Luke 6:17-26A. INTRODUCTION1. UsThere is a tendency to see things, and talk about things in terms of two extremes. We talk in terms of black and white; rich and poor; the able and the disabled; the haves and the have nots. And the tendency is to talk as though there...

Luke 5:1-11A. INTRODUCTIONI’m sure a lot of people know more about fishing than I do. At its simplest you bait the hook, cast the line into the water, sit back and relax with a good book—or just take the chance to dream—and wait for the fish to bite. But at its more...

Luke 4:1-15A. INTRODUCTIONWe all see things from different perspectives. We come from different backgrounds, we think differently, and we have different hopes and aspirations. Indeed, no two people see things exactly the same. Oh, yes some of our basic assumptions,...

Luke 3:21-22A. INTRODUCTION1. Pleasing PeopleOne of the most gratifying things in life is when someone acknowledges or expresses pleasure in something that you’ve done. Indeed, it can be so gratifying that some people do things just to get such a response. You see it...

Mark 13:24-37A. INTRODUCTIONOne of the facts of life is that nothing is permanent. Eventually, everything will come to an end. The clothes that we wear will wear out; the furniture we sit on will at some time need replacing. And us? Well our bodies will age, and...

Mark 13:1-11A. INTRODUCTIONIf you were told that your church was to be closed and, later, you saw a bulldozer flattening the building, so there was nothing left standing, how would you feel? If you were told that you would be faced with people who weren’t all they...

Luke 2:41-52A. INTRODUCTIONFor a child there can be nothing worse than hearing those words ‘hasn’t she grown’, ‘isn’t he tall’ or ‘hasn’t she changed’. (That’s apart from being told that they are just like their mother or father). Adults can be so embarrassing,...

Luke 2:15-20A. INTRODUCTIONWith Christmas over for another year, who is willing to admit that on Christmas Day they were so excited that they got up at some unearthly hour waiting for the dawn to come? Yes, and it’s not just the kids either. In my home, when I was a...

Luke 2:1-14A. INTRODUCTIONThe preparation for the birth of a baby should be an exciting time, particularly if it is to be the first born in the family. Apart from the feelings of expectation, regarding the birth itself, the period should be a time when there is plenty...

Luke 2:1-7A. INTRODUCTIONThe way we celebrate Christmas, today, is a long way removed from the story of the first Christmas.In the story of the first Christmas we have a couple who were going through difficult times. She was having a baby—and they weren’t married....