The Cranmer Group Podcast

Tim helps us to reflect on what God is truly like, in and through the person of Jesus - "the image of the invisible God", as he is referred to in Colossians 1:15-23. Christ is both this perfect expression of human-ness, and yet also the Word of God who brought the universe into being, as expressed in that most famous of Christmas scriptures, John  1:1-14.

Through the example of the faithfulness to God of Simeon and Anna (told in the account  of Luke, chapter 2, verses 22-40 - the Presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple), Bronwen helps us to consider what it means to dedicate our lives to God.   Where do we see that our personal dedication to God has been, or still is, working? What has been a sacrifice? What has been a joy? What has been lif...

Annie considers how we may attune ourselves to the call God places on each one of our lives, to best use for Him the gifts with which He blesses us. She especially does so by looking at God's call on Jonah, as the Lord sends him to call the people of Nineveh back to His ways (Jonah 3 and 4).

In the story of Jesus's calling of two of his first disciples, from John 1:43-51, Tim encourages us to say to others, using Philip's words to Nathanael, "come and see" this Jesus whom he has encountered. And for those of us who may not yet know Jesus in our lives, Christ's words slightly earlier in John's Gospel, to Andrew and Simon Peter, "Follow me!" are s...

Now that all of our Christmas decorations have been packed away, Tim takes the opportunity to focus in on the stable, and the infant Christ in the manger. He considers what the story of the Epiphany - the making known of Jesus to all, through the figures of the Magi - tells us of the essence of Jesus Christ, and what it asks of us. Like the Magi, with their gifts for Jesus, what do we have in our...

Annie,  with the help of Psalm 103:1-12 and Matthew 6:25-34, encourages us to turn and give thanks for all God's blessings to us in 2023; and to look forward to the New Year, paying attention to the ways in which God wants to bless us in 2024, and to how He encourages us to give any challenges we may face to Him. She reminds us of God's amazing, unreasonable love for each one of us, and...

Reflecting on Mary's response to the angel Gabriel in Luke chapter 1 (verses 26-38), Tim asks what might it look like for each one of us to say to God, like Mary, “May your word to me be fulfilled”.  How might you and I - declaring ourselves to be, in Mary’s words, “the Lord’s servant” -  be used for God's incredible purposes, beyond all our human possibilities?

Annie accompanies us on our Advent journey into the light of Christ, challenging us as to how we make space and time for Jesus in the busy-ness of our preparations for Christmas, looking at John's Gospel, chapter 1, verses 6-8 and 19-28. She especially recommends using the fantastic Lectio 365 daily devotionals, which you can find at https://www.24-7prayer.com/resource/lectio-365/ , and the a...

As we continue to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus, looking at Mark, chapter 1, verses 1-8,  Bronwen asks us, not, "Are you ready for Christmas?" - as we all seem to say! - but the far more profound question, "Are you ready for God?"

From Jesus' message to us to be watchful, from Mark 13:24-37, Tim encourages us to be expectant in prayer; confident in the Gospel we share; and courageous in our witness to the Good News of the love of Jesus Christ for all.

Rev. Jonathan Mole, Vicar of All Hallows, Lady Bay, shares with us about Jesus's Lordship, referring to both Ephesians 1:15-23 and John 13:31-35. You have to imagine the ball of string flying into the chancel, and a small length of string at the end representing our life on earth!

Tim explores another of the "hard sayings" of Jesus, the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), thinking about how we respond to the extraordinary spiritual gifts that God has given to each one of us, in the abundance of His love. Do we truly use them to build God's Kingdom here amongst us, with boldness, creativity and courage, or do we live out of fear, and keep what He has gi...

With context from his Grandfather's diary, written in the trenches of Flanders in World War One, Tim shares with us what the scriptures tell us about war and above all about God's peace.  Reflecting on the imagery of "swords into ploughshares" from Micah 4:1-5, and Jesus's declaration that "blessed are the peacemakers" from Matthew 5:1-12, we see how the transfor...

Reflecting on the Biblical witness of James 2:1-13, and Mark 12:28-34, Tim encourages us to be welcoming to those who come through the doors of our churches, or whom we may have the opportunity to welcome at other points in our Benefice life, like the Food Hub or our Cranmer Plus youth group. Like Abraham in Genesis 18, we may never know when we might be entertaining angels!

Tim considers what is unique about a specifically Christian perspective on joy, and how we can bring that joy into our Benefice life, and share it with others. He especially looks at what the apostle, James, says about being joyful (James 1:1-12) and how being rooted in the love and the Word of God, by streams of living water - like the image of the tree in Psalm 1 - is the path to true joy in God...

Tim helps us to think about what it might look like to be a 'courageous' disciple of Christ, following the example of Peter and John in Acts 4:1-13, as opposed to the (as yet!) timid Peter of Matthew 14:22-33.  He suggests that each one of us, following the disciples’ example, is called to do three spiritual things: -Keep our eyes ON Jesus; -Keep our heart IN Jesus; and -Keep your words...

Annie helps us to consider what it means to be 'hopeful' people of God, gaining inspiration from the (slightly unlikely!) source of the Lamentations of Jeremiah (chapter3, verses 17-26) and also Peter's speech to the gathered crowds on the first Pentecost (Acts chapter 2, verses 21-36) .

Looking at the examples of members of the early Church (Acts chapter 4, verses 23-31) and Jesus (Mark's account of the Feeding of the Five Thousand), Tim encourages us to be prayerful, both individually and collectively, and in so doing, obtain a heavenly perspective on our own lives, and on those of our churches and communities.

In week two of our preaching series, Bronwen moves on to being 'Generous' - the first of our Cranmer Group Values, which underlie how we seek to love Jesus, one another, our villages and God's world. In this Harvest season, Bron explores God's generosity to us as expressed in Psalm 65's imagery of abundance, and the miraculous provision of Jesus' Feeding of the Five T...

In the first of a new preaching new series on our Cranmer Group's Vision and Values,  Tim sets out how we respond to God's love for us, in our Benefice Vision (“We are one, growing community of disciples, who seek to love Jesus, one another, our villages and God’s world”), drawing inspiration from 1 John 4:7-21 and John 13:31-35.

Annie guides us through the second part of Christ's teaching in the second half of Matthew 18 (verses 21-35), further exploring what Jesus has to say to those who follow him about God's mercy to us, and how we, in turn, extend that to others.

Tim tries to help us navigate some tricky pastoral waters, with Jesus' teaching about how we should behave towards one another in the family of his disciples (Matthew 18:15-20).

Tim continues our journey through Matthew's Gospel, looking at chapter 16, verses 21-28, and asking us "What is your true self?" (or, putting it another way, "What Are You Here For?").

We look with Tim at how Peter responds to Jesus' question to the disciples in Matthew 16:13-20, taking encouragement both from the certainty of his reply, and also from the ways in which the disciples are human like us, with all our failings, and yet they and we are still loved by Jesus, and given the task of building Christ's Church and God's Kingdom, here on earth.

Tim helps us - hopefully! - to understand better the potentially tricky passage from Matthew 15, verses 21-28, in which Jesus encounters the Canaanite woman. Her extraordinary faith in Christ results in her daughter being healed, and is an example to us all.