Why is the story of the Road to Emmaus so popular? Well, it's a miracle story. But it is also s homecoming story. The Disciples had just witnessed a catastrophe, and the story ends by giving them new hope and new energy. The story is about a married couple, Mr and Mrs Cleopas. Their whole world had collapsed. The messiah they had believed Jesus to …

The Gospel of John makes it clear that the place where Jesus was buried was a garden. The tomb was a new tomb in that garden. This location, and its implied imagery of luxuriant plant life and greenery, echoes the poetry of the Song of Solomon, where the lovers meet in a garden. So, John is setting the scene for what is going to be a remarkable eve…

“We are Christians, therefore we pray!” The Apostle Paul encouraged, nay required, Christians to pray continually and at all times. However, individual prayer is difficult. Self-discipline is a challenge. It is hard for us to devote the time necessary for prayer. Indeed, prayer has been squeezed into the margins of life in our modern society. In TV…

Sunday 28 April: “Doubting Thomas?”Preacher: Rev Eric FoggittReadings: John 20:19-31 & Psalm 150The story of “Doubting Thomas” is one of the best-known in the Bible, for understandable reasons. After all, the Disciples had just seen their Leader crucified, and no doubt they feared that the Romans would come after them now too. The Disciples' report…

Easter Day 2019: Christ has risen!Preacher: Rev Eric FoggittReadings: Isaiah 65: 17-25 & Luke 24: 1-12The miracle of Easter Day took place in the early hours of the morning when it was still dark, and nobody was there to see it. The disciples and the women find the tomb empty. John’s gospel describes how Mary Magdalene goes to the disciples and tel…

Sunday 7 April: ‘All I once held dear I have counted loss’Preacher: Rev Eric FoggittRev Foggitt is a member of our sister church in Amsterdam and will be preaching at St Andrew’s during April.Readings: John 12:1-8, Philippians 3:1-14 (NIV)In today's reading, Paul explains that his call to service in the Lord had nothing to do with his background. S…

Sunday 31 March: The Book of RevelationPreacher: Daniel BrinkReadings: Genesis 2:4-9, Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)How do you approach the Book of Revelation? Is it a Book of the Bible that you avoid, because of its complexity and obscure symbolism? Let's try and look at it the way the original readers would have seen it. This is because it was basically…

Sunday 24 March: “Good, old-fashioned repentance”Preacher: Lisbet Duerinck Van GysegemReadings: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 & Luke 13:1-9 (NIV)“Repentance” is not a particularly popular topic nowadays, is it? It's like it went out of fashion with black and white TVs! When you say the word “repentance”, people tend to dismiss it as belonging to the distan…