Tag Archives: First Isaiah

Sermon: Preserving the Vineyard

Posted on October 4, 2026 by Avril Hannah-Jones

The problem I always have with the Hebrew Prophets is that the God they describe is indiscriminate in punishing the people. The Song of the Vineyard is directed at wealthy landowners, but when Babylon conquers Judah, everyone suffers, not just the wealthy. If the vineyard that is going to be destroyed is the whole house of Israel and the entire people of Judah, rich and poor alike will suffer when the Lord of Hosts turns it into a wasteland. It may be my twenty-first-century perspective, but I do not believe that an entire nation should suffer for the crimes of its leaders or the accumulation of the rich. Continue reading →

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Sermon: Be afraid, very afraid – or reassured and encouraged

Posted on August 6, 2022 by Avril Hannah-Jones

The prophets told the people of Israel again and again that in order to be the people of God it was not enough for them simply to worship God, no matter how carefully they followed the requirements for such worship given in the books of the Law. To truly belong to God, the people of God needed to live out their calling in justice, and in caring for those most in need. Continue reading →

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