Category Archives: Sermons

Jesus at the Christmas Movies

disney-characters-header-imageIt has become a popular tradition at Christ Church, Virginia Water, for the sermon at the Christmas Carol Service to feature one of the films being shown in cinemas in December. Here are some from previous years:

Jesus and Star Wars: The Force Awakens  (2015)
The Gospel According to Paddington Bear  (2014)
Frozen: A Story to Melt Your Heart  (2013)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey  (2012)
Arthur Christmas Meets Jesus  (2011)
A Lion in the Manger  (2010)
The Purpose of Christmas  (2009)
The Day the Earth Stood Still  (2008)
His Dark Materials  (2007)
Always Winter Never Christmas  (2005)
The Incredibles  (2004)
The Return of the King  (2003)

How to have a Relatively Stress Free Christmas

stress-free-vacationSomeone once said, “Christmas is a time when children tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it. Deficits are when adults tell the government what they want and their children pay for it.” Three phrases probably best sum up Christmas – ‘Peace on Earth”, “Good will to all” and “batteries not included”.

This was originally going to be about “How to have a Stress Free Christmas”. Then I realised there is no way we can experience an entirely stress free Christmas. Its impossible. Without some stress, it would be a very floppy Christmas. Stress is like cholesterol. Not all cholesterol is bad for you. There is good and bad cholesterol. We must choose more of one and less of the other. In the same way there is good stress and bad stress. What is good stress? Stress is like inner biofeedback. Its purpose is not to harm you but help you focus or concentrate, to flee or fight, for limited periods of time. Stress is to the mind what blood pressure is to the body. We all generate waste as a bi-product of living but we don’t always dispose of it properly. Without balance in life  – work, rest, play, sleep, solitude, fellowship, the waste levels pile up and take over and we lose control in destructive ways. If you think about it, stress, whether its caused by worry, anxiety, fear or anger does not exist independently of ourselves. It simply does not exist in the physical world. It is internal. That is because stress is not about what happens to us. Stress is our response to what happens to us. We therefore choose our stress levels. And the holiday season of Christmas provides a wonderful opportunity to learn to handle stress constructively.

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Jesus Mean and Wild: Challenging our Confirmation Bias

maxresdefaultBertrand Russell once said, “Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so.” A recent research study at the University of Iowa, Tippie business school, seems to confirm that. Researchers found that people are reluctant to change their minds and adapt their views, even when new information has been presented. This holds true even if they stand to lose money. The phenomenon is called “confirmation bias” and apparently operates at a subconscious level at all times. The new research confirms numerous previous studies undertaken over ten years which show people invariably stick to their original viewpoint even when new facts contradict those beliefs.  Confirmation bias is the tendency to look for evidence that confirms our existing beliefs and practices, rather than considering alternative possibilities, despite having access to new data to influence them. When faced with facts that don’t fit, we tend to ignore or change them to fit our beliefs.[1]

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Jesus, Mean and Wild: Good Warnings

SwoingA husband was distraught over his wife’s stubborn refusal to admit she had a hearing problem. He went to see their family doctor to ask for advice on how to convince his wife that she had a hearing problem. The doctor advised him to go home, open the front door and in a normal voice ask his wife what’s for dinner.  The doctor said, if she doesn’t answer, move closer to the kitchen. Repeat the question again, and if she still doesn’t answer, stand behind her and whisper in her ear, “What’s for dinner, honey?” Then, the doctor assured him, she’ll have to admit she has the problem.  So the man went home, opened the front door and asked “What’s for dinner, honey?” His wife made no reply, so he moved closer to the kitchen and asked again. “What’s for dinner, honey?” Again, nothing. So he tiptoed over to her and whispered in her ear, “What’s for dinner, honey?” She turned and looked at him straight in the eye: “For the 3rd time, I said, we’re having MEAT LOAF!”

Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” (Mark 4:9). Clearly those who cannot hear do not get it, and those who can hear, should. What did you hear when this well known parable of Jesus was read just now? I suggest the majority of us think we are like the good soil. We are sorry for others whose hearts are like the rocky, weedy or hard soil.

Lets be honest: Is that what you thought? That is because when the Scriptures are read, we invariably see ourselves in the best possible light, we tick the box and move on to the next passage. This is a very serious mistake. When Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” (Mark 4:9) he was giving a warning. That is the main point of the parable.

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The King of Kings and Queens

Do you know this lady? What’s her name?  Elizabeth. Her second name? Alexandra. Her third name? Mary. And her family name? Windsor. Hands up if you have ever seen Her on TV?  I think that’s everyone!  Hands up if you’ve written to her?

Hands up if you received a reply? Hands up if you have met Her Majesty in person? Hands up if you have ever spoken to her? Hands up if you have ever been invited to tea? Dinner? Breakfast? Hands up if you have ever been i
nvited to stay with her? Hands up if you have been on holiday with her?  Hands up if you are related to her?  No one?   Who wants to be the Queen? [Queen]

How could you become a member of the Royal Family?  By birth. By royal bloodline.  [3 Helpers]  How else?  By marriage. If you married a member of the Royal Family [2 Helpers]. Any other way? By adoption – you could be chosen to become her sonor daughter. Anyone like to be adopted into the Royal Family? [Helper] These are the three ways you could be related to Her Majesty. Based on our survey today, we all seem to know about her Majesty, but very fewqueen-elizabeth-ii-bill-cannon, if anyone, can actually say, “I know her personally”. And as far as we know, no one here is related to her. She
is a very very important person, and very difficult to contact unless she takes the initiative. Do you have her mobile number or email address?  We aren’t surprised if she doesn’t phone or invite us to tea, even though she only lives a few miles away in Windsor. We aren’t disappointed if she doesn’t invite us to join her family or share her inheritance.   Do you know Queen Elizabeth’s full title?

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Be Thou My 2020 Vision

19413208565_268425edc2_kFor the first 18 years of my life, I think the highest I ever climbed was a bridge over the railway line in my village, Oulton Broad. I do remember getting a little scared on one occasion climbing to the top of Southwold lighthouse. From the cliffs at Lowestoft I could see Great Yarmouth up the coast which is ten miles away. That was my childhood horizon, as far as I could see.

Apparently at ground level the horizon is 2.9 miles. At a hundred feet the horizon is 12.2 miles away. My passion for travel grew and I was increasingly drawn to places with mountains like a magnet. I think part of the fascination had to do with the desire to see further into the distance – to literally broaden my horizon. So in June when I did a locum for a colleague at St Andrew’s Kyrenia on Cyprus, every day I climbed a mountain just to enjoy the stunning views 30, 40 or 50 miles across the island and out to sea. For most of our lives, we are content just to see as far as the end of the road, especially if we are driving. Our vision is largely bound by necessity. But its good once in a while to look for a higher place so that we can see further. Today is such a day, as we launch our new 2020 Vision and Five Year Plan. It sets out where we want to go. Where we believe God is calling us. It’s a journey and every six months or so we will update the booklet with new insights gained along the way.

Be Thou My Vision from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.

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