KNEC Sermons Podcast

Alistair and Elizabeth share from Joel 2:23-32 and Acts 1:14; 2:1-8, 14-18 and speak about The Hub Community Listening Project on Pentecost Sunday 2023.

Alistair shares from Proverbs 7:6-23 and Luke 18:1-8

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"Rachel, mourn no longer

I, mother Yahweh

large in loss,

assuage your tears

even as you

Comfort Me.

That son, the prodigal -

My heart stirs, I must

like Rachel

run headlong,

make of him - 

(recusant,

slow returning,

against all chance

renewed)

firstborn of My love."

(Daniel Berrigan - translation of Jeremiah 31:15-20)

Alistair says something about compassion from the Scriptures on Compassion Sunday 2023

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Alistair shares from Esther 7:1-10; 9:20-22 and Luke 13:10-17

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God moves in a mysterious way


His wonders to perform;


He plants his footsteps in the sea


And rides upon the storm

Deep in unfathomable mines


Of never failing skill


He treasures up his bright designs


And works his sov’reign will.

(William Cowper)

Alistair shares from Esther 5:1-18 and Luke 7:11-17

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Alistair shares from Esther 1:10-22 and Matthew 28:1-10

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“So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”

(Acts 2:36 NLT)

Alistair reflects on Song of Songs 1:1-8 and Mark 16:1-8

Alistair shares from Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 and Matthew 27:11-23

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“Admitting our powerlessness frees us to allow the One who is Power to become active in our lives. We become more open to new ways of doing things as we allow God to love us and teach us how to give and receive love. We also begin to accept people and situations as they are.

Catherine Chapman, Step Spirit: The 12 Steps as a Spiritual Program

Alistair reflects on Proverbs 1:20-33 and Luke 8:1-15

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Alistair shares from Job 28:1-20 and John 11:17-35

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Alistair shares from Judges 16:6-21 and John 4:7-15

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Alistair shares from John 8:1-11

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The Line In The Sand

They were ready to stone me.

Why would he want to save me— even if he could?

They had the law on their side.

Why would he break it— even if he dared?

They put to him an impossible question— any answer would catch him out.

Why would he outwit them, even if he knew how?

They used me to bring him down but he brought himself down.

Without a word,
without an answer,
without an escape,
down he stooped on his knees in the dirt, stretching out a hand,

trailing a finger through the dusty sand.

His head bowed,
his back bent,
his arm moving slowly, making lines...

They keep on badgering him, goading him into tripping himself up.

But without a stumble, he stood straight and made clear his line in the sand.

“Stone her then, whoever is without sin.”

Bending down once more, trailing fingers,
eyes lowered,
arm outstretched.

Silence.

Slowly, shuffling footsteps.

Accusers departing.

No-one left to condemn me.

“Go well now,” he said to me, “Be without sin.”

What a way to save a life.

Alistair reflects on Psalm 17:1-9 and Mark 12:38-44 on the First Sunday of Lent - www.knec4jesus.org,uk

Alistair shares from Hosea 11:1-11 and Mark 5:25-34

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"You don’t need a lot of faith or be very religious in order to show faith. I often meet people who say they are not very religious but that doesn’t mean they can’t show faith. Sometimes they just need to see something attractive."

Alistair shares from Ezekiel 16:1-22 and Mark 7:24-37

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In this kingdom, women and men, girls and boys are all treated with the same love and compassion, the outsider finds a place to call home, the deaf learn to hear words of life and the speechless learn to speak in the language of grace. Everyone feeds from the same Bread. And there’s more than enough to go around.

Alistair shares from Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 and Matthew 12:33-37, 46-50

46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Alistair shares from Matthew 4:12-23 on why the ministry of Jesus began where it did and what it means for us today.

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“The church will need to be turned inside out in order to bring those outside in. It will not suffice simply to invite the seeker to come to us to hear the gospel on our own turf. Instead, the church will have to be the church in the world – gathering for worship in order to go out in mission. Its programmes must be geared to equip and support the people of God in the strategic locations where the Lord has already placed them to serve as his representatives.”

(Extracted from Church Next by Eddie Gibbs and Ian Coffey)

Alistair shares from Isaiah 60:1-6 and Luke 2:41-52

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“God is calling every one and every thing, not just a few chosen ones, to God’s self (Genesis 8:15–17; Ephesians 1:9–10; Colossians 1:15–20). To get every one and every thing there, God first needs models and images who are willing to be “conformed to the body of his death” and transformed into the body of his resurrection (Philippians 3:10). These are the “new creation” (Galatians 6:15), and their transformed state is still seeping into history and ever so slowly transforming it into “life and life more abundantly” (John 10:10).”

(Richard Rohr)

Alistair shares from Luke 2:22-38

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36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that moment she came and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Alistair reflects on Matthew 1:18-25 as part of the nativity service on the Fourth Sunday of Advent 2022.

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Alistair shares from Ruth 3:1-18; 4:13-17 and Matthew 11:2-11 on the Third Sunday of Advent

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Alistair reflects on Genesis 38:13-19, 24-27 and Luke 1:26-38 on the First Sunday of Advent

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Alistair reflects on Jeremiah 23:1-6 and Luke 1:68-79 on the Reign of Christ Sunday.

“Jesus did not establish an institution, though institutions can serve his cause. He did not organise a political party, though his teachings have a profound impact on politics. Jesus did not even found a religion. No, Jesus began a movement, fuelled by his Spirit, a movement whose purpose was and is to change the face of the earth from the nightmare it often is into the dream that God intends. . . . there really is a movement of God in the world” (Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church).

Alistair shares from 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 and Luke 18:9-14

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Rael reads from Luke 18:1-8 and Alistair shares some thoughts on this and 2 Timothy 3:14 - 4:5

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Alistair shares from 2 Timothy 2:8-15 and Luke 17:11-19

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11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’

14 When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed.

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?’ 19 Then he said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’ (Luke 17).

“This is what I want; this is what I desire with all my heart.” He renounced his patrimony, gave away all his possessions, and began the life of an itinerant preacher who dwelled among the lepers. Others followed, and the Franciscan way of life began (Murray Bodo, St. Francis of Assisi: The Practical Mystic)

Alistair shares from Luke 17:5-10 and 2 Timothy 1:1-14

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Alistair shares from 1 Timothy 6:6-19 and Luke 16:19-31.

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“When you love people, you see all the good in them, all the Christ in them. God sees Christ, His Son, in us and loves us. And so we should see Christ in others, and nothing else, and love them. There can never be enough of it. There can never be enough thinking about it. St. John of the Cross said that where there was no love, put love and you would take out love”.

(Dorothy Day, On Pilgrimage (New York: Catholic Worker Books, 1948)

Alistair shares for Luke 16:1-13 and 1 Timothy 2:1-7

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How can we use worldly wealth to make friends? Can we see our everyday encounters with people as opportunities to build friendship? How can we be generous with the riches of faith that our generous master has given us?

Alistair shares from Luke 15:1-10 as part of KNEC Church Live Stream.

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“don’t wait until you feel as though you have met the conditions of being holy. Trust that Jesus knows what he is doing. You are already holy. Don't try and be it. Know that you already are it. And then, for the love of God, take that seriously. The world needs it. You need it.”  (Nadia Bolz-Weber)

Alistair shares from Luke 14:25-33

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Search us, O God, and know our hearts;

test us and know our anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in us,

and lead us together in the way everlasting.

In Jesus name.

Alistair shares from Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 and Luke 14:1,7-14

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“The Spirit leads us downward. To the bottom, to the place of humility, to the position and posture of service . . . that’s where the Spirit, like water, flows. . . ."

Brian D. McLaren, We Make the Road by Walking: A Year-Long Quest for Spiritual Formation, Reorientation, and Activation (New York: Jericho Books, 2014).

Alistair and Havy share from Hebrews 12:18-29 and Luke 13:10-17 - a new take on an old way - Jesus bringing fresh fulfilling revelation to the concept of Shabbat - setting free, healing, doing good, resting.

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Alistair shares from Luke 12:49-56.

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“The pitfall of the religion of perfection is self-righteousness, that cancer of the soul that requires more of others than it demands of itself and so erodes its own fibre even more. It is an inner blindness that counts the sins of others but has no eye for itself. . . .

(On the other hand) Real contemplatives receive the other with the open arms of God because they have come to know that for all their emptiness God has received them.”

Joan Chittister, Illuminated Life: Monastic Wisdom for Seekers of Light (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2000)

Alistair shares from Luke 12 as part of KNEC Church Online

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Alistair shares from Luke 11:1-13

There is no scarcity.

There is no shortage.

No lack of love,
of compassion, of joy in the world.

There is enough.  
There is more than enough.

Only fear and greed make us think otherwise.

No one need starve.

There is enough land and enough food.  
No one need die of thirst.

There is enough water. No one  
need live without mercy.

There is no end to grace.

And we are all instruments of grace.

The more we give it, the more we share it, the more we use it,

the more God makes.

There is no scarcity of love.

There is plenty.

And always more.

(Rachel E. Harding)

Alistair shares from Luke 10:38-42

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“Sometimes what we need most is to remind one another of how the divine is all around us, calling us to see and taste it for ourselves.”

(Becca Stevens, Practically Divine, 2021).

Alistair shares from Luke 9:57-62 as part of KNEC Church.

Alistair shares from Galatians 3:23-29 and Luke 8:26-39 as part of the KNEC worship gathering on 19 June 2022.

The Acorn 5 step process developed by Michael Harvey"

Ask – ‘Lord, is there anyone beyond the church You want me to connect with today?’
When God Calls and reveals a person for us to get alongside,
we simply Obey and follow through by contacting them in any way appropriate.
We then just ask the person “How are you?” God is already there, with the other. Our job is to find out what God is doing and join God in that conversation. God then reveals deeper hurts, desires and opening for the Gospel.
Christians then frequently gather to disciple and encourage each other by;
Reporting what God has been doing in and through them, and by
Noticing together what God is up to and doing in the other person.
Christians are then encouraged to mentor other Christian friends in this way of life.

Alistair shares from Acts 16:16-34 and John 17:20-26 as part of KNEC Church 29/5/22.

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Welcome, welcome, welcome.

I welcome everything that comes to me today

because I know it’s for my healing.

I welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions, persons,

situations, and conditions.

I let go of my desire for power and control.

I let go of my desire for affection, esteem, approval, and pleasure.

I let go of my desire for survival and security.

I let go of my desire to change any situation,

condition, person, or myself.

I open to the love and presence of God

and God’s action within.

Amen.

Thomas Keating (1923–2018)

Alistair shares some thoughts from Acts 11:1-18 and John 13:31-35 recorded at the worship service on 15 May 2022.

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G.K Chesterton once wrote that "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting.  It has been found difficult and left untried."

Alistair shares from John 21:19-31 on the 3rd Sunday of Easter 2022.

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“Peter’s shame meets Jesus’s grace, and Jesus’s grace wins.  That’s the Gospel story in a nutshell” - Debbie Thomas

Alistair shares from John 20:19-31 and Acts 5:27-32 on the Second Sunday of Easter 2022 as part of KNEC Church Online.

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Quotations used:

1) Desmond Tutu wrote this, “Dear Child of God, it is often difficult for us to recognise the presence of God in our lives and in our world. In the clamour of the tragedy that fills the headlines we forget about the majesty that is present all around us. We feel vulnerable and often helpless. . . . But we are not helpless and with God’s love we are ultimately invincible. Our God does not forget those who are suffering and oppressed”.

2) Richard Rohr puts it like this, ”We’re finally indestructible when we recognise that the thing which could destroy us is the very thing that could enlighten us….God’s one and only job description is to turn death into life”.

3) Brian McLaren writes that, “Resurrection has begun. We are part of something rare, something precious, something utterly revolutionary. It feels like an uprising. An uprising of hope, not hate. An uprising armed with love, not weapons. An uprising that shouts a joyful promise of life and peace, not angry threats of hostility and death. It’s an uprising of outstretched hands, not clenched fists. It’s the “someday” we have always dreamed of, emerging in the present, rising up among us and within us. It’s so different from what we expected—so much better. This is what it means to be alive, truly alive. This is what it means to be en route, walking the road to a new and better day. Let’s tell the others: the Lord is risen!” [Brian D. McLaren, We Make the Road by Walking (New York: Jericho Books, 2014)]

Alistair reflects on Luke 19 on Palm Sunday 2022

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Alistair shares from John 12:1-8 as part of KNEC Church Online.

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Alistair shares from Luke 13:1-9 as part of KNEC Church Online

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On my kitchen window
sits an orchid plant.
Its flowers have long dropped.
It is not the prettiest of things
without its magnificent yet delicate flowers.

What do I do with it now?
It looks like a twig in a pot
with a few leaves hinting at life.

Ach, it really is an ugly thing.

Who wants to look at that?

And yet with so little effort on my part, a little water now and again,
(and I mean now and again)
I start to see some buds appear.

A bit more time then.

And my is it worth the wait!
Those flowerheads are triumphant!
What if I had just given up?
What if that twig had landed in the compost bin?

What if, at my lowest moment, people gave up on me?

(Spill the Beans, 42)

Alistair shares from Luke 13:31-35 on the Second Sunday of Lent 2022 as part of KNEC Church Online.

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Alistair shares from Luke 4:1-13 on the First Sunday of Lent 2022 as part of KNEC Church Online.

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With thanks to Debie Thomas and Journey with Jesus.

Alistair shares from 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 and Luke 9:28-36.

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Alistair shares more from Luke 6:27-38 as part of KNEC Church Online

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Forgive and you will be forgiven. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Love your enemies.

- Jesus of Nazareth