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Revd Ken
Forbes has been Minister at Lion Walk URC since November 2003. For some of that time the church has been
recording its services with the express purpose of sending out to those who are
housebound, or unable to attend for any reason, so that they can listen to
our services when they are unable to be present themselves. Initially that recording was to tape, but
since November 2007 we have been recording to CD. That change makes it possible to prepare
files for upload as sermon podcasts to this website – something we have
decided to trial.
It
is our intention to continue to add to this bank of church sermon podcasts
over coming months.
Your
feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Please
e-mail your comments to our minister using the link on our home page.
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We ask
that you recognise the work that preparation of worship entails and respect
that these files are the copyright of Revd Ken Forbes and those who take part
at Lion Walk URC. Please feel free to
download any of these files to listen to yourself, but please do not forward
them on . . . if you enjoy listening to them, please encourage others to
visit this website to download them for themselves.
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Sermon
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Readings
(read by members of
the congregation before the sermon)
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Download
any church sermon mp3 file from its
blue link below
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ALPHABETICAL SERMON TITLES:
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Disciples and Apostles
Passages you know so
well, but you are suddenly struck by something new? Disciples or Apostles? Student or Messenger? Learning with Jesus and now able to go
off on their own? Engaging in
ministry as ambassadors; yet learning as a church community and on our own?
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Exodus 19: 1-8a
Matthew 9: 35-10: 15
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Click
here to download: 7.2 Mb
Listening time: 18
mins
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Dreams and Visions; War and
Peace
Joel’s ‘Stir up the
warriors, let all the soldiers draw near . . . beat your plowshares in to
swords and your pruning hooks in to spears’ or Micah’s ‘He will settle
disputes among the nations, among the great powers near and far; they will
hammer their swords in to ploughs, and their spears in to pruning hooks;
nations will never again go to war, never prepare for battle again’?
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Joel 3: 9-10; 19-21
Joel 2: 23-29
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Click
here to download: 8.7 Mb
Listening time: 22
mins
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An
Inclusive Church?
The
book of Acts describes the early days of the fellowship of Christian
people. At first this proclamation
of the resurrection of the living leader among them was set firmly within
the Jewish faith. Was it hard to
accept that even the gentiles seemed to be filled with this spirit and to
be affected by the life of Jesus?
Was the Jewish faith under threat from the Gentiles? Does God love all created things,
including us and including those we reject?
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Acts 10: 44-48
John 15: 9-17
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Click here to download: 7.9 Mb
Listening time: 20
mins
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Jesus
and the Hebrew Scriptures
How do we regard the Old Testament and its relationship with
the New Testament? Considering the
spectrum of understanding . . . treating the Old Testament with respect,
with a realistic approach and as a tool to aid our understanding by
entering the world of Jesus and of those who were the writers of the New
Testament.
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Acts 24: 10-16
John 1: 43-51
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Click here to download: 6.5 Mb
Listening time: 17
mins
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Law
and Love
Obedience? In the Old Testament we feel that obeying
God keeps us in good relationship with God. That is not the only part, but
a significant part of faith. Some
wanted to carry this emphasis from Judaism.
Is love the main difference between the Old Testament and Jesus’ teaching? Universal acceptance of love is without
condition, or is there a condition to remain in God’s love? Or is love the fulfilment of the
law? Should the church dictate how
members order their lives?
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Romans 13: 8-10
John 15: 1-17
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Click here
to download: 6.7 Mb
Listening time: 17
mins
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Line
and Circle: the geometry of the Christian year
We have been celebrating the beginning of Jesus’ earthly
life – in a few weeks we will be turning our thoughts to the end of that
life; then Easter and the day of resurrection; then Pentecost and the time
of the gift of the Spirit; then no major festivals to celebrate until we
come round to Advent again – it’s all a big circle really, isn’t it? Or is it?
At New Year, should we resolve to be in a different place in our
understanding in a year’s time – part of our personal and community
pilgrimage that takes us ever onwards?
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Colossians 1: 15-20
Luke 2: 25-40
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Click here to download: 6.5 Mb
Listening time: 17
mins
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The
Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin
It seems this could be the shortest sermon in the world if
we take the meaning of these short parables at face value . . . repent and
be saved and there will be joy in heaven . . . but what made them so
compelling to those who listened to Jesus . . . and why does Luke include
them if it is that simple?
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2 Corinthians 5: 16-21
Luke 15: 1-10
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Click
here to download: 7.3 Mb
Listening time: 18
mins
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Return
of the Lost Sheep
(Apologies for the microphone quality, mainly at the
beginning of this sermon – the message is still clear enough even if some
sections are not as good as they could be.)
Do the parables of the lost sheep and of the lost coin offer
a message of completeness?
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2 Corinthians 5: 16-21
Luke 15: 1-10
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Click here to download: 7.3 Mb
Listening time: 18
mins
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Semper
Reformanda
‘Jesus is Lord’ can be accepted by all Christians everywhere
. . . but there are huge differences of belief and of values between the
different branches of the church.
What is the ‘Christian perspective’?
Should the church always be reforming?
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Exodus 13: 17-22
Matthew 5: 38-48
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Click
here to download: 7.6 Mb
Listening time: 18
mins
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Trinity
Sunday
On
Trinity Sunday we are asked to reflect on God as Trinity – as Father, Son
and Holy Spirit – three in one and one in three. How important is this to a
Christian? The central doctrine and
what defines a Christian; or just one way to try to define God? What does the Bible say of the
Trinity? Is how we experience God;
relate those experiences through the teachings of Jesus; and commit
ourselves to working through the common bond we share with other people of
faith a better to think of the Trinity?
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2 Corinthians 13: 5-14
Matthew 28: 16-20
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Click here
to download: 7.9 Mb
Listening time: 20
mins
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Martin
Luther: By Scripture Alone
Sola scriptura – by scripture alone – how does this
foundational principle fit in to the reformed tradition as we understand
it?
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John 5: 39-47
John 1: 14-23
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Click here to download: 7.4 Mb
Listening time: 18
mins
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A
Walk in the Garden with Adam and Eve
Are these myths just stories? The story of Adam and Eve is
the story of Israel. A world that is
full of potential.
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Genesis 3: 1-13
Matthew 22: 23-33
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Click here to download: 8.3 Mb
Listening time: 21
mins
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A
Walk in the Garden with Jesus
Jesus takes his friends for a walk in a garden; the story
sees Jesus being buried in a garden.
Why did Jesus walk in to an apparently obvious trap that had been
set for him?
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John 18: 1-11
John 19: 38-42
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Click here to download: 8.0 Mb
Listening time: 20
mins
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THEMES
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Communion:
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Bread of Life
Introduction to
communion. Biblical
interpretation – what is the meaning?
Bread is an essential part of life – represents life itself. How does this symbol fit in to the
context of communion?
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Exodus 16: 11-21
John 6: 25-35
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Click here
to download: 6.4 Mb
Listening time: 16
mins
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Images of Communion I: The
Great Feast
The tradition of sharing
a symbolic fellowship meal. The
invitation from God to all to participate in the Great Feast.
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Matthew 22: 1-10
Luke 9: 57- 62
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Click here to download: 6.1 Mb
Listening time: 15
mins
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Images of Communion II:
Body and Blood
Put yourself in the
shoes of those friends and disciples of Jesus gathered with him at the Last
Supper as we consider the experience of Jesus’ passion for live, for love
and for God’s Kingdom.
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Romans 5: 6-14
Luke 22: 14-27
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Click here to download: 7.7 Mb
Listening time: 20
mins
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Images of Communion III:
The Risen Lord
What are the gospel
writers saying in their stories of the Emmaus Road and by the Sea of
Tiberias? How do we understand the
gathering and sharing today?
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Luke 24: 13-35
John 21: 1-14
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Click here to download: 7.6 Mb
Listening time: 19
mins
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Lent and Easter:
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You are the Messiah
In this season of
Lent as we approach our celebration of Easter we are challenged to look at
the person of Jesus. Who was
Jesus? And who were his followers?
Do we try to make him in to what we want?
What did he ask of his followers? What is he saying to us now in
today’s world?
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Genesis 17: 1-7; 15-16
Mark 8: 31-38
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Click
here to download: 4.8 Mb
Listening time: 12
mins
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Easter Confusion
Easter Sunday, the
most important day in the Christian calendar. At this time we try, in our imaginations,
to transport ourselves to that place and that time. We mark the progress of the gospel story
through to Good Friday. On Easter
Sunday we celebrate the joy. But
that is not what the gospels say happened on that Sunday. The story is one of confusion. But what of the inspiration, empowerment
and liberation? Follow the journey
through desolation and bewilderment to amazing confidence and faith.
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Acts 10: 34-43
Luke 24: 1-12
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Click
here to download: 5.5 Mb
Listening time: 14
mins
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Easter Theme – no title
Beyond confusion and
bewilderment and the gradual understanding over the weeks and months that
lead to the proclamation that ‘Jesus is Alive!’. A reflection on the meaning and
significance of the reality of faith in the living Christ for us in the
world today. Do we recognise him in
the humdrum activities of human life?
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John 20: 1-10
John 20: 11-18
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Click here to
download: 7.1 Mb
Listening time: 18
mins
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Resurrection, New Life and
the Church
What does it all
mean for the friends of Jesus . . . and what does it mean for us? Replacing the old with the new. What does it mean that in Jesus we can
see God? What does it mean to see new life in Christ? What does it mean to
wait and hope for the Kingdom of God?
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Romans 8: 18-27
John 14: 1-14
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Click here to download: 7.3 Mb
Listening time: 19
mins
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Christian Metaphor
Journeys – of people
travelling. The image of a journey
is a good metaphor of our life as Christians – but does using such
metaphors have pitfalls as well as advantages? Can they become literal?
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Exodus 12: 33-42
Luke 9: 1-9
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Click
here to download: 7.0 Mb
Listening time: 17
mins
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An Uneasy Sermon
This sermon takes
its focus from Fred Kaan’s ‘An Uneasy Carol’ – one of many excellent hymns
published in “The Only Earth We Know” (Stainer
& Bell, http://www.stainer.co.uk/kaan.html) . . .
this carol opens “We come uneasy, God, this festive season, afraid that all
may be just as before; . . .” Do we
concentrate exclusively on the celebration of the signs and symbols? Or do
we look beyond?
(The words of the hymn can be found on the Stainer &
Bell website: http://www.stainer.co.uk/hymns/xmas2.html
[scroll to the middle of the page]
- please note the copyright notice at the bottom of the page and on the
hymns.uk.com home page)
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Philippians 1: 3-11
Luke 3: 1-6
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Click here to download: 6.5 Mb
Listening time: 16
mins
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Christmas Presents and
Christmas Presence
The story of the birth of Jesus is a story full of
gifts. Are we giving gifts that mean
anything?
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Esther 3: 12 – 4:3
Luke 2: 8-20
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Click here to download: 7.4 Mb
Listening time: 19
mins
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