In Sermons: showing 61-75 of 170

A Tale Of Ten Lepers (A Sermon On Luke 17:11-19)

Contributed by David Smith on Dec 9, 2007

On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying,

I remember hearing of a rural vicar in England whose bicycle went missing. The man relied exclusively on his bicycle to get around his little parish, and he knew things like bicycles didn’t just disappear into thin air, so he put two and two together and figured out that someone in the parish - ...read more

Scripture: Luke 17:11-19

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

1 Samuel 1 & The Institution Of Marriage

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 28, 2007

Who was it who came up with the idea that the purpose of marriage was to make two people happy? Marriage is an institution designed for a very specific purpose! ... ...

’Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together like horse and carriage’. So we’re told, but not in my book they don’t, and by ’my book’ I mean the Bible. That’s a warm and inviting way to start a sermon, isn’t it? But the tone is set for us today by our reading from the Old Testament - the ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Jacob Wrestles With God (Genesis 32:24-30)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 28, 2007

Jacob, our Father in the fight, squares off against the Almighty on the field of combat....

"Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. (25) When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. (26) Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 32:24-30

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

David & Bathsheeba (2 Samuel 11)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 28, 2007

David and Bathsheeba - an old story with a very contemporary ring to it, and a few things still to teach us!

"You can get a large audience together for a strip-tease act-that is, to watch a girl undress on the stage. Now suppose you came to a country where you could fill a theatre by simply bringing a covered plate on to the stage and then slowly lifting the cover so as to let everyone see, just before ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

The Lord Is My Shepherd (Psalm 23)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 28, 2007

The Lord is my shepherd. Of course, the problem is that most of us have never even seen a shepherd! ...

Psalm 23 The Lord is my Shepherd The Lord is my trainer I shall not fear the fight. He is constantly with me, working my corner He refreshes me between rounds with cool water And with even cooler advice Yeah, though I walk to centre-ring To stare out an opponent twice ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Genesis 21:8-21 (The God Of Ishmael)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 28, 2007

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob turns out the be the God of Ishmael too!! ...

We continue our sojourn with Abraham today – Abraham, the ‘father of faith’. We’ve been working our way through the story of Abraham for some time now – stories about Abraham & Sarah, Abraham & his family, Abraham & his descendents, Abraham and the promises God made to him - Abraham the ‘father of ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 21:8-21, Genesis 21:13-20

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Genesis 22:1-14 (Abraham Sacrifices His Son)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 28, 2007

A sermon given on the anniversary of the kidnapping of Mordechai Vanunu ...

Some reflections on Abraham – the father of faith: I It was early morning. Abraham rose in good time, had the asses saddled and left his tent, taking Isaac with him, but Sarah watched them from the window as they went down the valley until she could ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 22:1-14

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Job 28 (Where Is Wisdom To Be Found?)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 21, 2007

"The secret things belong to the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." ...

God answered Job out of the whirlwind: "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge." Job 38:1 - the beginning of our reading from today’s lectionary, that marks the beginning of the end of the book of Job. We’ve been plowing our way through the book of Job for quite a few Sundays ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Genesis 3 (Eating The Forbidden Fruit)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 21, 2007

In this voyeuristic age, where everybody thinks they have a right to know everything, here’s a story that suggests that there are some things that we ought not to know...

"The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it" (Genesis 2:15) Some will take this as a sure indication of the fact that this story was written by a man. For it seems that from Day 1 (or, to be exact, from Day 8) the creation story focuses on the jobs that need ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Ezekiel 37 (The Valley Of The Dry Bones)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 21, 2007

Can God bring life to those old dry bones? You betcha He can! ...

"The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry." A few years ago now an American university newspaper ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Father Dave's Sex Talk (A Sermon On The Song Of Songs)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 20, 2007

OK guys. It’s time for Father Dave’s sex talk! It comes once every three years, when the passage from the Song of Songs appears in the lectionary. ...

OK guys. It’s time for Father Dave’s sex talk! It comes once every three years, when the passage from the Song of Songs appears in the lectionary. When you were in school, you used to get this talk every year. If you were in a Christian Youth Group, you probably got this talk every week! Most of ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Genesis 25:19-34 (Jacob & Esau)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 20, 2007

In a world marked by violence, the ancient story of Jacob and Esau reminds us that conflict has always been a part of the way God deals with his people, and it contains with...

We gather together today in the wake of the terrible terrorist attacks in London - violence that I suspect has left none of us unaffected. Tony Blair said, “They will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear” , and it’s hard not to admire his resilience, even though we recognise, I think, ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 25:19-34

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Deuteronomy 34 (The Death Of Moses )

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 19, 2007

The Death of Moses ...

“There has never arisen another prophet in Israel like Moses - one whom the LORD knew face to face.” (Deuteronomy 34:10) So read the concluding verses of the book of Deuteronomy, bringing to a close the saga of one of the Bible’s greatest heroes. I know that all of us want to be more like Jesus, ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

You Can't Have One Without The Other! (A Sermon On The Book Of Amos)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 19, 2007

People says to me, "Dave, as a Christian I am not interested in politics", and I can say to them in all honesty, "neither am I". ...

I sorta promised someone in the parish that I’d choose a more cheery passage next time I preached. “Come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden” was suggested - a message of encouragement and hope. This is not that sermon. Inspired by our set lectionary readings, for better or worse, I have ...read more

Scripture: Amos 8:1-12

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Was That Hosea I Saw At Sexpo?! (A Sermon On The Book Of The Prophet Hosea)

Contributed by David Smith on Nov 19, 2007

It’s very graphic - the book of Hosea - and full of passion. For what is at stake, Hosea believes, is not simply a nation that is breaking a few commandments, but rather an ...

"Plead with your mother, plead - for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband - that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts; lest I strip her naked and make her as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and make her like a parched ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 2:2-3

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican