQjWD4 - to see one radical response to a familiar challenge. He then recalls a "Bridge of Spies" type swap of gr...