Category Archives: Christianity

“Like A Thief in the Night”: Sermon Preached for St John’s Devizes Digital Worship on Sunday 15 November 2020 (the 2nd Sunday Before Advent) by Gerry Lynch

Posted on November 15, 2020 by Gerry Lynch

Instead of preaching a cheerful and optimistic sermon for lockdown, I opted for a hopeful one. They aren’t the same thing. Continue reading →

Posted in sermon, sermons | Tagged 1 thessalonians, christianity, fundamentalism, like a thief in the night, preaching on epistles, sermon | Comments Off

“Rebuild my Church”: Sermon Preached at St John’s Devizes on Sunday 4 October 2020 (the 17th Sunday After Trinity) by Gerry Lynch

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Gerry Lynch

Readings – Philippians 3:4b-14, Matthew 21:33-46 I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. May I speak in the name of God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, sermons | Tagged history, playingjazzwithgod, sermon, sermons, st francis, thepastisthepresent | Comments Off

Touched by an Angel?

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Gerry Lynch

Did angels push me and my bike into the Kennet & Avon Canal so I would do a social media detox? Does saying this imply I hit my head on the bottom when I fell in? Thoughts for Michaelmas. Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Reflection | Tagged angels, article, articles, devizes, prevenient grace | 1 Comment

“Get Thee Behind Me Satan”: Sermon Preached at St John’s Devizes on Sunday 30 August 2020 (the 12th Sunday After Trinity)

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Gerry Lynch

What links Christ calling St Peter “Satan”, the Baader Meinhof Complex, the Weather Underground, and the dangers of seeking power? Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, sermons | Tagged baader meinhof, religion, sermon, sermons, st peter, weather underground | Comments Off

“Out of Our Depth”: Sermon Preached at St John’s, Devizes on Sunday 9 August 2020 (the 9th Sunday After Trinity)

Posted on August 9, 2020 by Gerry Lynch

Readings – 1 Kings 9:9-18, Matthew 14:22-33 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, sermons | Tagged religion, sermon, sermons, st peter, the state of the world | Comments Off

Cassettes, Communion, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Online Worship isn’t the Answer to Everything

Posted on August 3, 2020 by Gerry Lynch

Young people are getting back into cassettes and compilations; whatever merits it has, online worship can’t be the future of the Church, at least not on its own. Continue reading →

Posted in Anglicanism, Christianity, COVID19, Evangelism, Prayer and Worship, Reflection | Tagged anglican, anglicanism, christian, christianity, church of england, compilations, coronavirus, cyberculture, hooked on a feeling i'm high on believing, mixtapes, online worship, prayer, reflections, religion, worship | Comments Off

Sermon Preached at St John’s Devizes on Sunday 19 July 2020, the 6th Sunday After Trinity

Posted on July 19, 2020 by Gerry Lynch

Readings – Romans 8:12–25, Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43 “…in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest.” May I speak in the name of God, who is Father, Son, … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity | Tagged coronavirus, COVID19, human nature, salvation, sermons, sunday | Comments Off

Twilight View of the Kyiv Pechersk-Lavra Monastery Complex

Posted on July 9, 2020 by Gerry Lynch

Viewed here from the Paton Bridge is the enormous and ancient Pechersk Lavra monastery complex in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. This is the crucible in which East Slavic Orthodoxy was formed and is arguably the third most important religious community … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Photography, Travel | Tagged church, churchcrawling, monasticism, orthodoxy, photography, religion, ukraine | Comments Off

Beginning Public Ministry in a Liminal Time

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Gerry Lynch

Hundreds of people who should have been ending a long road to ordained ministry this week have instead been commissioned as lay ministers via videoconference. Can this experience of liminality help us serve God by helping midwife the new life he and the world seek? Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Priesthood, Reflection | Tagged church, church of england, coronavirus, COVID19, lay ministry, liminality, ministry, reflections, religion | Comments Off

Let’s Worship Outside

Posted on May 28, 2020 by Gerry Lynch

The News Letter later asked me to turn this blog into a newspaper article which you can read here. The dreadful news that more than a hundred people were infected with coronavirus at a single, legally permitted, church service in … Continue reading →

Posted in Anglicanism, Christianity, COVID19, Journalism, Prayer and Worship | Tagged anglican, anglicanism, christian, christianity, church, church of england, coronavirus, prayer, religion, worship | Comments Off