Sunday 29th March : John 11.44 ff As we approach Easter we were looking at how the conflict between Jesus and the authorities developed.  Whatever spiritual metaphors or allegories we may draw from the cross, the factuality of it lies in the conflict between Jesus’ version of God’s Kingdom and the version held by the [...]

On Sunday at CBC we were looking at the familiar parable of Jesus in Luke 14 where the invited guests fail to turn up when the feast is ready and the host invites all and sundry to come in from the highways and byways to fill the places.  There were five different activities for people [...]

A couple of weeks ago we looked at a short clip from the “Saving Jesus” series where we heard Matthew Fox say (approximately):  “We need to stop our tea-cup talk about Jesus.  Jesus is often presented like a Little Bo Peep with his sheep; but he was so much more than that; he was a [...]

Times and Seasons It’s New Year’s Day – a point in the year when it’s hard to work out what day of the week it is (even when you’re not hung over) and what you were doing this time last week and how much you’ve packed into the last two weeks – which seem like [...]

Most of our people know this phrase now as the title of the Christmas Schools Week production which we’ve just completed for (I think) the 6th or 7th time.  We get kids in from five local schools and tell them the “real story of Christmas” as distinct from all the “fluff” – like Father Christmas, [...]

Unexpectedly, yesterday left me thinking more deeply about some less commonly considered descriptions of “Christ” in the New Testament. In our meeting at Cippenham as we considered the theme of being Jesus’ “TEAM” we looked at Ephesians 4 where the strange phrase occurs:  “So the one who came down is the same one who went [...]

Today was an exciting day in the church.  We had a “full house” many of whom were not Christians but had come as friends of Paul and Carla for the Infant Dedication service for Grace, which was part of the service.  Also a sizable group of Carla’s family and friends were from a Salvation Army [...]

(Sunday 19th October) This week our teaching was from Philippians 3.  Since it was Communion, I wanted to take a more “pastoral” theme and felt led to “All I want is to know Christ ……..”   However, when I looked up the context, there was our old theme again – the conflict with the received religious [...]

This Sunday we looked at Jesus’ words in Matthew 23. 37-39 – which comes at the end of his severe criticism of the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times have I wanted to put my arms round all [...]