Trinity High Wycombe and Cores End United Reformed Churches - Sermons 1 year ago. #AllAreWelcome

Reading: John 1. 10-18 NIVUK   35 Short Address:  Has anyone pulled a cracker this year?  What local newspaper did Charles Dickens work on before he became famous?  Bicester Times and Worcester Times.  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of increduli...

Prayer of adoration and confession from Iona Introduction: Not over yet!  How many of you have taken down your Christmas decorations?  Anyone who didn't put up any decorations at all?  We take some down but keep the rest up until Epiphany  Some churches don't bring out the wise men in the nativity scene until Epiphany  Today is the 9th day of Christmas - 9 ladies dancing A...

Reading:  Luke 3.7-18 Sermon What then should we do?  Here we are this morning hopefully alive and well.  Recent news of the meteor the size of the Eiffel tower skimming past the earth  Context is important though as it passed 2.4 million miles away  The gospel reading leaves us with an image of the sandwich board stating "The end is nigh"  If that's good news, what d...

Opening Prayers   Theme Introduction: Joy - not much of it around at the moment?  What might we be joyful about?  Printer paper being available  It's warmer  The fact we can still gather in person  A great view on a run  Thinking about what we can do to make others happy -  sharing a meal, listening Reading: Philippians 4.4-7

Reading: Luke 3.1-6 NIVUK read by Olive Shepherd Prayer  Short Address: Are we prepared to be surprised this Advent season?  Ready to find God at work where we thought he was absent, to find him in unexpected places?  Luke tells us to expect the unexpected  The reading starts with the messy world of politics and power  Luke reminds his readers who is in power  When he...

Opening Prayers   Introduction: ‘Clear the way’  When cars were first introduced in this country, red flags were required to be carried in advance to clear the way and make sure all was safe Clearing the way is a theme in Advent thinking about John the Baptist clearing the way for Jesus  John was a strange, challenging figure  Looking at my bookshelf makes me thing I could do w...

An address in two parts: 1) An update on Wycombe Youth for Christ, 2) Reflections on the readings God's impact in WYFC:  Growing the team, outreach in schools, giving out hot chocolate, chance encounters, opportunities to help, detached youth work, sharing Jesus with young people.  Relationships - bringing our concerns before God  A man crying out to God  David declaring his de...

Opening Prayers and Lord’s Prayer Introducing theme: Faithful One Reading - Psalm 25:1-10 Reading - Luke 21:25-36

Reading John18 vv 33b – 37    Address: Here we are at the end of another Christian church year  Next week is the start of advent  Today is when we remember Christ the King  This festival is not an ancient one in the calendar  Only established in 1925 by Pope Pious the 11th when Europe was in chaos, inflation was rampant and the seeds of the forthcoming disaster of war...

Opening prayers and the Lord’s prayer   Reading Revelation Ch 1 vv 4b – 8 Introduction to theme of the service: What if I told you that on this piece of paper I had every word in the bible, every word ever spoken?  God is like an A-Z, the beginning and end of everything  God has always been, God is at this very moment now, God will always be forever  God's kingdom is wherever J...

Readings: Mark 13 v1-8; Hebrews10 11-25    Prayer   Sermon – “Promises, promises!”  The gospel reading talks about war.  It follows on from Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem but we know it  comes before the darkest of dark times when Jesus was crucified  The disciples comment to Jesus about how magnificent the temple stones  were.  12m long, 4m dee...

Opening Prayers and Lord’s Prayer    Introductory Talk – “Dark and Light”   What was special about Sunday, 31st October, 2 weeks ago  A 25 hour day - what did you do with the additional hour?  Darker earlier in the day  Different shades of light and dark  Close your eyes and cover them to experience the darkness  Remembering the dark times of war   Bein...

Act of Remembrance   Prayers for peace (using We pray for peace)   Last Post Video Two minutes silence   Poem: “They shall not grow old …”

Short Address : We have seen weighty discussions this week about the climate crisis  Stepping back from the big things to the small ones  Small things can challenge the big and powerful interests - Greta Thunberg  Small is beautiful by E. F. Schumacher - humane economics appropriate to the situation.   Ecomonics for the people who matter   Our readings focus on small thing...

Introduction: ‘Not to be forgotten’   A glorious autumn day, the leaves are falling but taking their time  A month of remembering  Remembering and forgetting  Every piece matters  A community of faith  A challenge - remembering the people who feel forgotten  Those who died in conflict  The planet on which we depend  No-one is forgotten by God  The...

Address: Today we have heard familiar readings  They are familiar but stretch our minds and hearts  Deuteronomy covers how people will live with God, facing both triumph  and disaster yet still go forward  Moses says the commandments are to be part of daily life  Stretch your mind across the amazing universe which we are discovering  more about but still have so much...

Introducing the readings   Reading: Deuteronomy 6.1-9 (NIVUK)  Psalm 148 read by minister and congregation    Reading: Mark 12.28-34 (NIVUK) 

Link to Hope review of 2021 1 million shoeboxes distributed since the start of Link to Hope in 1992, 20,000 in 2020  Donations of money as well as items in shoeboxes

Address  Lines from the reading from Mark  The striking contrast in the reading, a great multitude and a lone individual  It is impressive to see Jesus turn his attention from the crowd to the one.  There is evidence of something deeper than just being aware of surroundings  This narrative comes with pertinence for a generation that acts on multitudes and quantities ...

Talk - The reading from Mark and Bartimaeus   How would we deal with losing our sight?  Listening to Nunc Dimitus: The more I heard the music, the thought of not hearing felt worse than not being able to see  Close your eyes for a few moments and imagine you are blind  How will you survive, how will you work, how will you move around?  Reading - Mark 10, 46-52

A recorded reflection by Dr Mike Townsend (Torch Trust)  Sight loss and sight from a Christian point of view  Sight loss and spiritual sight   Sight is not just on and off, it's variable  Elisha found in Syria and the army being struck with sight loss

Introducing theme: Sight Loss Sunday    A recorded message from David Reynolds   Sight loss Sunday is the day we try to understand sight loss and those people suffering from it.  The impact of COVID on those with sight loss  We are not a minority that shouts from the rooftops  Can we examine the attitudes to people with disabilities  Hope that we will gain a grea...

Readings:  Matthew 9:9,  Matthew 25:31 – 40      Matthew 28:16 – 20 Address  Thinking about "calling"  What comes to mind when you think about being called? Batman? With the boy wonder Robin by his side A shining light in the sky alerting them to need  Our political leaders have been setting out their stalls at the party conferences wanting people to he...

What is the YMCA?  Founded by George Williams, came from a farming family but was sent off to the nearest town to learn the cloth trade.  Challenged by the long hours, low pay and lack of care in the workplace he felt the Lord had restored him and wanted him to help young men  experience the benefits he had.  2 introductory videos.  Why people become homeless, how the YMCA...

Introducing the readings (URC Anniversary on 5 October)  Reading: Psalm 133  Reading: 1 Peter 2. 1 – 10 (NIVUK)    Short Address   Stones are amazing things  A pebble on the beach, always fascinating, always tempting to throw into the sea Fascinating with all the history of years  Sculpted into amazing shapes  Built into places of worship  But still lif...