On Sunday I was wondering about that little conversation Jesus has with Peter where he ask him three times “Do you love me?”.

Each time Peter says “yes, of course I do!” and after each reply Jesus says something odd.

Feed my lambs.  Look after my sheep.  Feed my sheep.

Odd.

I wondered aloud about the progression.  Are the lambs the spiritual babies?  Do the sheep, the more mature followers, also need guiding and protecting?  What should the sheep be fed so that they remain healthy and strong?

Is Jesus asking Peter to ensure that the conditions for growth are in place?  Is He asking Peter to make sure that the new church takes its members seriously, that they make sure people can grow in faith and that they are supported to do so?

What does that kind of growth look like?  And are we anywhere close to it in our churches?

Whether you are a creator or curator of worship there are always times when the blank screen seems to stay blank longer than you would like.  Words don’t come.

I find that those weeks are the ones where I haven’t had the time to read enough, to talk enough or to think and pray enough.  Most weeks there are places I go looking for inspiration.  Places where I know I might find that one line, one thought, one fragment of something which will ignite my imagination.

People create worship in lots of different ways.  I like to begin at the beginning and at the end.  I think a Call to Worship and a Benediction set a tone and a context that help me to fill in the part in the middle.  But before I put pen to paper or press a key I visit some places…

Abbotsford

Roddy posts a ‘Chocolate Teapot’ most weeks.  These are his first reactions to the text for the week.  A thought, or at least the start of one…  He also frequently posts fantastic prayers which I find help me with those beginnings and endings

Laughing Bird

A great lectionary resource.  I head straight for the commission and benediction section.  Again, just a few words can crystalise a theme.

Disclosing New Worlds

Lawrence Moore’s great commentary blog.  Unfortunately, but understandably, it is difficult to keep up this kind of in-depth stuff each week but check the archive for some brilliant stuff.

Lectionary Liturgies

Great liturgies based on the Revised Common Lectionary.

The Text This Week

The one stop shop for all your worship needs.  Loads of links to all kinds of places.

So, where do you go for inspiration?

Last year I preached a sermon on ‘waiting’.  It’s one of the most listened to and so I thought, given it’s Advent, I’d make it easier to find.

Let me know what you think…

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a sermon for lots of reasons, mostly not being around much over the summer but today I preached at Lanark Greyfriars on the theme of ‘Courage for Community’ from today’s lectionary reading from Esther.

As usual, your thoughts, comments and suggestions (constructive please).

I feel sorry for Thomas.  He gets some bad press, mostly so John can make a point to his readers I think.  I’m not even sure Thomas had doubts.  I think he had questions, so that’s where this week’s sermon focuses… on questions.

I was at Lanark Greyfriars and the readings were John 20: 19-31, 1 John 1:1 – 2:2 and Acts 4: 32-35

As always, your comments, suggestions and most of all questions are very welcome.

I’ve posted the text for this sermon about Mary of Bethany and Judas before but I’ve never recorded it until now.

I often feel that Holy Week is one of the most overlooked parts of the Christian year.  That’s all the more strange because it is at the very heart of our faith.  Today is the day when we remember that Jesus gathered  with his closest friends in an upper room to celebrate the Feast of the Passover.  During the meal Jesus broke bread and shared a cup of wine and in doing so gave the church the sacrament of communion.  Remember me.  Sad that in Holy Week, of all times, we forget.

Has the sermon had its day?  Is there still a place for preaching?  Jonny Baker explores preaching in a thought provoking piece he wrote about a year ago… Preaching: throwing a had-grenade in  fruit bowl

I have to say that I don’t think preaching is done yet, but then you might expect someone who stands at the front of a church most Sundays to say that.

My biggest complaint about lots of preaching is that it is mostly average at best.  I know it’s hard to hit the heights every week but it seems to me that most of the complaints I hear about preaching are really about quality.  Most of us enjoy listening to a captivating speaker for much longer than 10 or 15 minutes.  I regularly listen to Rob Bell talk on his podcast for an hour and I’m disappointed when it’s over.  And that has no visual aids.

So, here’s my plea to anyone who gets to stand up in front of any group of people to speak.  Look on that 15 minute slot as the most important 15 minute presentation of your life, without the associated stress obviously. Would that change how you approach it? Should you expect people to disagree with what you said? What would you like them to go home thinking about?

In Jonny’s article he say:

Mike Riddell suggests that ‘The purpose of the sermon is to unleash the power of scripture in a way that leads to personal and corporate encounter with God.’ (p119 God’s Home Page).  I like that.  I’d add that it should open up the possibility of transformation which maybe is implicit in his definition.  One other goal of preaching/teaching is education – enabling people to learn.

Is that what you get on a Sunday?  Is that what you set out to do on a Sunday?  What do you think about preaching?