Category Archives: This Sunday

This weekend Fiona and I celebrate twenty years serving at St. Luke’s in Ramsgate. I am only the second vicar at St. Luke’s to stay that long, although the first vicar of the church stayed for over thirty years, and I am not promising to try and beat him!

We are naturally impatient, and in our society often in a rush to get to the next thing. Waiting can be boring. It can be uncomfortable and unsettling, particularly when the future is uncertain, and you do not know how long the wait will be.

One of the quandaries I sometimes have is that because of Jesus’ grace heaven will include people that I might not ordinarily want to hang out with. How do we get rid of our prejudices and accept that the good news of Jesus is for all?

What counts as victory? Is it your team winning the FA cup or Premiership? Achieving that promotion or job you have always longed for? Winning the hand in marriage of the person you love? Overcoming a life-threatening illness? Or perhaps if you were Ukrainian finally forcing Russian forces to leave your country?

What we believe about death effects how we live our life.

What we believe about death effects how we live our life.

It’s a truth that is the foundation of our faith and a truth that should sustain us in our journey as it gives us the joy of forgiveness and friendship with God, motivates our following of him and brings the fantastic hope of eternal life.

The Last Supper is an integral part of the story. It shows that Jesus knew what was about to happen to him and that he was going to the cross willingly and for a purpose. At the Last Supper Jesus explains that his death is for the forgiveness of our sins and to create a new covenant – a new relationship between us and God.

So, in the church, there are a variety of members each with distinctive roles. Each one is needed, valued and equipped by the Spirit with a specific gift, which is to be used not for their own good, but for the good of the body as a whole.

The Bible talks a lot about love. In the New Testament, the focus is mainly on God’s love for us and the commands to love God and others: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son…”, “Love the Lord your God…”, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”