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Reepham Benefice
Broadcasting To The World
Sermons preached throughout the 4 parishes of the Benefice
Sermons preached throughout the 4 parishes of the Benefice
Church
Date:
Preacher
Introduction
11th July
Sue Page
The Good Samaritan: The episode in the Gospels to day involves a bright lawyer, Jesus and a wonderful story. However it is a stinging challenging and tough story for those of us who are church people today. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" asks the lawyer? Jesus' answer uses a story, which shows two church officials ' walking by on the other side', tells us that doing our good responsible duty is not enough.
23rd May
The Rt Rev’d Anthony Foottit
Pentecost Sunday:
> Theme - the meaning of the liturgical colours of the day.
> White is for purity or to cover over sin so a symbol of purity, forgiveness, comfort and strength.
> Red is for fire – the flames of the Holy Spirit. Also a colour for truth and justice.
> Theme - the meaning of the liturgical colours of the day.
> White is for purity or to cover over sin so a symbol of purity, forgiveness, comfort and strength.
> Red is for fire – the flames of the Holy Spirit. Also a colour for truth and justice.
16th May
The Rev’d Charles Hall
The Ascension:
> The Ascension is a sadly neglected festival
> What happened on the Mt of Olives
> One result - the universal presence of Christ
> The meaning of John 14:12 'Greater things you shall do in My Name'
> The application to Reepham parish.
> The Ascension is a sadly neglected festival
> What happened on the Mt of Olives
> One result - the universal presence of Christ
> The meaning of John 14:12 'Greater things you shall do in My Name'
> The application to Reepham parish.
2nd May
Sue Page
The Most Challenging New Commandment: This is the second Sunday running that we looking at Christian love. Should I have changed the set reading? No! This was a new commandment which Jesus laid before his friends and followers; and we are their inheritors. This is a personal commandment for you and me. Can we be commanded to LOVE?
7th March
The Rt Rev’d Anthony Foottit
The Three Temptations of Jesus: Halfway through lent we still think of three temptations of Jesus. What are comparable temptations for us - perhaps to rely on instant and fast food instead of local food perhaps to spin an image of ourselves instead of simply being ourselves and perhaps to achieve great worldly success.
7th February
Sue Page
God’s Intimate Creation: I reckon it must be about 15 years ago that I came upon a book that has had a significant effect in my life and I return to it again and again. This Sunrise of Wonder, by Michael Maine. He died 3 ½ years ago. In his life he had been Vicar of Great St Mary’s in Cambridge.
17th January
The Rev’d Charles Hall
The Glory of Christ Revealed: So here we have this wedding going on - Jesus seems to be a friend of the family, Mary does at least because Mary does seem to have some particular position. If you have a family wedding, or a big do like that, you can sometimes out of your depth.
3rd January
Sue Page
Three Epiphany Gifts for a New Decade: I don’t know how many of you were in church this time ten years ago. Can you remember it: Celebration 2000, a start of a new millennium. Can you remember that great event? Up there in the chancel and sanctuary we had the secondary school, all the musicians stuffed in.
27th December
The Rt Rev’d Anthony Foottit
The Boy Jesus: Mary treasured all these things in her heart. St Luke adds a similar comment just after the shepherds have come to the stable. Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. I love that word ‘ponder’; it means to weight up or to think deeply about something. We live in times where there is not so much pondering goes on as there used to, I think; certainly not in my live. But pondering is a marvellous thing to do.
6th December
The Rev’d Charles Hall
Living With Hope: I heard an advertisement announcer on Channel 4 two or three days ago declare: Christmas has officially begun, he said. Well, I said, I thought it began on Christmas Day! And that at the present time we were living in this time called Advent. Actually it is quite difficult for the public and anyone else to grasp the fact that Christmas doesn’t really begin until Christmas Day.
30th November
The Rt Rev’d Anthony Foottit
Wellbeing: On Monday I was invited to a conference at Broadland District Council on the subject of wellbeing. The participants were mostly local government personnel with jobs like work-based health improvements specialists, outreach projects manager and recovery services manager northern locality. What do they all do, I’ve no idea! Amongst all these shiny people there’s little me, but I feel I can hold on my own because I have a pretty long job title too: Broadland Community Partnership Faiths Representative.
15th November
Sue Page
Preparing to Move into Advent: Our lives are filled with endings and beginnings. We are now approaching the end of our church year. Advent starting in two weeks time is another beginning, is near. And in our worship today we are preparing for the new life that advent will bring. So we are asking God to be with us now and in all our endings.
28th June
Sue Page
Healing and Wholeness: The Gospel reading for today the woman says to herself: “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” And then also I want us to have in our minds the words of that 16th century mystic, St Teresa, the words that we know so well: “Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, not feet but yours. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. And yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.”
1st March
Sue Page
With You I am Delighted: It’s Sunday morning, it’s a dark morning and there is this chap in bed. He really does not feel like getting up. His alarm has gone off, his head is under the pillow and he wants to stay and listen to that Radio 4 programme at 9 o’ clock. And his mother comes in, once or twice. He still doesn’t move and eventually she comes in and shakes him.
15th February
The Rt Rev’d Anthony Foottit
Creation Sunday:There is plenty of evidence of order, pattern and beauty which all points to an intelligent design. That is to say to the fact that this world is created and it is good and it is loved. Furthermore, we human beings are part of that grand design and have been given responsibility for this world, which is our earthly home. That is the message of Genesis.
1st February
The Rev’d Christopher Morgan OblSB
Candlemas: I think most of you know that I have the routine of waking up fairly early in the morning. When you wake up at a different time to anyone else in the house, of course it’s polite not to get up and turn all the lights on. And, when you move into a new house when we did some 18 months ago, you need to get used to the layout of the house, otherwise you’ll have things happening like: you think you’re going out of the bedroom door and you find your walking into the wardrobe.
11th January
The Rev’d Christopher Morgan OblSB
Plough Sunday:What are we here for this morning? Or perhaps a more specific question: what is the point of blessing our old plough? Well, we could say that we are doing it because this is an ancient tradition. This is something that has been done in this church and other rural churches for centuries.
28th December
The Rev’d Christopher Morgan OblSB
Faith Without Walls: This is the day when we remember the ‘Holy Innocents’. Those children that Herod went and killed in the vein hope that he could do away with Jesus. But I always think that the feast of the Holy Innocents's, when we reflect of those readings, when we are in the midst of the season, when we have just had Christmas and the New Year is on its way - we are still in this celebratory season, brings us down to earth with a bump.
24th December
The Rev’d Christopher Morgan OblSB
What is Christmas All About?: Well, the day is almost here! Some 12 minutes away. A day which, for many people, is the most important feast day of the year. Many of us, I’m sure, in a few hours time will be spending the day together with family and friends, sharing the importance of that day, sharing the message of peace and goodwill that the angels brought.
21st December
The Rt Rev’d Anthony Foottit
A Servant of the Lord: It was only last year that I first heard the word Doula. A Doula came to help my daughter-in-law after the birth of our first grandchild. That’s what Doula’s do - they help mother’s with their babies in the first few months. And I was very interested to learn that the word Doula is in fact a Greek word. It is, in fact, the very Greek word which is translated ‘servant’ in Mary’s reply to the Angel which we just heard: “Behold, the servant of the Lord”, when she heard the great secret that she was to become the mother of God.
14th December
Gill Wells
Pointing the Way to Jesus: The vision I hope that we have for ourselves as Christians is that we want to make a difference. We are God’s people and part of our task is to be like John the Baptist and point people to Jesus and in so doing we point people to God. “Look, look at Jesus, that’s what God’s like!”. Have you ever wondered though what sort of God, God is?
7th December
The Rev’d Christopher Morgan OblSB
Taking Responsibility: It’s not my fault! Well, it’s been a dreadful week in the news, a time I’m sure of much prayer. The cholera crisis spiraling out of control in Zimbabwe; the financial markets continuing to plummet and the shocking and saddening revelations of how a mother could have her own child abducted and claim the reward on her return.
30th November
The Rev’d Christopher Morgan OblSB
Are We Ready?: After a rather fiery sermon one morning a passionate preacher climbed down from the pulpit and issued the following question to his flock: “Put your hands up if you want to go to heaven”. Many people in church threw their hands in the air and so the preacher told them to get up and go and stand by the door. But there were some people sitting in the pews so the preacher looked at them with fire in his eyes and asked again...
23rd November
The Rev’d Christopher Morgan OblSB
Christ the King: One of the things I miss living in Norfolk is our regular trips back to Oxford where we lived for a time. And I was reminded of this the other day when I was looking for something in an old jacket and I came across an old white silk pocket handkerchief that I hadn’t seen for ages. And it took me right back to those dreaming spires and in particular a Gentleman’s fitters in Turl Street just off the High, where I bought this small piece of white square silk for the handsome sum of 350 pence.
16th November
The Rev’d Christopher Morgan OblSB
Listening to God: When I was at school we used to have a Sunday evening group at the Chaplin's house and I would like to think that most of us went there because we had a growing Christian faith. But the reality was, particularly for me in the early days, that it was the only place in the whole school that you could get cocky biscuits.
9th November
The Rev’d Charles Hall
Remembrance Sunday: I would like to begin, first of all, just by expressing something which I am sure that all of us feel, and that is how glad we are that the children and young people have come here this morning in such large numbers. It makes a huge difference to the adults here, many of whom recall the second world war, that you are here and have taken the trouble to come out to church this morning.
2nd November
Sue Page
Bereavement Service: There is a special feeling in this church tonight, those of us who are here have got a common bond. We are in a place where we are remembering, where we are thanking, where we are regretting and knowing that not only have we lost because someone special has died, but we are also admitting to feeling lost.
2nd November
The Rev’d Christopher Morgan OblSB
All Saints’ Service: Yesterday was All Saints’ Day. And our readings today have that sort of theme of what it means to be a saint, or in other words what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. It is a tough call. We are reminded in our Gospel reading that we could face all sorts of persecutions as we follow Jesus, but that actually he is there caring for each one of us. These things must come to pass.
26th October
The Rev’d Christopher Morgan OblSB
Bible Sunday: The Bible is perhaps the greatest book in the world. Most of us have one. We may even have more than one on our book shelves, given to us at special times in our lives. Perhaps we might have a family bible, given down through the generations, inscribed with the names of our ancestors who have long since been promoted to Glory.
19th October
The Rev’d Christopher Morgan OblSB
Labouring for the Lord: Today is D-Day. Before I go to bed tonight, or perhaps tomorrow morning, I need to ensure Daniel has everything he needs to begin setting our website up first thing tomorrow. And each time I think I have got everything off to him, I get another email from him saying “Christopher, there’s just one more thing I need from you.”