Sermons

Michaelmas Sermon

High above the Tiber River in Rome stands the ancient Castel Sant'Angelo, crowned by a magnificent bronze statue of St. Michael the Archangel. This fortress bears its holy name because of a miraculous vision. When there was a devastating plague ravaging Rome in the sixth century, Pope Gregory… Read more

Sermon by Bob Cooper on Sunday 28th September 2025

Discipleship

Prayer: May I speak in the name of God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Amen.   I wonder if any of you has been an apprentice? The nearest I have ever been is when I learnt to play musical instruments. Lessons were always one-to-one with a teacher, and the best teachers were thos… Read more

Sermon by Rachel Young on Sunday 7th September 2025

The Holy Spirit | 31 August 2025

Prayer: May I speak in the name of God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Amen. In the first three chapters of the Gospel of John, we hear a lot about the early ministry of Jesus and John the Baptist. Luke also wrote about their early lives: they were related – we’re told that… Read more

Sermon by Rachel Young on Sunday 31st August 2025

Status vs Servanthood

Prayer: May I speak in the name of God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Amen. Today we are celebrating the feast day of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle and Evangelist. Bartholomew was one of Jesus’ first disciples, mentioned in four lists of disciples in the New Testament. Not much is know… Read more

Sermon by Rachel Young on Sunday 24th August 2025

Sermon for VJ Day 80th Anniversary

In the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen Mrs. Elizabeth Hartwell worked at the old Guildford telephone exchange on North Street, and on the morning of August 15th, 1945, she was among the first in our town to hear those crackling words coming through the telephone l… Read more

Sermon by Bob Cooper on Sunday 17th August 2025

Baptism of Jacob

This morning  we will be baptising Jacob [the youngest member of our Sunday congregations].  Felicity [his mum] has been worshipping with us for some time and is known to many of us, and we [will] rejoice with her as water is poured onto Jacob’s young forehead. Like most people,… Read more

Sermon by Chris Hollingshurst on Sunday 17th August 2025

Faith, courage, patience and readiness

Extempore prayer It barely seems possible that football’s Premier League season begins again on Friday. Quite apart from the fact that the cricket season still has weeks to run, I’m really not ready to leave the summer behind yet.   But it’s happening, and as an Arsena… Read more

Sermon by Chris Hollingshurst on Sunday 10th August 2025

The Collect

As I speak you will find it helpful to have in front of you the words of today’s Collect, which you can find on page 12 of the service booklet. I want to structure my thoughts around it to reflect together during the next few minutes… Like all Collects, today’s Collect begins… Read more

Sermon by Chris Hollingshurst on Sunday 3rd August 2025

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

HOMILY "Lord, Teach Us to Pray" – Luke 11:1 There seems to be a variety of cooking shows on our TV screens and with it a plethora of well-known celebrity chefs. We are fascinated with how these professionals can transform ordinary ingredients into extraordinary yummy meals. W… Read more

Sermon by Paul Thompson on Sunday 27th July 2025

Trinity 5 | 20 July 2025

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to truly see each other - not just glance at one another as we pass by, but really see the person standing before us. Our readings this evening invite us into that ki… Read more

Sermon by Bob Cooper on Sunday 20th July 2025

Good Samaritan

Extempore prayer It may be that, for many here – not all, but many - the greatest difficulty we have with this morning’s gospel is over-familiarity. Jeus is asked ‘who is my neighbour?’ and responds with a parable – a story with a point. A man is left battered a… Read more

Sermon by Chris Hollingshurst on Sunday 13th July 2025

Luke 10 | Third after Trinity

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I have always worked on the maxim that if I am never in fashion, then I cannot be out of fashion and consequently have seldom succumbed to the zeitgeist of passing fads. And so, forty years after the its publication, and six… Read more

Sermon by Bob Cooper on Sunday 6th July 2025