Sermons on Gerard Manley Hopkins:

Church Anniversary Sermon

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Oct 17, 2005

A sermon for Church Anniversary

Jesus said, ‘every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure-store both the new and the old.’ This rather odd little verse is probably a kind of signature from the writer of the Gospel. It’s as though he was giving us a hint about ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:31-52

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Church At Thyatira Series

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Oct 17, 2005

the next sermon in the series on the seven churches of Asia

And so we come to the church at Thyatira. This is the longest of the seven letters, which, ironically, was written to the smallest and least important city. Unlike the other towns, we don’t know very much about Thyatira, so it’s not so easy to understand and interpret the contents of the letter. ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:19-29

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Questions, Questions

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Oct 25, 2005

How do we respond to the questions of life? How did Jesus respond?

It seems that questions fill our daily lives. Everywhere we go, we are confronted by questions. At home it might be very simple things like, “What’s for tea?” or, “When’s Grandma coming?”, “How can I afford it?”, “Who does she think she is?”, “What was that referee doing?”, “Why can’t I have ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:34-46

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Church In Sardis

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Oct 30, 2005

The message to the church in Sardis and it’s relevance to us today

Over the last few weeks in the United Reformed Church, we’ve been looking at the stories of some churches, and seeing what they might have to say to us today. These stories are in the book of Revelation, and they take the form of letters that were written to these churches. Like all of the book ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Sermon For The Beginning Of Lent

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Aug 25, 2005

A sermon for the beginning of Lent, written for a small congregation in an English country chapel

The shortest sermon ever recorded, which you won’t be getting this morning, consisted of the preacher going into the pulpit and quoting Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death”, and adding “there has been no change in the rate of pay. Amen”. It’s not very fashionable these days to talk about sin ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:1-11

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Burning Bush & Our Ministry

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Aug 30, 2005

Exposition of the Burning Bush, and linkage to Ministry of all believers mentioned in Romans and Matthew

In the church where I grew up, a 1950s building, the most dominant visual feature was a huge stained glass window depicting a Burning Bush. There was a cross on the back wall of the Church, like there is here/in the United Reformed Church here, but the visual image that stuck in my mind, and I ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-15

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Significance Of Questions

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Jun 18, 2009

Lookign at questions in the context of Job 38, and Jesus stilling the storm in Mark 4

One of the most unhelpful ideas about Christianity, indeed about faith in general, is that doubt is the opposite of faith. It is not. Certainty is the opposite of faith. Doubt is an intrinsic part of faith, for by definition faith is about making a commitment and a decision about matters that ...read more

Scripture: Job 38:1-11

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Reformation Sunday

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Oct 22, 2009

A Sermon for Reformation Sunday - the last Sunday in October

At St. Columba’s United Reformed Church in Oxford, where I spent many happy years, the premises are a little bit old and rambling. In a far away corner, not often visited was a hidden away toilet. This was always known as the Calvinist toilet, because it was very dark and gloomy. It’s a sure ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:28-31

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

God: Father, Son, And Holy Spirit

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Jun 10, 2009

A sermon on the doctrine of the Trinity

The story is told of a man feeling suicidal, who climbed from his office window onto the ledge outside. Naturally his colleagues were concerned, and one climbed out and sat next to him on the window ledge. After a few words the conversation went something like this: “I get a lot of strength from ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Sowing Seeds Of God's Kingdom

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Jun 11, 2009

Mustard seed and the kingdom with practical examples

I’ll begin by saying that our second reading is a very complicated passage indeed. Indeed, it’s so complicated and obscure that I’ve decided to say nothing about this morning, and concentrate on our gospel reading, because it would be too long and involved to try and make sense of it now. So, ...read more

Scripture: Mark 4:30-34

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Armour Of Light

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Nov 3, 2008

Thinking more about the phrase, "the armour of light"

There’s a proverb which says, "It’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness". I want to reflect, this evening, upon a phrase of Paul’s in that reading from Romans: the armour of light. As well as our usual, longer, silence after the sermon, there will some shorter silences as part of the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 13:8-14

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Four Weddings And A Funeral

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Nov 3, 2008

1 Corinthians 13’s message about Christian community

In the film Four weddings and a funeral, during the first wedding, the reader begins the well-worn reading of 1 Corinthians 13, saying, "if I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal". As the reader pauses for breath, someone ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Taking A Leap

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on Jan 26, 2020

A challenge to take leap of faith - a risk - for God

Genesis 12:1-9 Hebrews 11:1-3 & 8-12 Psalm 91 Mark 1:16-20 This year is a leap year. 29 February is a special day which comes round only once every four years. 29 February is considered by some as a day to do something out of the usual, such as women proposing marriage to men. Radio 4’s PM ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 12:1-9

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Who?

Contributed by Michael Hopkins on May 26, 2013

Use of Jeremiah, John, and Luke, to bring out three persons of the Trinity, and an analogy with TV programme Dr Who - different faces and mystery.

Luke 19:1-10 Jeremiah 32:21-25 John 20:19-23 As a child, I always enjoyed Dr Who on a Saturday teatime. For me, Tom Baker was the doctor - the others who came after weren’t quite the same. Perhaps, for you it was Jon Pertwee who was the doctor, or Patrick Troughton, or William Hartnell; or ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 32:21-25

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Father's Day 2012

Contributed by Tyler Hopkins on Aug 31, 2012

A Father's Day sermon where I focus on Noah and how he honored God as a father.

Now I am not a father so I can't speak from personal experience about father-type things. I have worked in children's ministries for a few years, so I like to think that counts for something. The best example for fathers is, of course, found in scripture. I'm going a little unorthodox with what ...read more

Denomination: United Methodist