-
Thomas goes with Jesus
A sermon on John 20.19-31 1. Thomas as doubter? Thomas heard from the disciples: We have seen Jesus. He said, Unless I see the print of the nails in his hands, and can put my hand into his side, I will not believe. Does that make him a Doubter? Are you a doubter if you…
-
An invitation to discuss Bonhoeffer’s letter of 21 July 1944
On 20 July 1944, a plot to kill Hitler failed. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in prison, knew immediately that some of his companions in the resistance were already dead, and he and others were in greater danger of their lives than before. The next day, 21 July 1944, he wrote a remarkable letter to his friend Eberhard…
-
‘Team God’ – a word for Trinity Sunday
The doctrine of the Trinity states that God is ‘One in three persons’, but that should not lead us to think there are three gods, or even three parts of God, operating independently from one another, for God is one in a most perfect unity. Nowhere in the New Testament, the earliest Christian witnesses we…
-
A sermon for Trinity Sunday
First published 14th June 2022 on the Network Leeds blog. I preached yesterday on the Trinity – a challenge and a joy. The text was the hymn, Thou whose almighty word we sang before and after to help us get into it. The hymn is a mosaic of biblical words and images, shaped by Trinity.…
-
Power and the history of the Gospel in the church
This is the third of a three part series. You can read part one here and part two here. Friendship is not the only category we need to trace the history of the Gospel in the church. No doubt there are many other themes of heuristic utility to be explored. In this discussion, we will…
-
Friendship and the history of the Gospel in the church
This forms the second of a three part series. You can read part one here. It is unlikely that a church, as a merely human company, will survive and grow so that it gets to the point of a fiftieth anniversary history, if it is unfriendly. The occurrence of friendship is an immense resource for…
-
Writing local church history
John Briggs and I met as freshmen reading History at Cambridge nearly half a century ago. Now in our active retirements we have, besides our pensions, stores of experience to mull over. Perhaps we should give ourselves the leisure to do that – if mulling can be saved from being pointless self-indulgence. I think of…
-
Reading Mark 2 with Zelenskiy and the Ukrainians
A sermon preached at Moortown Baptist Church on Sunday 13th March 2022. The sermon can be watched here. I want you to know that in this talk I am aiming to tell the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God, in company with Mark. I also want you to know that in trying…
-
The Good Shepherd
Sermon preached on John 10.11-18 at Stainbeck United Reformed Church, 25 April 2021. The sermon can be watched here. John’s Gospel as a whole reflects on the life of Jesus, his words and his actions. John was like a man standing on a high hill, able to see the whole land laid out before him,…
-
Jesus refuses Peter’s pastoral care
Sermon preached on Matthew 16 at Moortown Baptist Church, Sunday 26th February 2023. The sermon can be watched here. The question is not: who do people say I am? But who do you say that I am? A question to be heard by individuals, you and me, and by the whole community – who does…
-
Ambition and the Gospel
Mark 10.35-45: A sermon preached at Stainbeck United Reformed Church, 2018 We are given this morning an important and challenging reading, that points us to the heart of being Christian and being human. So I am glad to be called to speak about it. I read this text and at the same time, I reflect…
-
Reading the Bible, Searching for Faith
This was written in response to a recent article published in the New Statesman, in which Lamorna Ash reflects on reading the Bible and searching for faith. 1. My confession of faith The search for faith, in a Christian way, has been a central thread of my life. Reading the Bible, by myself and in…
While it is yet day
Haddon Willmer