2020 Online Sermons

Viewing a sermon is quick and easy, simply click on the date which will open another webpage and display a video.

29th March 2020 ~ The Rising of Lazarus & COVID 19  ~ A sermon on John 1.1, talking about death as horrific and inevitable, and our need to be prepared for it, and also talking about Jesus, as the Resurrection and the Life.

5th April 2020 ~ Palm Sunday, Welcoming Jesus into our homes  ~ A Palm Sunday reflection from St Mary's Norwood Green, on how, during lockdown, we can welcome Jesus into our homes and our hearts, to serve, to sort out, to set free, and to save.

12th April 2020 ~ Lockdown Easter  The Lord is Risen, Alleluia!   ~ Easter Sunday 2020: what does it mean to celebrate Jesus bursting free from death's lockdown, when we are all shut indoors.

19th April 2020 ~ Jesus & Community: sermon from Liz Wolverson ~ A Sermon for Easter 2, based on the risen Jesus appearing to his disciples 

26th April 2020 ~ Sermon from Revd Anne Bookless ~ Walking with Jesus on the road to Emmaus

3rd May 2020 ~ How to be a Church in Lockdown ~ Based on Acts 2 42-47, examining how we can learn from the early church about how to be church without our buildings.

10ths May 2020 ~ VE Day and Jesus from Liz Wolverson ~ Liz takes us back to VE day and the awfulness of war, and then the era of change and rationing that followed. She then looks at the stoning of Stephen, and how, like him, we can turn to put our faith in Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, whatever situation we are facing.

17th May 2020 ~ God has left the building!  ~ Sermon Based on Paul's speech in Athens (Acts 17:22-31) where he talks about the 'Unknown God' that was worshipped, and Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit to his disciples (John 14: 15-21), Dave Bookless explains how God doesn't live in buildings, so lockdown is no barrier to the church. God may be unseen, but He's not unknown - he's revealed in creation and in each of our lives. Jesus may have died, but He's now alive, and that changes everything and demands a response. Finally, although we may be physically alone and separated during this time, we are not alone because the gift of the Holy Spirit brings us God's presence and power 24/7.

24th May 2020 ~ Glory!  What is it and how is it found? ~ The Bible use the term ‘glory’ over 400 times, yet do we really understand it?  What is the glory of God?  Is it all about heaven and eternity, or can we know and experience Gods’ glory here and now?

31st May 2020 ~ Pentecostal Questions ~  When was Pentecost? When did it happen (and what does that say to a world in lockdown)?  Who did the Spirit come upon?  What happened?  Why? And finally, so what?  What does this have to do with us, here and now in 2020?

7th June 2020 ~ Trinity Sunday from Liz Wolverson ~ What has a halibut swimming in a ocean got to do with Trinity?  Watch and learn!

14th June 2020 ~ Black Lives Matter    ~ This sermon focuses on a biblical perspective on racism and Black Lives Matter.  Sunday 14th June 2020 market the 3rd anniversary of the Grenfell Tower disaster.  It's not an easy listen, with personal story and a challenge for all of us to listen. learn, lament. challenge, change and celebrate diversity.

21st June 2020 ~ Putting Jesus First from Revd Anne Bookless ~ Anne preaches on 'Putting Jesus First' from Matthew 10 28:39.

28th June 2020 ~ Mission includes God and that includes you! - Erica Wilding  ~ Erica  gives her final sermon at St Mary's before starting her role as a Curate in Uxbridge.  In sharing her own stories , from being baptised as a baby at St Mary's to growing in confidence and experience leading her to call to Ordination, she shares how her Mission starts with God.

6th July 2020 ~ Five Marks of Mission: Creation Care  ~ This is a first in a series of talks on The Five Marks of Mission (http://www.anglicancommunion.org/mission/marks-of-mission.aspx).  Often creation is left until last, and seen by some as an option extra.  However, this talk argues it is actually foundational to all Mission, because God's mission in the world begins with creation, an overflow of the love within the Trinity, and God's mission reaches its completion and climax with the renewal of creation.  Our mission, as the Church, is to participate in God's care for this precious world that exists to bring God glory

12th July 2020 ~ Five Marks of Mission:  Justice (with Kuki Rokham) ~ In a world of massive injustice, with the growing gap between the richest few and the billions of poor, God speaks powerfully through the prophets Amos and Micah.  Justice is key to God's character, and should be embedded in our hearts, attitudes and practices too.

19th July 2020 ~ Five Marks of Mission:  Discipleship from Revd Anne Bookless ~ We are called to become disciples of Jesus - which means life-long learning.  Anne explains this in terms of wearing 'L' plates and:                                                LIFE - living close to Jesus  ~ LEARNING - being a community ~ LET'S DO IT - go and make disciples

26th July 2020 ~ Five Marks of Mission:  Compassion (with Idina Dunmore)  ~ A sermon from the Reverent  Idina Dunmore who is Curate at St John's Southall and previously founded the Servants community in Southall.  Her passion is to serve Jesus by serving the vulnerable, oppressed and poor.  She reflects on Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus' parable of the Sheep and Goats.

2nd August 2020 ~ Five Marks of Mission:  Evangelism from Dave Bookless ~ Evangelism often has a bad press...not surprising given some of the awful experiences of it that people have suffered.  Dave begins by demolishing some myths about evangelism, before explaining how it's all about sharing Good News in a natural way. in actions and words.  He then uses the Parable of the Sower to explain how we should share the Good New of Jesus.

9th August 2020 from Liz Wolverson  ~ Jesus comes and holds out his hand to us through the squalls and storms of life just as he did for the disciples caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee.

16th August 2020 from Liz Wolverson ~ Yesterday the nation celebrated VJ day and the end of the Second World War. One of the survivors of the war in the Far East said this, ‘Those men and women who gave up their lives did so that good could triumph over evil.’ The sermon today is also about good triumphing over evil but this time it is in the 21st century; in our time, in the midst of a pandemic.

23rd August 2020 from Liz Wolverson ~ Karl Barth called ‘Christian ethics the great disturbance’. In a time when our lives are disturbed and everything has changed we need faith and prayer more than ever and to remember that Karl Barth also said, ‘ To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world’.

30th August 2020 from Dave Bookless ~ Take up your cross   ~ Jesus says "whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me".  These are clear and uncomfortable words.  We often want a easy faith, a cheap gospel, but to be a Christian - a disciple of Jesus - means taking up our cross.  Is this talk we hear about the call to take up the cross, the challenge of the cross, and the comfort of the cross.

6th September 2020 from Liz Wolverson ~ This week’s sermon was part of our patronal festival celebrating St Mary, Mother of Jesus, who was both an ordinary and an extraordinary woman. Mary accepted with grace all that would happen to her and is a model of loving obedience to God.

20th September 2020 from Dave Bookless ~ Jesus’ story of the workers in the vineyard seems unfair.  Why do those who’ve worked hardest not get a bigger reward?  Why are latecomers rewarded equally?  Here we look at the upside-down values of God Kingdom, and why it’s all about Grace – God’s unmerited gift freely available to all.  Jesus also challenges us to include and value those who are left until last and ignored by society.  

27th September 2020 from Dave Bookless ~ What is a Priest?  from Dave Bookless. Celebrating the ordination of Anne Bookless as Priest, and Erica Wilding as Deacon, Dave looks at what we mean by terms like ‘deacon’, ‘priest’, ‘lay’ and ‘ordained’.  What does the Bible have to say about the calling (vocation) of all Christians to be a ‘kingdom of priests’, and what does Jesus show us about the heart of ministry?

1st November 2020 from Liz Wolverson ~ What has knitting got to do with All Saints? All will be explained as you watch this sermon!

8th November 2020 from Dave Bookless ~ For Remembrance Sunday 2020, We remember those who’ve died in wars, from COVID and others who we miss.  We also remember those who are alive - to love our neighbours as ourselves.  Finally, we remember God’s power, promises and presence….that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  

15th November 2020 from Anne Bookless ~ Preaching on 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. How to live well in a time of uncertainty, encouraging us to be awake, be alight and be alive in Christ.

22nd November 2020 from Liz Wolverson ~ Liz Reflects on the final Sunday before Advent as we approach this Christmas like no other. What does it mean to think about judgment and death, heaven and hell and what does it mean for Jesus to be King?

29th November 2020 from Dave Bookless  ~ Talking about Advent as “time travel”. We go back to the past – to Jesus’ first coming in history. We travel to the future. To his final coming. Clouded in mystery. And we invite him into our present. To be part of “my story”

6th December 2020 from Liz Wolverston ~ Liz meditates on times of waiting ... both with excited anticipation and with a desperate longing for freedom. As we wait for God in Jesus during Advent, can we also learn to wait upon Jesus during this special season?

13th December 2020 from Dave Bookless ~ Hope in the wilderness. Isaiah 61 contains a radical and practical vision of God's future of justice and freedom. Jesus took it as his manifesto for his ministry. We hear how we can Lament about all that's wrong now, Long for God's Kingdom to come, and Love in the name of Jesus in very practical ways.

20th December 2020 from Dave Bookless ~ When the Angel told Mary she was 'most highly favoured' by God, her life was in a mess ... in poverty, unmarried yet pregnant, oppressed by the Romans. God was to perform a miracle in her mess, one that would change her life and change the world. God can perform a miracle in our mess too, whatever situation we find ourselves in.