Text: Acts 2:42-46

Today we are looking at the Early Church and flourishing community they were. We explore what needs they had and how they were met.
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You can watch the recorded sermon here: https://youtu.be/sBvXPLfndoM?si=NMYWkY3mpWKSN62H

Text: Acts 2: 14a, 36-42
 
Imagine Peter coming home to his family on the Day of Pentecost and they ask the standard question – how was your day? He had to reply with something like “mind blowingly fantastic! It started before 9am with this wash of the Holy Spirit washing over us and through us. And then I preached my very first sermon, and it just flowed with God-given passion and eloquence. But wait, there’s more! 3,000 people responded to the message and became followers of Christ!” That’s a pretty good day in any preacher’s working life. The question I want to explore today is, why was there such a strong, numerous and immediate response to this sermon?
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Watch the recorded sermon here: https://youtu.be/U2kNk68zgIQ

Texts:
John 18:17, 25 – 27
Acts 2: 14, 22 - 24, 32 – 33
 
One of our Cashmere folk raises butterflies in his lounge! He carefully stewards swan plants and caterpillars through to the point where he is able to release monarch butterflies from his lounge window. In part this is a response to the decreasing numbers of butterflies, under threat as they are to the introduced pest wasps. But I also sense a lovely fascination with metamorphosis, the amazing transformation from humble caterpillar to majestic butterfly, from crawling along to flying free.

This process of caterpillar is a wonderful and beautiful metaphor for what happened in the early disciples and what is possible for all of us.
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Hear more about this in the recorded sermon, which can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/nODYVnZWFgc

Text: John 20
 
Christ is Risen!
He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!
 
The resurrection story in John’s Gospel addresses some huge existential issues that humankind is presently facing, but the resurrection of Jesus rings out through the ages with resounding answers to these deep angsts.
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Watch the recorded sermon here: https://youtu.be/CmyNf0X8Wgs