Author Archives: Ian Poulton

A Sermon for Sunday, 13th July 2025

For the fainthearted . . .

“and when he saw him” Luke 10:33

The Good Samaritan is one of the best known of the parables told by Jesus. A man who is enthusiastic about his religion wants to demonstrate how pious he is, and, in Saint Luke Chapter 10 Verse 29, he asks Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’

Jesus replies to the question by telling the parable.

It is worth thinking about each of the characters in the story and to ask what they lessons they might teach.

First, there is the man who was …

A Sermon for Sunday, 6th July 2025

For the fainthearted . . .

‘Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals’. Luke 10:4

Jesus doesn’t make it easy, does he?

He warns his disciples that they are going out like lambs in the midst of wolves and then he says ‘no’ to three things that might have made it easier for them to go go on their journeys.

‘Carry no purse‘, says Jesus.

Having no money would have been a challenge, even in Jesus’ time. If one remained in one’s home area, it would have been easier; there would be family members, friends, …

A Sermon for Saint Peter’s Day, 29th June 2025

For the fainthearted . . .

“But who do you say that I am?” Matthew 16:15

We expect the actions of those in in public life to match their words, but if we’re going to apply these standards to public life, then must we not also apply them to ourselves? Does the way that we personally speak, the way we behave, the way we live our lives, match the words we say?

“But who do you say that I am?” asks Jesus

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Every …

A Sermon for Sunday, 22nd June 2025

For the fainthearted . . .

‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you’. Luke 8:39

The  word ‘mind’ appears in saint Luke Chapter 8 Verse 35, the word provides an acrostic to think about four words from the Gospel reading: M’ for ‘man’; ‘I’ for ‘I’; ‘N’ for ‘not’; and ‘D’ for ‘done’.

Saint Luke Chapter 8 Verse 27 says that as Jesus stepped out of the boat onto the land, ‘a man of the city who had demons met him’.

A ‘man‘, he is not given a …

A Sermon for Sunday, 15th June 2025

For the fainthearted . . .

” . . . endurance produces character, , and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Romans 5:4-5

Endurance doesn’t suit the spirit of the times. Instant gratification is what is wanted now.  Endurance character and hope might have been fine things in the past, but they demanded commitment and work. Enthusiasm for discipline, for commitment, for working at things is not plentiful. Instead of seeking the qualities of …

A Sermon for Sunday, 8th June 2025

For the fainthearted . . .

“In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”  Acts 2:17

Is there any reason at all for people to step inside a church? Does the church have any vision that would make the overwhelming majority who don’t attend feel that it might be a place they would want to go?

In the Bible, having a sense of …