Category Archives: Sermons

‘Are you the king or aren’t you?’- a sermon about Naboth’s Vineyard- 16 June 2013

Posted on by
Reply

Old High St Stephen’s, Inverness
Sunday 16 June 2013: Year C, Proper 6- Father’s Day
SERMON
Texts: Galatians 2.15-16 and 20-21
1 Kings 21.1-21a
‘Are you the king or aren’t you?’
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

What a great and terrible story is today’s Old Testament tale. King Ahab covets a nice property near his palace- he wants a vegetable garden (perhaps a vegetable garden was a status symbol for kings back then). Naboth has a vineyard on the site, and Ahab offers him good money for it, or even a swap to another vineyard. But these are not the best of times in Israel. Continue reading →

Faith- not of human origin? A sermon for Proper 5, 9 June 2013

Posted on by
Reply

Widow of NainOld High St Stephen’s, Inverness
Sunday 9 June 2013: Year C, Proper 5

SERMON
Texts: Galatians 1.11-24
Luke 7.11-17

Faith- not of human origin?

In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

‘Jesus gave him back to his mother’.

‘His mother’ was a widow. When she had been a little girl, she was her father’s daughter. Her father was the undisputed head of the household. His wife and children were completely reliant on him, for only he could own property, and what happened to whatever money came into the house, was his decision Continue reading →

Why worship God anyway? A sermon for Trinity Sunday 2013

Posted on by
Reply

Old High St Stephen’s, Inverness
Sunday 26 May 2013 : Year C, Trinity Sunday

SERMON
Texts: Psalm 8
John 16:12-15

Why worship God anyway?

In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

‘Know your place!’ is a terrible thing to say to someone. Because it’s always that the person who’s saying it assumes that their place is somewhere higher and better than the person they are speaking to. Even if it isn’t said, still we wince when people imply that we ought to know our place.  Continue reading →

Enough food for everyone? Sermon for Christian Aid Sunday, 12 May 2013

Posted on by
Reply

During this service, we texted prayers for Christian Aid Week. See prayers from around the UK and Ireland here.

Old High St Stephen’s, Inverness
Sunday 12 May 2013: Year C, Christian Aid Sunday

SERMON
Texts: 1 Kings 17:8-16
John 6:1-14

Enough food for everyone?
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.


Most of us here are probably familiar with the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. But we are probably less familiar with the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. Continue reading →

Come over and help us!- sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter

Posted on by
Reply

Old High St Stephen’s, Inverness

Sunday 5 May 2013: Year C, The Sixth Sunday of Easter

SERMON

Texts: Acts 16.6-15

Revelation 21:10 and 21.22-22:5

Come over and help us!

In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Delays and diversions are the bane of the modern traveller’s life. For when we travel, it’s usually because we need to be somewhere, and we get annoyed if we are held up. If we get stuck in snow on the A9 we probably won’t enjoy the scenery very much. And the shops and amusement arcades of an airport terminal quickly lose their charm if we have to wait for hours for a ‘plane. We are usually in a hurry nowadays. Few us of agree with Robert Louis Stevenson, who wandered the mountains of France on a donkey and wrote a book about it, and thought that ‘it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive’ (1). We mostly just want to arrive, to do whatever it is we want to do at the end of our journey. Continue reading →

God at Work: sermon on Acts 9.1-20 John 21.1-19- 28 April 2013

Posted on by
Reply

Old High St Stephen’s, Inverness
Sunday 28 April 2013

SERMON
Texts: Acts 9.1-20
John 21.1-19

God at work

In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

There’s an American phrase to describe what it’s like when the unexpected happens. They say that something comes at you ‘from left field‘. It’s a baseball term- I think it means that the ball suddenly comes from somewhere you didn’t expect- but if there are any baseball fans who can put me right you can speak to me afterwards. Often we fear the unexpected. We are usually don’t like things come from ‘left field’, because too often the unexpected event is unpleasant- and accident, for example. But the unexpected, even if we are not prepared for it, is not always unpleasant. When the unexpected happens, it can shake us out of our comfort zone and change our life for the better. Continue reading →

Faith, renewal and service: a sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

Posted on by
Reply

Old High St Stephen’s, Inverness
Sunday 21 April 2013: Year C, The Fourth Sunday of Easter

SERMON
Texts: John 10:22-30
Acts 9:36-43

Faith, renewal and service
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

On this joyous Sunday, we’re celebrating eight people who have chosen to associate themselves with the work of the church, and to follow Jesus wherever that might lead them. Ian, Martin, Alana, Alexandra, Ashleigh, Louise, Kirsty and John have been meeting together with a number of other enquirers and members of the congregation in our Christian Basics course over the last few months. This year I tried to freshen up my new member’s course, adding new material and activities to it. But what really made a difference was the participation of existing members of the congregation. Continue reading →

All one! A sermon for 14 April 2013

Posted on by
Reply

Old High St Stephen’s, Inverness
Sunday 14 April 2013: Year C, The Third Sunday of Easter

SERMON
Texts: Galatians 3.23-29
John 20.1-18

All one!
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Easter is not just one Sunday of the year. For there is a sense that every Sunday, for Christians, is the day of Resurrection. We know from the Gospel accounts that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, and that after being buried he lay in the grave over the Jewish Sabbath (our Saturday). On the third day, after the Sabbath, he rose again. And that’s why, at a very early stage, the followers of Jesus began to meet for worship, not on the Sabbath, but the day after- the day of resurrection, our Sunday- which the early Christians called ‘The Lord’s Day’. Every Sunday is Easter Sunday. Continue reading →

For this life only…?: Sermon for Easter Sunday 2013

Posted on by
Reply

Old High St Stephen’s, Inverness
Sunday 31 March 2013: Year C, Easter Day
SERMON

Texts: 1 Corinthians 15.19-26
Luke 24:1-12

(from the Revised English Bible)

For this life only…?

In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Sometimes it’s suggested that Christianity is being marginalised today. No longer are the children’s swings in the public parks of Inverness no longer chained up on Sundays (so it isn’t all bad!). And it isn’t bad if Christianity is no longer being used to prop up the establishment. For Christianity began when a man who had been seen as a threat to the establishment was put to death for being a troublemaker. Continue reading →

The fragrance of love: a sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Lent

Posted on by
Reply

Old High St Stephen’s, Inverness
Sunday 17 March 2013: Year C, Fifth Sunday of Lent

SERMON
Texts: Isaiah 43:16-21
John 12:1-8

The fragrance of love

In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Of all the senses, perhaps the sense of smell is the most mysterious. You can walk into a house full of old-fashioned furniture and the smell of polish takes you back to your granny’s. And we’ve spoken to the children about the smell of romance- smelly stuff is big business. In the Eastgate Centre, Boot’s and Debenham’s have what seems like acres of floor space devoted to perfume and deodorant. Smells affect us in strange ways. Continue reading →