Andrew's Sermons

May I speak in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Just imagine being there.  Back then, when it happened.  Imagine being a disciple, one of those in the locked room. Being a follower of Christ then certainly wasn’t easy or simple, it had been wonderful, now it was dangerous, frightening. Even today, it can be dangerous in some places for people to be openly Christian.  The Apostles had experienced three years of life changing events. They had heard stories, learnt new ways of understanding God, seen remarkable miracles and watched Jesus change in completely unexpected ways. Only three days ago, they had experienced one of the most traumatic days of their lives. Their friend had been betrayed, he was arrested, he had faced a biased trial, he was found guilty by a mob, and then he was humiliated and beaten. Jesus, the man who had called each one of them by name, was tortured and crucified. He died and was buried. It was ...

May I speak in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Firstly, a confession, a few years ago, I had a mountain top moment. Before anyone gets concerned though, if it had been anything like what happened in our Gospel reading, I’d probably be like Peter, building a shelter instead of listening and taking in the experience. So, I’m not saying I had a personal encounter with God on that day in the same way as the apostles, but the experience has stayed with me and I’d like to share it with you. About ten years ago, I joined a mountaineering club in Scotland and met up with them a couple of times a year to try and climb some hills over 3000 feet, munro’s.  On this occasion, it was a dark, snowy March weekend in the highlands. The first day had been too windy to walk on the tops, so we trudged to see a waterfall and then forced ourselves to find a pub to dry off in. Gairich from across Lock Quoich The next day was drier and I was in...