Tagged: martyr
“I have decided to follow Jesus …”
In this Sunday’s gospel reading from Luke we hear how Jesus makes it clear that following him is a commitment from which there should be no turning back. You cannot follow Jesus just a bit – it’s all or nothing.
How far would you go to follow Jesus?
Today we will hear about two men who decided to follow Jesus, we will hear how far they were willing to go, and we will hear about the hymn that links them.
There is an old hymn that we used to sing on Church Army beach missions. The first verse goes like this – and I’m sorry to disappoint you but I’m going to say rather than sing it:
I have decided to follow Jesus,
I have decided to follow Jesus,
I have decided to follow Jesus,
no turning back, no turning back.
Anyone remember singing that? It sounds, today, a little simplistic perhaps. Yet it has a most remarkable story behind it.
Continue readingWhat I said last Sunday for our Patronal
Last Sunday we kept the feast of Saint John before the Latin Gate, which we keep as our Patronal Festival. It was only while writing this week’s sermon that I realised I had forgotten to post last week’s. Here it is, somewhat belatedly.
Most clergy are only too happy to have a church without a burial ground surrounding it. The problem is that the rules and regulations governing burial grounds are so complex. And the restrictions on what the Church of England will allow in terms of headstones, of what can be written on them, of what they may be made, and of what you may place on a grave, are very rigid. Get it wrong, and the Diocesan Registrar will come down upon you like a ton of bricks. Continue reading
View from the Valley 