While it is yet day

Haddon Willmer

Church

  • ‘For your to-morrows these gave their to-day’: sermon for Remembrance Sunday

    Sermon preached at Moortown Baptist Church on 10th November 2024, Remembrance Sunday. The texts for the sermon are: 14 At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. 15 David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” 16 So…

  • Questions to ask when reading Luke’s parables 

    In a recent talk, Haddon points to a connection between Luke’s parables and Nathan’s parable in 2 Samuel 12. Luke’s stories are not like the puzzling parables which begin ‘the kingdom of heaven is like …’. They are more like Nathan’s parable in 2 Samuel 12. Nathan tells David a parable about a cruel rich…

  • What is a person?

    I wish to offer you a few comments at the beginning of this conference.  First, our question, What is a person? would appear to be a question looking for a definition as its appropriate answer. But in parallel with those in the Gospel who looked for a sign, we may say that this is a…

  • The silence of eternity, interpreted by love

    A sermon preached at the funeral of Barbara Dews, 11 April 2024. Barbara went to church and sang hymns through her long life. So they got woven into her heart and mind. They gave her language which made some sense of her experience, encouraged her, giving direction. And so it is not surprising that near her end, she…

  • Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?

    Sermon on Luke 7.18-23, preached at Moortown Baptist Church, 25 February 2024 You can watch this at the link below, from 26.40 – 56.40 minutes, followed by the hymn ‘Fold to your heart your sister and your brother‘.

  • Twice-baptised Christians – a way forward for church reform and unity

    Published in The Fraternal, Feb 1976  At present, the United Reformed Church and the Churches of Christ in England are discussing a scheme of union. One of the problems they have to face is that while the U.R.C. allows both believers’ and infant baptism (with the emphasis in practice on the latter), the Churches of…

  • Why read Jonah?

    Why read Jonah? The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amitai, many centuries ago. What word of the Lord comes to us today?  It’s a colourful, exciting story, but the word of the Lord to us is not in the excitement, in the wind, earthquake or fire.  Let me remind you of…

  • A good politician’s reverberating mistake

    Readings : Nehemiah 13.23-31; Matthew 5.38-48 You can watch this sermon here (27:00-52:00, with prayers from 52:00-54:00). I respect and value Nehemiah because he was a politician – a good politician, good hearted, good ideas, great skill and courage.  Politics is unavoidable in our living together. We know how much we need good politicians every…

  • 4G Jesus: Galilee, Gethsemane, Golgotha and Global

    Transcript of a talk given at Moortown Baptist Church, 4th April 2023. You can listen to the talk here.  Introduction  I want this evening in this talk, to share the story of Jesus as I’ve come to know it, or at least part of it, and very imperfectly. You don’t have to agree with me.…

  • Earth Cries – event

    All are welcome to a reflective reading and discussion of Ben Okri’s prophetic voicing of EARTH’S CRIES. Tuesday 12 September, 7.30-9.15, at Moortown Baptist Church Lament with him the climate crisis and hear his call for human beings to ‘accelerate our own transformation now’, so that we make a ‘future possible again for the species…

  • Earth cries! Are we the gods that must step up?

    Earth cries! We are the gods that must step up to the biggest crisis in history | Ben Okri | The Guardian Reflection and Commentary  In this prophetic poem, lamenting, warning, calling, Ben Okri points to the crisis now: Words for the day.Denial. Justice. RightT​o protest. And Earth cries.O when will we wake up?Gulf Stream…

  • Sin drops us in it at the threshold of forgiveness

    1 Introduction:  This sketch is significant for me, since it is the first time I have got near to defining sin as what brings us to the threshold of forgiveness. That may not be a new idea altogether, but I can’t remember finding it plainly anywhere. Luther and Barth give me some encouragement in that direction, but…