Monthly Archives: March 2026

Sermon: It is not going to make us any friends

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Avril Hannah-Jones

We are called to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth not in our own power, but in relationship with the God who feeds the birds of the air, clothes the lilies of the field, and loves his enemies all the way to the cross. At a time when the ostensibly Christian Secretary of War of the United States of America has quoted Psalm 144, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle,” in a Pentagon Press Conference it is more important than ever to say that the Sermon on the Mount is no utopian hope or airy-fairy dream. It is the way all Christians are called to live, to the best of our ability. Continue reading →

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Sermon: Pearls before swine?

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Avril Hannah-Jones

Brendan Byrne puts it this way, ‘only a person who has come to genuine self-knowledge and appreciation of his or her own weakness is qualified to set about fraternal correction’. We must remember that with the judgement we make we will be judged, and the measure we give will be the measure we get, so our judgements must be truthful, loving, and without self-righteousness. Continue reading →

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Sermon: Birds of the air and lilies of the field

Posted on March 6, 2026 by Avril Hannah-Jones

I believe that God sends us angels, messengers of love, if our eyes are open to them. I have heard from members of this congregation of the times when they have needed to be reminded of the power of love that is at the core of the universe, reminded that the world is full of well-meaning people who are willing to help others, and the love and care they have needed have materialised. One of my greatest joys as a minister is when someone tells me that I have been that angel for them, when God has used me in all my frailty and faultiness to reveal love. I am sure that if you think about it, there have been times when you received the word or the sign or the care that you desperately needed at that moment. I am also sure that there have been times when God has used you to give that word or that sign or that care to someone else. We are not alone in this universe. Our lives are entwined with one another, and it is God who weaves us together. Continue reading →

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