St. Luke's, Ramsgate

"Have I not told you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged; for the LORD your God will be with you, wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9) Our Sermon series on Joshua begins with a huge change in the opening sentence of Joshua 1 where we are told of the death of Moses. Moses was the only leader an entire generation had known, and now Joshua had to lead a sometimes rebellious p...

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being," (Ephesians 3:16) This Sunday we begin a series on Joshua. He started off as Moses’ main assistant and ended up taking over from Moses, when Israel entered the Promised Land. This week, we begin with the first time Joshua plays a significant role in the story, when he leads the Israelit...

"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a person who lacks self-control." (Proverbs 25:28) The Proverb above says, that if we lack self-control, we are like a city without walls. We become defenceless - not from external attack, but to our own destructive behaviours.  Self-control is a guard for our life. Without it all the other characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit become wort...

"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently." (Galatians 6:1a) As Christians we want to challenge one another to become more Christ like, but if we try to push someone to change too quickly or too aggressively, then they may not be able to cope and just leave the church or give up on faith. That is why the verse above says, tha...

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands." (Deuteronomy 7:9) This Sunday we return to our series on the Fruit of the Spirit, this week focussing on the characteristic of faithfulness.

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19) The above verse is often seen as Jesus’ mission statement. What are we meant to be trying to achieve as the church? Jesus says, make disciples!

"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." (1 Corinthians 12:7) This Sunday is Pentecost. It is the day we remember God sending his Holy Spirit onto the church. The events of the day itself were spectacular and memorable with the sound of a rushing wind, flames of fire settling on the disciple’s heads, the apostles praising God in different languages that visit...

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8) This Thursday was Ascension Day. It is the day when we remember that Jesus, after proving that he had bodily resurrected from the dead, went to the Father in heaven to take his place at God’s right hand to rule in power. S...

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21) The Christian message is that evil has been overcome by good. On the cross, Jesus defeated Satan and bore the the sin of the world whilst remaining perfectly obedient to God. Even though, he was treated unjustly and abused in the lead up to his brutal crucifixion, he did not retaliate, but bore it all to bring about our salv...

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." (Colossians 3:12) This week in our Fruits of the Spirit series we are considering kindness. Kindness is about helping and caring for others in a generous way. Kindness does make a difference to the world. Blaise Pascal said, “Kind words do not cost much. Yet t...

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (Ephesians 4:2) This week we are returning to our 10 part series on the Fruit of the Spirit. We started by looking at the list of characteristics as a whole as Paul gives it in Galatians 5, then we looked in turn at the first three of the nine traits that make up the fruit of the Spirit, the godly character that the S...

"Then Jesus said to Thomas: ""Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.""" (John 20:29) This week we continue the Easter resurrection theme and look at the part Thomas played.

"Go quickly and tell his disciples: "He has risen from the dead..." (Matthew 28:7) The Easter Story is an emotional rollercoaster. It takes us from the depths of human cruelty and agony to the highs of the most incredible and hope-giving miracle and for many, this story is the most important moment in history. Why not join us this Easter and discover afresh what it means and why it matters so much...

"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9) This Sunday is Palm Sunday. We remember Jesus on a journey into Jerusalem. He, like many Jews, was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem from his home region of Galilee. Yet, he chose to arrive in Je...

"Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9) When Paul writes about ‘the peace of God’, he does so in the context of urging Christians in the Philippian church to stop arguing (Philippians 4:2-3). In other words, Paul recognises that it is easier to find peace with each other, when we have first grasped the peace of God in our lives. Indeed, relationshi...

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1 John 4:10) This weekend is Mothering Sunday, when we celebrate and give thanks for the love of our mothers. The relationship between a mother and her child is perhaps the strongest of all human bonds, forged as it is in nine months of pregnancy, the pain of childbirth itself and th...

"Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4) How can you tell someone is a Christian? Jesus says, “by their fruit you will recognise them” (Matthew 7:16) and a key characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit is joy. So shouldn’t joy be a key sign that someone might be a Christian? At last Saturday’s confirmation service, there was a palpable sense of joy, especially...

"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25) Last week, we looked at the two humanities on offer. The one rooted in Adam’s disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden and the other rooted in Christ’s obedience to God in the Garden of Gethsemane as he expressed his willingness to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. We now have the option of continuing...

"For just as through the disobedience of the one man, the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:19) Adam famously disobeyed God’s one rule not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are all descendants of Adam, and like our ultimate father we all continue to disobey God. The Bible calls that sin. Ye...

"We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." (2 Peter 1:16) Join us this Sunday as all ages join together for our focus on Jesus’ Transfiguration. Come and glimpse the glory of Jesus.

God to Abraham: "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:3) Like Israel in the wilderness we may find life tough at times, perhaps because we keep failing to live in God’s ways. Yet, we can know that God’s ultimate aim will always be to bless us and bring us into his ultimate promise of life, just as...

 "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15) This Sunday we continue our series on Israel travelling in the wilderness.

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess." (Hebrews 4:14) This Sunday we continue our series on Israel travelling in the wilderness.

“So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief." (Hebrews 3:19) So, what kind of faith do you have? Is it a simple interest in religious activity and comfort. Or do you truly rely on God, for your eternal salvation?

“And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel." (1 Corinthians 10:10) As Christians we need to be honest about the difficulties and struggles we face, but we must not allow ourselves to be caught up in a negative spiral of grumbling that makes us forget the power of God to help. We must not abandon hope. As we enter 2026, lets lift our eyes from our problems to...