Senior Minister of Central Baptist Church, Chelmsford<br>and Chair of Ministry Today
Growing old is a strange business. In one sense, ever since we are born we are growing older. But growing ‘old’ is another matter – not that there is any agreement on what ‘old’ actually is. True, the Psalmist states that “The days of our life are seventy years, or ...
One Sunday afternoon, we had a surprise wedding. Over 120 guests came to church for what they thought was a tea party, but to their surprise their hosts announced that they were getting married – there and then! Even more surprising was that most people thought the couple concerned were married – they had children, and even shared the same surname. So it really was a surprise! The reasons for the situation were complex. There had been a messy divorce, and a long-drawn out problem with contact. So, at the time, the best thing had seemed for the woman to move in with her beloved, changing her name by deed poll in the process. They had always wanted to get married, but then yet other factors arose, and so there was further delay. Then the ‘wife’ wanted to be baptised, and at that point it seemed to me that we needed to ‘regularise’ the situation. So at last we did. Needless to say, the couple concerned got many plaudits – everybody was so delighted to share in the joy of the occasion. Somewhat unusually, I too got a host of plaudits. Modesty forbids me from quoting from the emails received! However, in the light of those comments I thought that it might be worthwhile reproducing the sermon I preached, in the hope that it might be of help to other ministers who find themselves in a similar situation.
Whenever I sit at my desk, I am challenged by a text displayed on a wooden stand, which I brought for myself on a trip to the USA - “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” ...
Our Chairman, the Revd Dr Paul Beasley-Murray, was privileged to be able to take a two week retreat during 2011. During that time, he relied on readings from the Revised Common Lectionary as the focus for scriptural reflection and meditation. However, he wondered whether other Christian leaders might benefit from ...
This sermon was preached at Central Baptist Church, Chelmsford, in July 2011 at a service of infant dedication. Geoff and Amanda, I wonder, what kind of parties your Zachary will be into in future years? Our children have particularly liked pirate parties. The first pirate party was years ago when ...
Over the years I have experimented with a variety of ‘strap lines’ for our church in Chelmsford. At one stage, for instance, stated on church publicity were the words, Central Baptist Church – going Christ’s way and making disciples. Perhaps for church people this constant reminder of our mission statement ...
I love New Zealand. It is a wonderful country – blessed not just by great scenery, but also by great people. A year ago, I was privileged to pay my fourth visit, and yet again I found myself challenged by the vision and energy of this country of just some ...
To love Jesus is to love his bride “Christ loved the church and gave his life for it” wrote the Apostle Paul. Indeed, Jesus loved the church so much that Paul went so far as to describe the church as the bride of Christ (Ephesians 6.22-33). Inevitably, therefore, if we ...
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