Stoneygate
Baptist Church

From now until the start of my sabbatical at the end of June, we are going to be looking at some holy habits, or spiritual practices that can help us grow in our connection to God and in our engagement with the world. These are deepening prayer, thinking scripture, practising ritual, being community, living well, serving others and speaking up.   I think these are practices that are good for all of us, but we will each respond to them differently, and some of them will resona

As the sun rose, we gathered around a fire to greet the Easter morning with prayer and bacon. And then at a more respectable time, we gathered again to paint the clay decorations we made last week, decorate the church with paper chains, sing a new round, share communion, and hear the story of Easter Sunday from The Book of Belonging. You can read our minister's reflection below. There is a strange detail in the story of Easter Sunday, as Jesus' friends don't recognise him s

Over the past two days we have journeyed to the cross, with the help of the Book of Belonging. You can find playlists for our Tenebrae and Good Friday services below, as well as the text of our Good Friday reflection. “It shows us the very worst things in human hearts, all at once.” Good Friday is an apocalypse, a revelation. The curtain is not just pulled back but torn in two, and there can be no hiding from the worst of our humanity. It is not just that an innocent man has

This morning we marked Palm Sunday cafe church style, with some help from the Book of Belonging. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the crowds shouted "hosanna", which means "save us", so we thought about what we want to be saved from and what we want to be saved for. He then went into the temple and turned over the tables that represented greed and injustice, so we asked what tables need turning over today. We also started to look ahead to Easter by making some clay d

Matthew 25:31-46 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of

Matthew 16:24-17:8 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches". He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough

Matthew 8:23-34 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and th

Since the beginning of the year, we have followed the story of Jesus from the manger to the beginning of his ministry. As we approach the beginning of Lent and the lead up to Easter, we will keep following him to the cross and beyond. This morning we heard what might be the heart of his teaching ministry, the sermon on the mount, which is found in both Matthew chapters 5 to 7 and Luke chapter 6 . I've preached on this a few times since I've been here, but as I've said before

Lent lasts from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday (which is forty days if you don't count the Sundays) and has traditionally been a period of fasting and reflection, a way of preparing to commemorate Christ's death and celebrate his resurrection. Some people choose to give something up, while others choose to take something up, the important thing is finding something that has meaning for you. This year Lent begins on Wednesday 18 February, and so we offer a collection of onl

Matthew 4:18-25 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesu

Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you ar

Matthew 3:1-6 and 13-17 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusa

Luke 2:22-40 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consola