Sermons
Listen, watch or read sermons from Manchester Lutheran Church, and explore them through the Christian year.
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Am I right to be angry?
Am I right to be angry? You know what it feels like to be angry don’t you?—You really want to fix something.—You really want to get back at someone.—You feel that things have been made wrong, and you really want to make things right again. Because that’s what anger is. Anger is the strong feeling…
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How is Jesus actually relevant to me and the things I care about?
How is Jesus actually relevant to me and the things I care about? Church seems so pointless to so many people! We meet every week, we do some religious stuff… …and maybe it feels like it has no connection at all …to what we really care about during the week. Right at the start of…
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What kind of person do you want to be?
What kind of person do you want to be? All of us would say something like: I want to be a good person. A kind person. A nice person. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is giving a sermon about how God’s love changes us. But, if you think about yourself for just 1 minute—all of us…
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What if I’ve messed up and feel lost in life?
What if I’ve messed up and feel lost in life? Everyone fails! Everyone sometimes feels lost! In Luke Jesus has been telling people about God’s kindness. Great unless you think you’re better than other people. Exactly the kind of person Jesus meets next, 15:1: Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to…
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What’s the only way to make God angry?
What’s the only way to make God angry? When I talk to people on the street, my message is this: God is in a good mood with you! Your Father in heaven loves you! Jesus has taken away all your mistakes and shame! God’s Spirit is trying to give you assurance He cares! But, so…
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What does an honest conscience say?
What does an honest conscience say? Everyone wants to be a right and good person. It’s built in to who we are. You don’t have to scratch very deep to see that feeling kick in. Think of the immediate responses we have when we hear someone say something like: “I don’t think we see eye…
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Do I have real faith?
Do I have real faith? Being religious is not the same as having real faith.Being emotional is not the same as having real faith.Being moral is not the same as having real faith. The idea of false faith is a big theme in John’s Gospel. And immediately before our passage today, the reader has been…
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What does it mean to be spiritual?
What does it mean to be spiritual? This week I popped into the Friends meeting house in the centre just to ask whether we could use a small room on Sunday mornings. And the response I got was they would love to help, they can be very flexible about anything, and nothing we believed mattered…
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How does the Spirit speak today?
How does the Spirit speak today? You’ll often hear three claims made in churches today: The Spirit speaks through the church, through yourself, or through signs around you. Some say we hear the Spirit through the historical church, when they makes claims such as: You can only understand the Bible through the lens of the…
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If we have the Spirit—what’s the point of praying?
If we have the Spirit—what’s the point of praying? In v. 23 Jesus says “in that day”… He’s in a the night before he died. And he’s not talking about the day after this conversation, when he will die. “That day” will be after this, when he’s finished his work and sent the Spirit to…
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Why does Manchester need the Holy Spirit?
Why does Manchester need the Holy Spirit? As you look around at the church, you may understandably feel we are: irrelevant; a tiny speck; pointless. We are a miniscule organisation in a sea of nearly 3 million people who live in Greater Manchester. What could we possibly have, that those people need? We don’t have…
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How does the Spirit turn sadness into joy?
How does the Spirit turn sadness into joy? All of us struggle with sorrow and sadness. What do we do with these feelings? In today’s passage in John’s Gospel, Jesus promises in v. 20: your sorrow will turn into joy. And v. 22: your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from…