The Withdom of God. That's not a typo. It's a truth uncovered by conversation and explored in this reflection shared with some of those celebrating God's withdom in Priors Hardwick and Priors Marston in the Bridges Group of Churches this morning.
What We Thought Was Sealed
There’s a quiet pressure around Easter — that this is the day you’re meant to be sure. But the first Easter began with people who weren’t sure of anything. They were running, confused, and grieving… until they noticed that what they thought was sealed had been opened.…
Who do we turn to in the thick of things?
All of us live in the thick of things—there is no other place to be.The question is not whether we are under pressure, but who we turn to within it.On Palm Sunday, as Jesus enters Jerusalem, that question becomes unavoidable. Think about this. All of us…
An ancient story about midwives, a mother, a sister, and a princess who quietly defied a king’s cruelty and saved a child.
Scripture calls it history. I call it an international conspiracy of women.
Mothering Sunday sermon:
The International Conspiracy of Women.
Seventy-Five and Still Counting
Abram began again at seventy-five. Nicodemus came by night. New birth is not punishment for failure, but rescue from stagnation.
There is a Hum in Humanity
There is a hum in humanity — a low note that runs through our lives. From the garden of Genesis to the wilderness of Gospel of Matthew, that hum carries the strain of mistrust, hunger and longing. But in the desert, Jesus holds a truer note — and the music of the world…
The Glory that Straightens Us
A reflection for the Sunday just before Lent, when the Church’s readings gently remind us that Lent is not about self-improvement, but about staying with the glory of God. There is a great noise in the world just now.Nations in tumult. Rulers devising their plots.…
I've been thinking how gently Genesis lands and how life-giving these scriptures are, reflecting on the twisted arms of Jacob the Twister - reminding me that these are the scriptures of people used to coming second or last, oft despised, oft homeless. davidherbert.me/2026/02/04/t...
The Genesis of Gentleness and the Gentleness of Genesis
Read gently my friend. Facebook friend, Josh Askwith, has just heard the book of Genesis read straight through. What struck him was not the violence, nor the intrigue, nor the strangeness. It was something else. He posted this: “I was struck…
The Cost of a Strong Church
“The exclusion of the weak and insignificant,the seemingly useless people, from a Christian communitymay actually mean the exclusion of Christ.”Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together Bonhoeffer wrote these words during the Nazi era, at a time when entire groups of people…
The Cost of a Strong Church
“The exclusion of the weak and insignificant,the seemingly useless people, from a Christian communitymay actually mean the exclusion of Christ.”Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together Bonhoeffer wrote these words during the Nazi era, at a time when entire groups of people…
Train the Eye, Follow the Finger, See the Lamb
In a world shaped by global empires, Isaiah and John the Baptist train our eyes to see differently - to notice where God's light truly shines for all nations. This sermon for the Second Sunday of Epiphany (Year A) reflects on Isaiah 49:1-7 and John…
Going Home After Christmas – another way
Here is a sermon for Epiphany, about getting home after Christmas — about what it means to return to ordinary life once the magic of Christmas has done its work.(Readings: Isaiah 60:1–6; Matthew 2:1–12) This morning I want to take up the star of wonderand…
God on the night shift
We’ve stayed up!We’ve stayed awaketo make this night,this night above all nights, holy. And we’ve sung praise to this holy night.Perhaps for the first time tonight in this churchhave we sung congregationally the lovely carol, Cantique de Noel. Noel is a word from…
This Is How It Began – in the middle of winter
Preached on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, this sermon sits with Matthew’s telling of Jesus’ birth at midwinter — when the light is weakest and hope can feel thin. It explores how God chooses to begin again not in tidiness or certainty, but in the mess,…
Seeing "God in the social outcast, life on the margins reimagined as the centre of gravity" - the invitation of #Christmas JustineToh
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Hope Before Dawn: An Advent Imagination
Live for that day when God’s peace is all in all.Love for that day when God’s light leaves no shadows. These are the darkest days of our lives.December draws a long shadow,and we find ourselves longing for light. These days seem to go on without end. These…
#VirginMedia have given me a recovery code which expires in 2075. So, if you want to bring me back to life, that's the use-by date.
Luke’s Last Surprise: One Condemned Man Joining Another as the First in Paradise
This Sunday marks the end of the Christian year.Next Sunday we hop on the next liturgical cycle of readings - it will be Year A.Each year focuses on a particular gospel. Next year it will be Matthew’s. This year it…
Hope Has Hooves: Keeping Faith When the World Feels Mean
This sermon was preached for the Second Sunday before Advent — sometimes called Kingdom Sunday, and this year also marked as Safeguarding Sunday.It begins with the prophet Malachi’s vision of a day when “the sun of righteousness will rise…
The stolen blessing: giving the word back to the poor
In today’s world, “feeling blessed” too often means “doing well.” But when Jesus speaks of blessing, he gives the word to the poor, the hungry, the grieving, and the excluded. This sermon asks what happens when blessing is stolen by privilege —…
Today
For one day only - my poem Today Here is a play on words,a fundamental question. Is the I a number that marks a beginning,or, is that I me with rather less feeling,as in number with a silent b?Is this a play on words,or, a play on numbers with words,a play for today, November 1st?
This is where mercy takes her stand: far off, in the distance
Readings: Luke 18:9–14; Ecclesiasticus 35:12–17 The clocks have changed. The weather’s changed.And we stand now on the bridge between seasons. Today is the last Sunday after Trinity.Next Sunday is the first in the new Kingdom season…
It couldn't have been planned but the scriptures this morning at Napton were read by someone with a limp (like Jacob) and a widow who fights for justice (like the widow confronting the unjust judge). I'm glad I called this LampLight
#preachingtoday
davidherbert.me/2025/10/19/l...
LimpLight
This one's for all who wrestle in the dark and rise, blessed but limping, inspired by reading Genesis 32:22-31 and Luke 18:1-8 - the Revised Common Lectionary readings for October 19th 2025. How shall we describe the state of Israel today? The state of Israel today begins with both our…
Border Crossing: the dangerous way of grace
Our politics, like our hearts, are haunted by borders and fear. But Luke’s gospel shows Jesus walking the edge — not to keep people out, but to draw them in. Preached in a week when fragile talk of a ceasefire in Gaza flickers across the news, this…
Excellent film. Just back from seeing it. What a story.
Wisdom from Pádraig Ó Tuama for #WorldMentalHealthDay
