(Matthew 5.13-16) 9 February 2020 – © Neil Millar The words we’ve just heard follow on immediately from the beatitudes, which mark the beginning of the famous Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has been preaching about what it means to be truly blessed, truly human, truly happy – blessed are those radically available for God … [Read more…]
(Matthew 5.1-12)2 February 2020 – © Neil Millar We’ve just heard two of the best-known passages in scripture – the powerful words from the prophet Micah about what the Lord requires of his people, and the introduction to Jesus’ most-famous block of teaching, the Sermon on the Mount – a powerful statement on what it … [Read more…]
(Matthew 18.23-35)26 January 2020 – ©Neil Millar This morning we come to the fourth and final sermon in this introduction to Matthew’s gospel, in which we focus on the theme of judgment. So, let me start by coming clean and confessing that I cannot believe in a place called ‘hell’ to which God sends people … [Read more…]
(Matthew 5.17-20)19 January 2020 – Neil Millar Over these weeks in January, we’re doing an introduction to the gospel of Matthew – the gospel set for reading in this year’s lectionary. Last week, we looked at that lengthy and riveting genealogy with which Matthew begins his account of Jesus, and noted how from its beginning … [Read more…]
(Matthew 1.1-17)12 January 2020 – ©Neil Millar Well, I bet you’re glad you didn’t get that reading this morning. Of all passages to read publicly, a genealogy is surely one of the more challenging. Thank you, Sarah, and well done. To be clear, that wasn’t the gospel reading set for today but this year the … [Read more…]
(Matthew 28.16-20) 6 January, 2020 – © Neil Millar If you’re a keen reader of the bible you’ll know that though each of the four gospels tells the story of Jesus in different ways. This year, the lectionary draws mostly from Matthew, and as we launch into the year, I thought we’d spend some time … [Read more…]
(John 1.1-14) (Christmas)25 December, 2019 – © Neil Millar Genesis, chapter one, verse one: ‘In the beginning…’ John, chapter one, verse one: ‘In the beginning…’ Genesis: ‘In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the deep while a wind from God swept over … [Read more…]
(Isaiah 35.1-10) (Advent 3)15 December 2019 – © Neil Millar I was talking with one of the ministers from the presbytery the other day and he referred to the Isaiah Advent readings as his ‘greatest hits’. He’s got a point. They really are glorious pieces of scripture. After wrestling with the deceit and carnage of … [Read more…]
(Isaiah 11:1-10) Advent 28 December, 2019 – © Sarah Bachelard The reading we’ve just heard from Isaiah is one of the most powerful evocations of shalom in Scripture. In my bible, it’s given the heading ‘The Peaceful Kingdom’, although a former colleague, New Testament scholar David Neville, used to complain that the English word ‘peace’ … [Read more…]
(Isaiah 2.1-5) 1 December, 2019© Neil Millar During the Sundays of Advent, all the Old Testament readings come from the prophet Isaiah, and in these texts, we are given some of the most evocative words and images in scripture. Words that have inspired communities across our planet. I’ve sat outside the United Nations building in … [Read more…]