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PARISH CHURCHES OF THE DYFFRYN CLWYD DEANERY


St Peter - Llanbedr


St Garmon - Llanarmon


St Cynhafal - Llangynhafal


St. Cynfarch & St. Mary - Llanfair


St. Michael - Efenechtyd


St. Elidan - Llanelidan


St. Mwrog & St Mary - Llanfwrog


St. Mary - Cyffylliog


St. Foddyd - Clocaenog


St Saeran - Llanynys


Rhewl Church - Llanynys


St. Peter - Ruthin


St Meugan - Llanrhydd

 

 

 

Sermons

This page has been designed to allow all visitors to this site access to the sermons that are regularly given at our churches within the Dyffryn Clwyd Deanery. We hope that you can find the time to read our sermons which bring comfort, solace and guidance to so many of our parishioners. To access the sermons, please click on the highlighted subject heading. If you have any questions relating to these sermons, please contact the parish priest from the link at the top of each sermon page.

 

DATE CHURCH SUBJECT PREACHER BIBLE REF.
JUNE  TO SEPTEMBER 2009
25.10.09 Llanfair Church Bible Sunday 

The Word of God is, after all, a metaphor for that intuitive comprehension of the incomprehensible. Like other biblical metaphors for God, such as wind, spirit, fire and water, bread and wine, the Word (or the voice) is something fundamental to human life – elemental. That which is closest to us, that which is most basic turns out to be the perfect “vehicle” for God.

Rev.Richard Carter Mark 8.27-29
18.10.09 Llanbedr Church Ministry of Healing         The Healing ministry of the church is an integral part of what we are and do as Christians and as such it should be used and not hidden away because we are a bit unsure about it, a bit fearful about it and not quite sure if we understand it. It is only through using it that we can grow in confidence and understanding. Rev.H.Butler Luke 10
27.09.09 Llanbedr Church Back to Church Sunday Jesus’ reputation as a friend to all had obviously reached Zacchaeus and on hearing that Jesus was in the neighbourhood he wanted to see and hear him.  He was short in stature, the crowd was large and he could not see Jesus.  So, he disregards his reputation and finds a sycamore-fig tree, rather like our oak tree, and climbs for a better view. Rev.H.Butler Luke 19.1-10
20.09.09 Llanfair Church Publicity                        When you apply for a job you are asked to provide a statement as to why you deserve the job more than any other applicant does. In other words, why you are the greatest. You have to beef up your CV and then present yourself at the interview bursting with confidence and showing a killer instinct that will see off all your competitors. Rev.Canon Dr.R.Bayley Mark 9.30
13.09.09 Llanfair Church Who is Jesus?                

Thinking about Jesus the suffering messiah. Maybe he is trying to show us something, to teach us something. And just maybe, he is trying to show us and teach us what God is actually like? May this really is how God works? Not like someone who would use power to remove us from our situations. Not a salvation which removes us from our difficulties, not a power which removes our pains.

Rev.Richard Carter Mark 8.27-29
06.09.09 Rhewl Church Listening Skills              

 Does the Church of our own day see itself as the “in crowd” ?   It can be very easy to do so.   Sadly we are often preoccupied with our own survival.   This is understandable when we need constantly to keep an eye on our bank balance,  But survival for what?    For ourselves?  For others?    The story in today’s gospel apprears to suggest that we are here for the sake of others as well as ourselves.  

Rev.Richard Carter Mark 7.24-38
30.08.09 St.Peter's, Ruthin Life's Values                 First of all James is anxious for us to appreciate where these values come from. They may have a variety of secondary sources. They may come from our parents, our teachers, what we have read, people we have known. But their primary source is from God. He writes, Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change Rev.Canon Dr.R.Bayley James 1.25
23.08.09 Llangynhafal Church Taking Offence   Simon Peter says. “You have the words of eternal life. We now believe. We now understand that you are the Holy One of God."   Of course, they still didn't really, fully understand, as became obvious in later events, but they did believe. They were prepared to do the work necessary to begin to understand, and meanwhile they trusted in Jesus.  This is not a bad lesson for any of us when we are in any kind of doubt, whether in our everyday lives, our relationships with others, or indeed in our lives of faith.  Alyson Gouldstein John 6.60-69
12.07.09 Llanbedr Church The Prophecy of Amos:  Sometimes there are no easy answers to the problems we make for ourselves which means that we live uncomfortably and we have to struggle to love one another and prayerfully discern where the Spirit is leading us. But isn’t this what the Church is all about?  Rev.H.Butler Amos 7:8
14.06.09 Llanbedr Church Kingdom of God: Do you have any secrets? If you find out there is a secret the first thing you want to do is get in on it. If you sense someone is not telling you something you automatically want to know what it is, don’t you? Rev. R. Carter Mark 4:30
07.06.09 St.Peter's. Ruthin Born from Above: We always think about Nicodemus on Trinity Sunday, partly because he is like us. He wants to understand his faith better. He wants to be closer to God. He is conscious of the limitations of his understanding. That is why he asks Jesus a whole series of questions. Rev. Canon Dr. R. Bayley John 3.3
MAY 2009
31.05.09 Cyffylliog Church Spirit of Unity: The Church has no barriers of race, culture and language.  The good news of Jesus is told to people of all races, languages and cultures, and it is told in languages they understand.  Rev.J.B.Davies Acts 2. 1-21
24.05.09 Llanbedr Church The Ascension  As we celebrate the Eucharist and share in the communion meal we remember that we do so in the presence of our Great High Priest who sends us out from this place to be his eyes and his hands to look with compassion upon the world and to work according to the values of God’s Kingdom. Rev.H.Butler Luke 24. 50-53
17.05.09 Llanfair Church Economic Crisis   The Church’s wisdom seems more attractive to people today than ever before…The world is changing, and the Church is fast emerging as the most credible source of alternative political and economic ideas.            . Rev.R.Carter Isaiah 55.2
10.05.09 St.Peter's. Ruthin Pruning The Church is continually being made new, adapted to suit the changing times. A study of the history of the Church will show that this has always been the case. Sometimes we are alarmed at this, and we think that the Church is going to be pruned out of existence altogether. But God is not one of those over-enthusiastic gardeners who prune back so severely that the plant dies. He knows just how far to prune to stimulate the Church so that it can grow on and bear more fruit in the world.   Rev.Canon Dr.R.Bayley John 15.2
03.05.09 Llanfwrog Church The Good Shepherd As we gather for the Eucharist today, we come as the guests of Jesus.  He has prepared the supper.  He treats us like kings, whereas he is the true great King.   As we have accepted his invitation today,  let us give him thanks that he is our shepherd, our guide through life and our host at this party which is the Eucharist. Rev.J.B.Davies Psalm 23
APRIL 2009
26.04.09 Llanfwrog Church Understanding the Scriptures Luke tells us that Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures. This applies not just to the first disciples but also to us.  We believe the scriptures to have been written by people who were specially inspired by the Holy Spirit.  In the same when we read the scriptures now, we shall discover more meaning and understanding if we read them with open minds and hearts and allow Jesus to explain them to us.  Rev.J.B.Davies Luke 24.36-48
19.04.09 St.Peter's. Ruthin The Red Sea and Easter Our solemn dirges of Lent and Passiontide have  been transformed into the joyful alleluias of Easter. These are not simply events in the past. We live them again each year as we pass from the sadness of Good Friday into the brightness and newness of the Easter season.   Rev.Canon Dr.R.Bayley Exodus 14.20
05.04.09 Llanfair Church Palm Sunday: Why was Jesus convicted and executed as a criminal?That is a rhetorical question. I don’t expect you to answer it now; because it is one of the ancient questions of Christian history. Scholars have deliberated over that question, and still do. Historians and theologians have written books about it. Rev.R.Carter Mark 15.9
MARCH 2009
29.03.09 St.Peter's. Ruthin A New Covenant: When Jesus sat down to supper on the night before he died, twelve ate with him, and one of those left during supper to betray him, leaving just 11. By the time he was crucified he had only five followers, the apostle John, Mary the mother of Jesus,  Mary Magdalene. and two other women. Yet these remained faithful to the end. Rev.Canon Dr.R.Bayley Jeremiah 31.31
22.03.09 Llanfwrog Church Eternal Life: What is this “eternal life” that Jesus promises us? It is not about something we earn.  It is not some kind of a prize for being good. It is not “pie in the sky when you die Rev.J.B.Davies John 3.16
15.03.09 Llanbedr Church House of Prayer for All Do we put barriers in the way which stop people from approaching God and experiencing his love? The fact that churches are so often locked is a pretty definite barrier and a very clear negative statement about Christian faith and the life of the church Rev.H.Butler John 2.13
08.03.09 St.Peter's. Ruthin Covenant with God: God cares for us, takes an interest in us and calls us to service at any time of our life. We are not overlooked because we are old, or because we are young, or because we are middle aged. Abram was given a new life and a new name when he was ninety-nine. Rev.Canon Dr.R.Bayley Genesis 17.2
FEBRUARY 2009
22.02.09 Llanbedr Church The Transfiguration  Today, we stand on the mountain top but prepare to follow Jesus down to the depths of the valley of the cross this Lent. I wonder what our experience will be? Like the disciples we too wonder about the meaning of the resurrection. On Easter morning having travelled through Lent in discipline and faith (the challenge of Daily Prayer is, in a real sense, our sustenance for the journey) how will we be changed? Rev.H.Butler Mark 9.2
15.02.09 Llanfwrog Church Creation or Evolution?   The order in the creation implies there is some great power behind it.   What John's Gospel is saying is that this is not some impersonal power or force  but a living God Rev.J.B.Davies John 1.1-3
08.02.09 Llanbedr Church Christianity and Political Correctness.  Actually, that needs some qualification – secular society seems to comprehend and even champion it for other faiths apart from Christianity. As someone commented, “Christians are now becoming the most discriminated-against group of people in our society. It’s getting quite frightening and out of hand”. So much for equality and diversity! Rev.H.Butler Mark 1.29-39
01.02.09 Llanfwrog Church Candlemas It was no coincidence that they came into the Temple at the same time as Jesus was brought there.   We are told by Luke three times in a few verses that this is the work of the Holy Spirit. Rev.J.B.Davies Luke 2. 22-40
JANUARY 2009
25.01.09 St.Peter's. Ruthin Conversion of S.Paul As Saul was marching along the road to Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground. But was this really his first encounter with Jesus ? Was it the first time he had been seriously challenged by the Christian faith ? Rev.Canon Dr.R.Bayley Acts 9.3
18.01.09 Llanbedr Church

The Calling of Nathanael New challenges, new beginnings, new avenues, new approaches and new directions are the motifs of the current environment; and also the theme of our festival today which is the Baptism of Christ.

Rev.R.Carter John 1. 43-51
11.01.09 Llanfair Church

The Baptism of Jesus                          New challenges, new beginnings, new avenues, new approaches and new directions are the motifs of the current environment; and also the theme of our festival today which is the Baptism of Christ.

Rev.R.Carter Mark.1.1-11
DECEMBER 2008
28.12.08 Llanbedr Church

Bringing Christmas to Life                            St. Francis famously said: Preach the Good News of Jesus Christ – use words if you must. Perhaps this explains why he was so moved to “preach” the message of Christmas in a new way without words. He recognized that the only word required was the “little Word” laid in the manger, because the language of the incarnate Word is the wonder and mystery of love.
Simply and profoundly this is the message of Christmas!

Rev.H,Butler Luke 2.16
25.12.08 St.Peter's. Ruthin

The Light of Christ

No one knows at which time of year the birth of Jesus Christ occurred. It may have been in the spring, summer, autumn or winter. But from very early in the Christian era it has been customary to welcome the birth of Jesus at the darkest part of the year, near the shortest day, when the nights are longest and just before the days begin to lengthen out to give us the first hint of a summer to come. This is because the birth of Christ has been seen as a coming of light into the world.

Rev.Canon Dr.R.Bayley Isaiah 9.2
14.12.08 Llanbedr Church

Who was John the Baptist?                       I have tried to think of a modern day John the Baptist and I cannot. If you can think of someone who speaks from outside and with an authority which attracts people but someone who then, rather than becoming a celebrity, is able to deflect the attention towards something larger. If you can think of someone, man or woman,  then email me via this link.

Rev. Richard Carter John 1. 19-28
07.12,08 St.Peter's Church, Ruthin Call to Repentance          What John offered was baptism in the Holy Spirit. Unlike baptism in water, the Holy Spirit will come upon us every day to heal and to cleanse us. We all make mistakes, all the time, most of them more serious than the scribe who missed out Son of God or Mark saying Isaiah instead of Malachi. When Geoffrey Fisher was asked at the end of his 16 year term as Archbishop of Canterbury whether he thought he had made any mistakes, he replied, I've dropped enough bricks to build a cathedral. But we can pick up our mistakes, confess our sins, and receive the healing and restoring baptism of the Holy Spirit at the hands of Jesus, again and again and again. Rev.Canon Dr.R.Bayley Mark 1,2
NOVEMBER 2008
30.11.08 Clocaenog Church Watch :                        This is what the season of Advent is all about.  It is not so much about counting the days to Christmas, but rather doing something about the Christ who is present now.   Christ will come to us and to the world in a new way when the powers of heaven are shaken from their course.  His authority will take precedence over all other authorities.  Advent is a wake up call.  The words which Jesus repeats time after time in this chapter are  “Watch out, keep watch,  be on your guard !  “  Rev.J.B.Davies Mark 13. 24-37
23.11.08 St.Peter's Church, Ruthin Sheep and Shepherd: Not just in Israel but in many parts of the Ancient Near East, a nation is referred to as a flock of sheep and their king as the shepherd of his people. This would surely not have been the case if sheep had been proverbially stupid, though it was acknowledged that they were prone to go astray from time to time and needed to be recovered. Reasonably enough people would say, "They are just like us. We go astray from time to time, and we need to be brought back too." So they called their kings shepherds, and they thought of their God as the supreme Shepherd. Rev.Canon Dr.R.Bayley Ezekiel 34.15
16.11.08 Efenechtyd Church There are many kinds of fear: This kind of fear (the kind which caused the servant to bury his talent) is the kind which debilitates people, the kind which freezes them like a rabbit in the headlights. It is this sort of fear which is outlawed in the kingdom of God. It is this sort of fear which is abhorred by God. For this kind of fear (which causes people to hide away their talents) makes people wither away into nothingness. Rev. Richard Carter Matthew 25.14-30
09.11.08 Llanarmon Church Searching for meaning in loss of life: On the face of it the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross makes no sense – it is a pointless waste of life. But the resurrection is proof that within the eternal love of God meaning can be found – meaning will be found. This is the Good News of the Gospel. This is the message of hope against hopelessness. This is the faith we cling to.    Rev.Huw Butler Revelation 21. 1-7
02.11.08 Llanfwrog Church Stability In An Insecure World: Where do you find as your point of stability?   Your bank account?   Your church building?   Your home?   Your job?   None of these can be as secure as we may think.   Stability is found in Jesus Christ.   When many turned away from Jesus,   the apostle Simon Peter said, when I asked if he also was leaving.  “Where else can we go?  You have the words of eternal life.” Rev.J.B.Davies Matthew 24.1-14
OCTOBER 2008
26.10.08 Llanbedr Church Authority of the Bible: This is the mission of the people of God – amidst all of the challenges and difficulties, as the Lambeth Conference itself was at pains to endorse – “God is a God of mission and we are called to engage in His mission.”  Through our lives, through our prayers, through our worship, through our service may we play our part in enabling the Holy Scriptures to be brought to bear in a life changing way upon the lives of those around us in pointing to the Word of life which was from the beginning – Jesus Christ ourLord.                               Rev. Huw Butler Matthew 24:35
19.10.08 Llanbedr Church The Story of a Coin: What is the story of the coins in our pockets, each one of them? Who knows?  One might have been, in its time, absorbed into the downward spiral of someone’s drugs, or alcohol, addiction? One of them just might have been cast into the social perversion of prostitution? It would be nicer to think one has been used to buy someone a present once – that’s very likely. Rev. Richard Carter Matthew 22.15-22
12.10.08 Llanfwrog Church

 

Invitation to a Party:   Many people expect a church service to be somewhat serious just in the same way as people expect anything to do with God as being very serious.  Christians are seen by many as dull people who don’t know how to enjoy themselves. Rev. John Davies Matthew 22.2
05.10.08 St.Peter's Ruthin Harvest: So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God. A minister was fast asleep one night when he was awakened by the sound of someone moving around in his bedroom. As soon as he moved, a burglar said sharply to him, "Stay where you are and keep still, or you'll be sorry. I'm looking for your money." To which the minister replied, "Let me put the light on, and then I'll help you look. I've never seen it either." Rev Canon Dr. R. Bayley Luke 12: 21
SEPTEMBER 2008
14.09.08 Llanbedr Church Forgiveness: There is surely no doubt that being in debt is a bad thing. In my article in the Link magazine this time I have drawn attention to the Credit Crunch and the way it is affecting all of us irrespective of whether we are in debt or not. Of course, if you are already in a situation of debt with a high mortgage, personal loans, credit card balances and bank overdrafts then you are in a perilous state. Rev. Huw Butler Matthew 18: 27
07.09.08 Llanfwrog Church Peace and Harmony: Religion is often thought to be about keeping rules and laws.   Indeed, the first five books of the Old Testament are called the Books of the Law.   People had begun to see keeping of these laws as something of  a burden.  It was as though the joy had gone out of their religion.  Rev. John Davies Matthew 18. 15-20
AUGUST 2008
31.08.08 Llanfwrog Church Dealing with Conflict: We cannot get through life without facing conflict.   Some people hate conflict and will do all they can to avoid it, and can sometimes find themselves unable to deal with it,  while others seem to thrive on conflict as though it gives them some kind of impetus to deal with their lives and they may not always want conflict to cease. Rev. John Davies Romans 12. 9-12
24.08.08 St.Peter's. Ruthin Saint Bartholomew Bartholomew is a perfect example of the principle set out by Jesus when he was faced with an unedifying dispute among the Twelve as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. If you are to be truly great, Jesus advised, aim for the opposite.  The greatest of you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. Rev Canon Dr. R. Bayley Luke 22.24
17.08.08 Llanbedr Church Jesus and the Canaanite Woman: The Canaanite woman is too a figure of desperation. And Jesus says to her, “you have great faith” (Matt. 15.28). Now, this faith is one with which she leaves all inhibitions behind. Her faith is such that she has no pride. She is faithful in such a persistent and utterly lowering way that she is happy to be called an animal, so long as her daughter might be made sane again. Rev. Richard Carter Matthew 15: 21-28
10.08.08 Llanbedr Church Jesus Walks on Water: I have always found this to be a rather strange, and I suppose unbelievable event in the life and ministry of Jesus. Rev. Huw Butler Matthew 14:22-33
03.08.08 Llanfwrog Church Feeding of the 5000:This story raises the challenge as to how we react in a situation we consider impossible.  We live at a time when many are predicting the demise of the Christian Church. Rev. John Davies Matthew 14. 13-21
JULY 2008
27.07.08 Ruthin Church Despair and Hope: Despair comes easily. It is the assumption of many theatre plays, of much modern philosophy, and of everyday conversation in the street and in the pub. Rev. Canon Dr. R. Bayley Romans 8:37
20.07.08 Llanbedr Church Parable of the Weeds: I haven’t brought with me this morning an answer. I have brought with me a question, and that is: “How do we know which is the wheat and which is the weeds?” Rev. Richard Carter Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43
13.07.08 Llanbedr Church Working to Spread the Light of God's Love: During May I was privileged to spend a week on Caldey Island (a small island just off the coast of Tenby, Pembrokeshire) with a group of about 20 people as part of a course run by Lampeter University. Rev. Huw Butler  Romans 8:6
06.07.08 Llanfwrog Church Life Does Not Have to be a Burden: When we were children, we all took part in the usual playground games.  We can probably still remember those games now.  It seems that these games were taking place at the time when Jesus was speaking to the people.   Rev. John Davies Matthew 11. 16-19, 25-30
JUNE 2008
29.06.08 Llanbedr Church Unite in Prayer: Have you ever felt so alone that is seems as if everyone - the whole world in fact - is against you? Probably not many of us have experienced extreme situations such as being a hostage or being a political prisoner of conscience. Rev. Huw Butler

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22.06.08 Llanbedr Church May You Know the Grace of God:  St Paul's influence upon how the early church came to understand the significance of Jesus and the monumental part which he himself played in taking the gospel to the nations, make it very difficult to see how we could even have the Christian faith, as we know it, without his witness. Rev. Richard Carter Romans 5:1-8
01.06.08 Llanbedr Church Building Faith on Strong Foundations: Last week, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali hit the headlines when he said that “the collapse of Christianity has wrecked British society – it has destroyed family life and left the country defenceless against the rise of radical Islam in a moral and spiritual vacuum. Rev. Huw Butler Matthew 7. 26-27
MAY 2008
25.05.08 Llanfwrog, Llanelidan and Efenechtyd Church Giving the Way of Jesus a Chance: The words “an eye for and eye” and  “a tooth for a tooth”  are sometimes quoted by people, even today, as though they are intended to be a blueprint for justice.  We do well to recall the comment made by Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest and most respected of all world leaders who said  “That way, the whole world would be blind and toothless.”  Rev. John Davies Matthew 5 38-48
18.05.08 Ruthin Church The Most Holy Trinity: People think that the teaching of the Trinity is very complicated but it’s not. Not at all: it is very simple really. So I thought I’d teach you four things about the Trinity this morning. Rev. Canon Dr. R. Bayley

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11.05.08 Llanfwrog, Clocaenog, Llanynys and Cyffylliog Churches Pentecost: The Power of the Holy Spirit: Think of  a time in your life when you have felt very close to God,  and experience his powerful presence.  How would you describe that to someone else? It is not easy is it? Rev. John Davies Acts 2. 1-21
APRIL 2008
27.04.08 Llanarmon and Llangynhafal Churches Noah's Sweet Smelling Sacrifice: He doesn’t have a speaking part like Adam and Eve. He is just told to build an ark and he builds it, he is told all the specifications and he gets on with it without a word. He doesn’t attempt to negotiate with God like Abraham does when he pleads for Sodom. Rev. Huw Butler Gen. 8. 20f.
MARCH 2008
16.03.08 Clocaenog Church Palm Sunday: On Palm Sunday,  the Church recalls the day when Jesus entered Jerusalem on what was to be the last week of his life.   He was accompanied by a large crowd of people who greeted him as their king.  By the end of the week people were shouting for his death,  so what happened to change their minds?  Rev. John Davies Matthew 21. 1-11
FEBRUARY 2008
17.02.08 Llanbedr Church To be a Person of Faith is Such Privilege! The Bible speaks to us of faith: Faith as a journey into uncertainty (in the case of Abraham); and faith as a birth in the case of Jesus talking to Nicodemus – and what John Wesley called the “fundamental doctrine of new birth.” Rev. Huw Butler Gen. 12.1
10.02.08 Llanbedr Church The Temptation to Despair: Today we meet Christ in the desert. Strange as it may seem there is something about entering the desert that enables personal spiritual growth. Jesus obviously recognised this to be true which is why he went out into the wilderness for those 40 days and nights. Rev. Huw Butler Matthew 4:1
03.02.08 St Peter's, Ruthin Candlemas: Looking Forward: Today we meet Christ in the desert. Strange as it may seem there is something about entering the desert that enables personal spiritual growth. Jesus obviously recognised this to be true which is why he went out into the wilderness for those 40 days and nights. Rev. Canon Dr. R. Bayley Luke 2:25
JANUARY 2008
27.01.08 Llanbedr Church Know the Living God: It was on hearing that John had been arrested that Jesus withdrew: and this close link which Jesus had with John is thought to be historically verified. The fact that three gospels record that Jesus was baptised by John is considered to be evidence that this is historically true. Rev. Richard Carter Matthew 4. 12
20.01.08 Tabernacl Chapel, Ruthin Church Means People: Statistics show that the majority of people in the United Kingdom claim to believe in God, and also that most people pray in some form or another.  Similar statistics show that a substantial number of people in the UK claim to be Christians.  This may indeed surprise us in what many call a secular age. Rev. John Davies 1 Thess. 5. 12-22
13.01.08 Llanbedr Church The Baptism of Christ: I am sure that all of us will have photographs which have been taken at a baptism – very likely it will be a posed shot with the Vicar holding the baby and the parents and godparents standing around the font. There are some churches which routinely take a photograph of every baptism and make a kind of collage of the church family which they put on display. Rev. Huw Butler Matthew 3. 13-17
06.01.08 Llanfwrog Church Epiphany - The Journey of Faith: Imagine yourself to be directing a film on one of the books of the Bible.  How would you cast the characters?   You would probably give the principal parts to the best actors, assuming you consider the principal characters as those who appear most frequently and have the most to say.  Rev. John Davies Matthew 2 1-11
DECEMBER 2007
30.12.07 Eglwys Llangwyfan Pwysigrwydd Amser, Pergylon Amser, a Phwrpas Amser: Hyfryd cael eich presenoldeb yma yn eglwys hanesyddol Llangwyfan ar achlysur ein gwasanaeth  arferol  i’r ddwy ddeoniaeth, Dinbych a Dyffryn Clwyd, ar y pumed Sul. Yr.Hybarch Bernard Thomas, Archddiacon Llanelwy Salm 90:12
24.12.07 Llanfair DC and Llanfwrog churches Christmas Sermon: Buying Christmas gifts or even Christmas cards needs a little imagination.  Sometimes receiving gifts and cards does also.  The best Christmas gifts are often what we call the useful gifts.  Rev John Davies Luke 2. 1-16

 

23.12.07 Llanbedr Church Are You Ready?: This was the overarching sentiment of an elderly gentleman I visited last week - he reflected how so often along his journey of life things had a habit of working out for the best even at times when things seemed to be hopeless and desperate.   Rev. Huw Butler Matthew 24: 36-44

 

16.12.07 Llanbedr Church Faith and Doubt: During the Season of Advent we keep hearing about “waiting and watching,” “expectancy,” and “anticipation,” being prepared. And we read the expectant prophecies of Isaiah which, in general, are poetries of hope (poetries of wild and visionary hope) which originate from desperate situations (of exile) and, of course, we prepare for what has become the most popular Christian festival of the year (Christmas).  Rev. Richard Carter Matthew 11.3

 

09.12.07 St Peter's Church, Ruthin The God of Steadfastness and Encouragement: What is the stream in which the elephant may swim and the lamb may wade ? It is the description Pope Gregory I gave to the Bible. He saw the Bible as being a means of unity among people, a way of coming together to know God Rev. Canon Dr. R. Bayley

 

Romans 15:5

 

02.12.07 Llanfwrog and Clocaenog Church Are You Ready?: The people we read about in the Bible seem to be waiting for some great event.  The prophets of Old Testament times speak of the coming of the Messiah, who will save the people.   Christian tradition points to Jesus as that Messiah.   Rev. John Davies Matthew 24: 36-44

 

NOVEMBER 2007
25.11.07 Llanbedr Church Do You Fear God?: Do we fear God? Do I fear God? In years gone by fearing God was thought of as being a real virtue. But we are now living in a thoroughly secular age. Rev. Huw Butler Luke 23:25-43

 

18.11.07 St Peter's Church, Ruthin Anyone Unwilling to Work Should Not Eat: The Government has announced that a large number of training places is to be offered to young people to give them skills and trades so that they can begin to earn a useful living. Rev. Canon Dr. R. Bayley 2 Thess 3.10

 

11.11.07 Clocaenog Church Remembrance Sunday: I heard on the television news last week that there are in the UK just five known people still alive who served  in the armed forces in World War 1, and of those five, just one now survives who was in the trenches.  Also, this  year,  anyone who served in World War 2 would be at least aged eighty. Rev. John Davies  John 13:34

 

04.11.07 Llanbedr Church Kingdom 1: I am sure that we could come up with many words to describe Zacchaeus – I am equally sure that a saint would not be one of them! Having said that, of course, it would depend upon your definition of a saint and what sainthood is all about. Rev. Huw Butler  Luke 19. 1-10

 

OCTOBER 2007
28.10.07 Llanfwrog, Cyffylliog and Llanynys Churches Bible Sunday: Different people have different views of the Bible.  At one level there are people who take a very fundamentalist and literal view.   At the opposite level there are people who see the Bible as a collection of parables to teach us about God. Rev. John Davies  Luke 18. 16-24 

 

21.10.07 Llanbedr Church Wrestling with God: Do you remember World of Sport on with Dickie Davies ITV on a Saturday afternoon? Back in the early 70s at our home, for some reason, we didn’t have an aerial which would pick up ITV – but I always remember watching World of Sport when I went round to see my friend Nick. The only sport that ever seemed to be on was wrestling! Two of the best known characters of the day were Mick McManus and Big Daddy. Rev. Huw Butler  

 

18.10.07 St Peter's Church, Ruthin Physician, Heal Yourself - St Luke's Day: The saying, Physician, heal yourself, can be found in other places besides the dialogue between Jesus and the people of Nazareth. There was the Jewish proverb used by the Rabbis, Physician, heal your own limp. And an Arabic proverb, A doctor who cures other people and is himself ill. The Greek dramatist Euripides has the  line, He is a healer of others, but himself swells with sores. A slightly different line appears in the Gospel of Thomas, A healer does not treat his own parents.  Rev. Canon Dr. R. Bayley Luke 4. 23 

 

07.10.07 Llanbedr Church The Mustard Seed: After that first naive foray I left it for about a week and then went back at it.  And when the same thing happened again I phoned a friend with a chain saw.  It was about two months later that we finally had it down to the stump and then it took three of us, a lot of heaving, and a lot of, "you stand there like that, and I'll stand here and pull this while you push with all your weight from there."  Rev. Richard Carter Matthew

 

SEPTEMBER 2007
30.09.07 Llanfwrog Church The Rich-Poor Divide: Wealth and poverty live side by side.  Go to any large city, anywhere in world,  London, Paris, New York, Sydney and you will see areas of great wealth, hotels and restaurants where it costs a fortune to stay or to eat, but not far from these places, people living in cardboard boxes on the street and begging.   Wealth and poverty are never far away.  Rev John Davies Luke 16. 19-31

 

23.09.07 Llanbedr Church Christians and Money: Who would want to be the Chief Executive of Northern Rock Bank? He has found himself to be in a very precarious and uncomfortable situation over the last few weeks – needing to borrow money from other banks to remain solvent but due to world economics finding that this is not possible. Rev. Huw Butler   Luke 16. 1-3

 

16.09.07 St Peter's Church, Ruthin God Values Everyone: The rearing of sheep today is a big business. They roam the hills in their thousands. Tractors and land rangers are used to supervise them and round them up when there is a need. We have come a long way from the small time shepherd Jesus was referring to in his parable of the Lost Sheep. T Rev. Canon Dr. R. Bayley Luke 15.5

 

09.09.07 Llanfwrog Church The Demands of Jesus on Our Lives: With some celebrities it is simply their presence which draws the crowds and the autograph hunters will flock to them.   They don’t have to say anything.  People just want to see them. Rev John Davies Luke 14. 25-23

 

02.09.07 Llanbedr Church The Prayer of Humility: Within society now we have many homeless people - a situation which has escalated over the past 20 years or so. But we don’t seem to have the “gentleman of the road” professional kind of tramp so much. Rev. Huw Butler Hebrews 13:2

 

AUGUST 2007
26.08.07 Llanfwrog & Llanynys  Church Freed from the shackles by Jesus: In today’s gospel we hear of an interesting encounter that Jesus has with a synagogue leader about how the Sabbath should be kept.  The synagogue leaders made sure that people kept the Sabbath laws to the letter.  Rev. John Davies Luke 13:10-17

 

19.08.07 St Peters Collegiate Church, Ruthin. Faith is being sure of what we hope for: In a month's time the clergy of the St. Asaph Diocese will all be required to go to Lancaster University for four days of in service training. The subject - Conflict Resolution. This is a very fashionable subject these days. Rev. Canon Dr. R. Bayley Luke 12:49

 

12.08.07 Llanbedr Church Faith is being sure of what we hope for: in actual fact, hope always comes before faith because without a sense of hope then there is nothing to have faith in!  Rev. Huw Butler Heb. 11:1

 

05.08.07 St Peter’s, Ruthin Parable of the Rich Fool: That "life does not consist in the abundance of possessions" is little comfort for those who lost their homes and businesses in the recent floods. Rev. Richard Carter Luke 12:13-21

 

JULY 2007
29.07.07 St Meugan’s and St Peter’s, Ruthin The Lord's Prayer: We’ve read in our gospel reading this morning how Jesus taught the disciples what we now call the Lord’s Prayer.  Presumably they then learned it and repeated it frequently, and that’s how we now say it so often.  Alyson Goldstein Luke 11.1-13

 

22.07.07 St Garmon, Llanarmon & St Cynhafal, Llangynhafal Mary Magdalene is an Apostle: We don’t often think of her like this - as an apostle.  We don’t often think of women as apostles because the official "twelve apostles" were all men.  But all four gospels single Mary Magdalene out as the very first person who saw the risen Lord.    Rev. Richard Carter John 20.17

 

15.07.07 St Peters Collegiate Church, Ruthin. The Good Samaritan: The Good Samaritan is probably the best known and loved parable of Jesus. It is interesting to notice that some of the parables, such as the parable of the sower for example, are explained by Jesus in order for the disciples to understand the “heavenly meaning” of the earthly story. Rev. Huw Butler Luke 10:33-35

 

08.07.07 St Peters Collegiate Church, Ruthin. Let us love one another: If we respect others, even though they may be of a different generation, another faith, another race and language, a way of life we are not used to, an opposed political position, we are fulfilling that last commandment Jesus gave on the night before he died Rev. Canon Dr. R. Bayley 1 John 4.19

 

01.07.07 Llanfwrog & Llanynys  Church The Urgency of Following Jesus: When a Samaritan village turns Jesus away and he moves on, he tells people that if they want to follow him then it's a commitment to be taken seriously. Rev. John Davies Luke 9: 51-62
APRIL 2007
15.04.07 Llanbedr Church Christ Has Risen: The cross is, in this sense, easier to preach about because suffering and death are things that we can relate to - they are literally all around us - they are part and parcel of our existence - we know them to be true - we experience them ourselves. Rev. Huw Butler John 20:25b
08.04.07 St Peters Collegiate Church, Ruthin. Easter Sunday: On Good Friday Jesus died on the Cross. His body was taken down and laid in a tomb. On the first Easter Day the stone was rolled aside and the grave clothes left empty. Jesus had risen from the dead. Rev. Canon Dr. Raymond Bayley Luke 24.11
MARCH 2007
25.03.07 Llanfwrog Parish Church Journey to the Cross: On this Passion Sunday as we begin to think more intently of Jesus’ journey to  Jerusalem and to the Cross, we too think about our faith and how we make our journey of life with Jesus. Rev. John Davies Phil. 3:4b-11
18.03.07 Llanbedr Parish Magazine Family Values: Mothering Sunday is an excellent opportunity for affirming “family values” in terms of our own personal families and also in terms of the wider Church family Rev. Huw Butler Phil. 3. 12-21
11.03.07 Clocaenog & Llanfwrog Church God Gives up on No One: Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rev. John Davies Luke 13. 1-19
04.03.07 St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Ruthin. Lent: The baptism of Jesus was followed by a journey into the wilderness, and this must have been something like a maze for him. Physically it was a maze. Rev. Canon Dr. Raymond Bayley Luke 4
FEBRUARY 2007
25.02.07 Llanfwrog & Rhewl Church The Temptations of Jesus: The season of Lent is in Christian tradition associated with the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness.  Rev. John Davies Luke 4. 1-13
04.02.07 Llanfwrog & Llanynys Church Candlemas: is a half way point between Christmas and Easter,  a time to look back on Christmas and a time to look forward to Holy Week and Easter.  Rev. John Davies Luke 2. 22-40

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