St Nicholas' Church, Hedsor
St Mark's Church, Bourne End
St Mark's Church, Bourne End
Sermon Snippets
Pentecost 2010 - What is the point of a sermon?
Pentecost was a traditional Jewish festival. It was celebrated the beginning of the wheat harvest and took place 50 days after Passover. As celebrations go, it doesn't sound particularly exciting but that year, that morning, as Jesus' disciples were all together and waiting in Jerusalem as he had asked them to do, it became one of the most important and world-changing events ever to take place.
We all know how it feels to be caught outside in storm force winds....its hard to stand upright, anything we are holding like an umbrella can be ripped from our grasp as we dive for the safety of our homes as quickly as possible - thanking God that we have escaped serious injury from falling trees and flying debris.....but in the calm after the storm, the landscape may be altered but we carry on with life as normal.
However, just imagine how it was for the disciples - they were visited by a terrifying wind blowing inside their house - its effect was immediate, transforming and permanent. It left them shaken up, invigorated and changed forever.
Take Peter - a forlorn fisherman who just a few weeks ago denied knowing the man who had been his closest companion and leader for the last three years. He was so scared of the consequences for himself that he couldn't be honest about knowing Jesus. But now, Peter is emboldened to come out of hiding and go out into the street where a crowd was gathered to find out what was happening. Peter begins to preach - to witness to Jesus Christ and to urge the people to repent and be baptised into this new world order. The Christian Church was born and a new tradition of preaching began. (Next)
© Lyn Gooch 2010
Pentecost was a traditional Jewish festival. It was celebrated the beginning of the wheat harvest and took place 50 days after Passover. As celebrations go, it doesn't sound particularly exciting but that year, that morning, as Jesus' disciples were all together and waiting in Jerusalem as he had asked them to do, it became one of the most important and world-changing events ever to take place.
We all know how it feels to be caught outside in storm force winds....its hard to stand upright, anything we are holding like an umbrella can be ripped from our grasp as we dive for the safety of our homes as quickly as possible - thanking God that we have escaped serious injury from falling trees and flying debris.....but in the calm after the storm, the landscape may be altered but we carry on with life as normal.
However, just imagine how it was for the disciples - they were visited by a terrifying wind blowing inside their house - its effect was immediate, transforming and permanent. It left them shaken up, invigorated and changed forever.
Take Peter - a forlorn fisherman who just a few weeks ago denied knowing the man who had been his closest companion and leader for the last three years. He was so scared of the consequences for himself that he couldn't be honest about knowing Jesus. But now, Peter is emboldened to come out of hiding and go out into the street where a crowd was gathered to find out what was happening. Peter begins to preach - to witness to Jesus Christ and to urge the people to repent and be baptised into this new world order. The Christian Church was born and a new tradition of preaching began. (Next)
© Lyn Gooch 2010