Reverend Neil Taylor - Podcast

A Promise We’re All Invited Into

Read Luke 3.7-18

Third Sunday of Advent (Year C)

John the Baptist helps us perceive and make use of the riches of the faith, helping us live faithfully here and now, even as we look forward to God’s redemption. John encourages us to be who we are called to be, where we are, in the meantime.

A Promise That’s Easy to Overlook

Read Luke 3.6

Second Sunday of Advent (Year C)

Advent suggests that God seems to want us to wait. God seems to expect expectation. God seems to know that the proximity of desire is not the same as experiencing the fullness of life in the moment.

Stand Up!

Read Luke 21.25-38

First Sunday of Advent (Year C)

From Pharaoh in the first chapter of Exodus to today’s tyrants and autocrats, fear is how we turn those who are different from us into an enemy. Fear causes us to horde. Fear causes us to assume we will never have enough and to see those around us as competitors. Fear drives wedges of distrust into our communities that fracture solidarity and compassion. Fear causes us to define ourselves and those around us not by what we share but by what makes us different. Fear creates an “either/or” and “us/them” mentality. It is nearly impossible to find common ground with that mindset, let alone see each other sympathetically. Fear, in short, drives us inward, hardens our hearts, darkens our vision and stunts our imagination.

Throughout human history, it’s always been true; that is why the most spoken command and promise in all of Scripture is “Do not fear”.

A King‘s Gift

Read John 18.28-19.16

The Feast of Christ the King | Pentecost +26B

Pilate wavers back and forth between Jesus and his accusers, like a drunken sailor trying to walk from the pub back to his ship. And that’s just the point, Pilate wavers! He knows what is right, but he also knows what is easy. He also knows what is politically expedient, and he’s torn between the two. Ultimately he takes the easy road, and he caves into political pressure. Pilate denies the truth that he sees right in front of him.

 

Is This The End?

Mark 13.1-11

Pentecost +25B

In time—in God’s time—what is said by Jesus will happen. Of course, we would like to know when that is; however, that is not our calling. We are called to live now, allowing the promises of God about the future to infuse our every present moment. Because when we live looking for the activity of God, here and now, we will begin to see it.

Who Will Love The Legacy?

Read Ephesians 6:19-24

All Saints Sunday | November 7, 2021

The question that needs asking is will you love the legacy? Laying hold of the future; laying hold of a refreshed and reengaged assignment? A refreshed and reengaged calling? A refreshed and reengaged mission because my Bible says: “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). The legacy is the same; it is unchanging; this is a fantastic concept; our true north is this legacy. Because our roots and our foundations are set in this legacy, the legacy of the past, the legacy of the present, and the future. We are not called to create an atmosphere or an ambience for a Christian audience. 150 years ago, Christ Jesus called this Church to discipleship, “Therefore go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19).

Living By Heart

Read Deuteronomy 6.1-9; Mark 12.28-34

Pentecost +23B

For his first-century listeners, Jesus probably could have stopped with, "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart". Because all that follows (soul, mind and strength) are implied in the biblical understanding of "heart". But for us as twenty-first-century listeners, we have shrunk the definition of heart to emotions. So when we hear "Love God with your whole heart," we might think Jesus means "Have only happy feelings about God."

When Jesus Is Passing By

Read Mark 10.46-52

Pentecost +22B

As believers in Jesus, we love this story. It is such a lovely warm story that shows the loving care of Jesus toward a man in desperate need. Here’s an interesting fact. This is the only person healed by Jesus recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, who is actually named — Bartimaeus. It’s as though by the time Mark wrote this gospel, this man had become one of the well-known members of the early church. Maybe Bartimaeus never got tired of telling his story, and he never forgot that day when he first saw Jesus. And so here we have this true story of Bartimaeus, a person who responded well to the fact that Jesus was passing by.

Who Will You Service?

Read Mark 10.32-52

Pentecost +21B

That’s the big question in our gospel text today, Who will you serve? I don’t know if you got a prickly feeling when you heard those words, or you just glossed over them, not noticing how much the words in the question run against your grain. Either way, I’ll ask the question again: who will you serve?

As a culture and as a species, we tend to prize freedom. We tend to prize accomplishment and autonomy, and self-determination and the list could go on.

This is why, if we slow down and take the question seriously, we will recognise how much it grates against our deeply held beliefs and our culturally formed sensibilities.

Yet perhaps one of the most dangerous misconceptions of our culture is that we are, indeed, free. We are autonomous beings who can live independent of all bonds of loyalty, devotion, and service.

”You Lack One Thing”

Read Mark 10.17-31

Pentecost +20B

"Lack" takes on many forms in our life. This story asks us to ponder how we might complete the sentence, "I lack ....................." All of us have at least one thing we lack, and that needs to be figured out, but the issue of lack takes on a particular meaning in this story; it is that which prevents you from a full expression of faith. What is the one thing at the core of who you are that keeps you from being the follower, the disciple, the believer, the witness that God wants and needs you to be?

Communities of the Broken and Blessed

Read Genesis 2.18-24; Mark 10.2-16

Pentecost +19B

This passage is often listed among the “hard sayings” of Jesus, but “painful,” “distressing,” or “agonising” would be more like it because each time this passage is read and heard in a congregation, many of us cringe. We cringe feeling assaulted by it directly, or we start worrying that others are being assaulted.

Provocateur | Part Six

Provocateur — The Parables of Jesus

Bridesmaids

Read Matthew 25.1-13

We all have stories. Stories help us make sense of who we are and the world we live in. They shape our culture. They shape our relationships. They shape our decisions. They shape us.
Jesus is the most famous storyteller who ever lived. Throughout His ministry, he taught with thought-provoking ‘parables’ — stories coloured with provocation, humour, intriguing characters, twists and turns — where His story is our story, and our story is found within His story.
So, let's unpack Jesus' parables of sadness, joy, death, life, darkness, light, hell, heaven, abandonment, acceptance, repentance, and grace.

Provocateur | Part Five

Provocateur — The Parables of Jesus

Dives & Lazarus

Read Luke 16.19-31

We all have stories. Stories help us make sense of who we are and the world we live in. They shape our culture. They shape our relationships. They shape our decisions. They shape us.
Jesus is the most famous storyteller who ever lived. Throughout His ministry, he taught with thought-provoking ‘parables’ — stories coloured with provocation, humour, intriguing characters, twists and turns — where His story is our story, and our story is found within His story.
So, let's unpack Jesus' parables of sadness, joy, death, life, darkness, light, hell, heaven, abandonment, acceptance, repentance, and grace.

Provocateur | Part Four

Provocateur — The Parables of Jesus

Brothers

Read Luke 11.11-32

We all have stories. Stories help us make sense of who we are and the world we live in. They shape our culture. They shape our relationships. They shape our decisions. They shape us.
Jesus is the most famous storyteller who ever lived. Throughout His ministry, he taught with thought-provoking ‘parables’ — stories coloured with provocation, humour, intriguing characters, twists and turns — where His story is our story, and our story is found within His story.
So, let's unpack Jesus' parables of sadness, joy, death, life, darkness, light, hell, heaven, abandonment, acceptance, repentance, and grace.

Provocateur | Part Three

Provocateur — The Parables of Jesus

A Certain Rich Man

Read Luke 12.13-21

We all have stories. Stories help us make sense of who we are and the world we live in. They shape our culture. They shape our relationships. They shape our decisions. They shape us.
Jesus is the most famous storyteller who ever lived. Throughout His ministry, he taught with thought-provoking ‘parables’ — stories coloured with provocation, humour, intriguing characters, twists and turns — where His story is our story, and our story is found within His story.
So, let's unpack Jesus' parables of sadness, joy, death, life, darkness, light, hell, heaven, abandonment, acceptance, repentance, and grace.

Provocateur | Part Two

Provocateur — The Parables of Jesus

Midnight

Read Luke 11.5-13

We all have stories. Stories help us make sense of who we are and the world we live in. They shape our culture. They shape our relationships. They shape our decisions. They shape us.
Jesus is the most famous storyteller who ever lived. Throughout His ministry, he taught with thought-provoking ‘parables’ — stories coloured with provocation, humour, intriguing characters, twists and turns — where His story is our story, and our story is found within His story.
So, let's unpack Jesus' parables of sadness, joy, death, life, darkness, light, hell, heaven, abandonment, acceptance, repentance, and grace.

Provocateur | Part One

Provocateur — The Parables of Jesus

The Good Samaritan

Read Luke 10.30-37

We all have stories. Stories help us make sense of who we are and the world we live in. They shape our culture. They shape our relationships. They shape our decisions. They shape us.
Jesus is the most famous storyteller who ever lived. Throughout His ministry, he taught with thought-provoking ‘parables’ — stories coloured with provocation, humour, intriguing characters, twists and turns — where His story is our story, and our story is found within His story.
So, let's unpack Jesus' parables of sadness, joy, death, life, darkness, light, hell, heaven, abandonment, acceptance, repentance, and grace.

Insiders & Outsiders

Read Mark 9.38-41

Pentecost +18B

I think this week’s reading from Mark’s Gospel contains a heart-breaking line of Scripture: “...and we tried to stop him because he was not following us” (v. 38). Just pause and think about that for a moment. The disciples come across someone who, as they report to Jesus, was “casting out demons in your name.” That is, they came across someone who was easing intense misery, they came across someone who was following Jesus’ example and doing so in Jesus’ name, but none of that is enough. Why? “Because he was not following us.”

Greatness: A Different Kind

Read Mark 9.30-37

Pentecost +17B

Greatness, we assume, implies power. It means accomplishment, fame, wealth, and other things that allow you to do something, such as influencing people to go your way. But that’s not what Jesus says, and to drive his point home, he scoops up a young child into his arms and tells them: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me” (v. 37)

Take Up Your Cross

Read Mark 8.27-38

Pentecost +16B

Self-denial and cross-bearing are not about being less happy. Self-denial and cross-bearing are about discovering real and abundant life. This culture can hardly imagine the kind of life that comes through sacrificial love in service to another.

Inside Out (Part Two)

Pentecost +15B

Read Mark 7.24-37

The Stranger's Blessing

Jesus begins this tradition vs. moral argument with the Pharisees early on in His ministry when He defended His disciples as they picked heads of grain on the Sabbath. It's interesting to note that the traditions the Pharisees value serve more to make them look good than to worship God.

We Christians still argue about tradition, like what should a minister wear, what songs should we sing, what instruments should we use, if we should celebrate Christmas, etc, etc. We forget that tradition is merely an optional tool designed to point us to God. It is never meant to take the place of obeying God's law to love Him and others. When it does, it becomes an idol.

Inside Out (Part One)

Pentecost +14B

Read Mark 7.1-23

Rules & Regulations

Jesus begins this tradition vs. moral argument with the Pharisees early on in His ministry when He defended His disciples as they picked heads of grain on the Sabbath. It's interesting to note that the traditions the Pharisees value serve more to make them look good than to worship God.

We Christians still argue about tradition, like what should a minister wear, what songs should we sing, what instruments should we use, if we should celebrate Christmas, etc, etc. We forget that tradition is merely an optional tool designed to point us to God. It is never meant to take the place of obeying God's law to love Him and others. When it does, it becomes an idol.

Bread of Life (Part Five)

Pentecost +13B

Read John 6.59-69

“Words of Eternal Life”

Jesus identified Himself as the bread of life, the living water, and the way. He did not present Himself as a source of salvation but as the only way to salvation. Without Him, without the bread of life, there is no hope for salvation. By identifying Himself as the source of forgiveness, Jesus makes the path to repentance and a relationship with God plain, simple, and available for everyone. The bread of life will sustain the believer.

Bread of Life (Part Four)

Pentecost +12B

Read John 6.51-58

A "Living" Bread

Jesus identified Himself as the bread of life, the living water, and the way. He did not present Himself as a source of salvation but as the only way to salvation. Without Him, without the bread of life, there is no hope for salvation. By identifying Himself as the source of forgiveness, Jesus makes the path to repentance and a relationship with God plain, simple, and available for everyone. The bread of life will sustain the believer.

Bread of Life (Part Three)

Pentecost +11B

Read John 6.35-41-51

Ordinary Time

Jesus identified Himself as the bread of life, the living water, and the way. He did not present Himself as a source of salvation but as the only way to salvation. Without Him, without the bread of life, there is no hope for salvation. By identifying Himself as the source of forgiveness, Jesus makes the path to repentance and a relationship with God plain, simple, and available for everyone. The bread of life will sustain the believer.

Bread of Life (Part Two)

Pentecost +10B

Read John 6.24-35

Just Believe

Jesus identified Himself as the bread of life, the living water, and the way. He did not present Himself as a source of salvation but as the only way to salvation. Without Him, without the bread of life, there is no hope for salvation. By identifying Himself as the source of forgiveness, Jesus makes the path to repentance and a relationship with God plain, simple, and available for everyone. The bread of life will sustain the believer.

Bread of Life (Part One)

Pentecost + 9B

Read John 6.1-21

Where is God's Address?

Jesus identified Himself as the bread of life, the living water, and the way. He did not present Himself as a source of salvation but as the only way to salvation. Without Him, without the bread of life, there is no hope for salvation. By identifying Himself as the source of forgiveness, Jesus makes the path to repentance and a relationship with God, plain, simple, and available for everyone. The bread of life will sustain the believer.

TEN (Part Three)

Read Exodus 20.1-17

Family & Community

This is the final week of a three-part teaching series called “10 - The Decalogue,”; an exploration through the Ten Commandments. And the idea we will be exploring is that God desires a special relationship with us, as His people, and this union is distinguished by living according to His ways. When we follow the commands God gives us, we honour Him and invite His blessing and protection over our lives.

TEN (Part Two)

Read Exodus 20.1-17

God's Last Name is not ‘Damn’!

This part two of a three-part teaching series called “10 - The Decalogue,”; an exploration through the Ten Commandments. And the idea we will be exploring is that God desires a special relationship with us, as His people, and this union is distinguished by living according to His ways. When we follow the commands God gives us, we honour Him and invite His blessing and protection over our lives.

TEN (Part One)

Read Exodus 20.1-17

Is God No.1 In Your Life?

This is part one of a three-part teaching series called “10 - The Decalogue,”; an exploration through the Ten Commandments. And the idea we will be exploring is that God desires a special relationship with us, as His people, and this union is distinguished by living according to His ways. When we follow the commands God gives us, we honour Him and invite His blessing and protection over our lives.

Joyful Living in a Grumpy World (Part Four)

Read Philippians 4

Pentecost +19A

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, by all accounts, is one of the most beloved books in the whole New Testament, and one of the main reasons the book is so loved is because it’s the happiest letter the apostle Paul ever wrote. Its main premise is JOY, and the apostle Paul uses that word JOY frequently.

Join me as we will discover, over this four-part sermon series, the needed resource of JOY―an eternal perspective that comes only from knowing Jesus Christ.

Joyful Living in a Grumpy World (Part Three)

Read Philippians 3

Pentecost +18A

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, by all accounts, is one of the most beloved books in the whole New Testament, and one of the main reasons the book is so loved is because it’s the happiest letter the apostle Paul ever wrote. Its main premise is JOY, and the apostle Paul uses that word JOY frequently.

Join me as we will discover, over this four-part sermon series, the needed resource of JOY―an eternal perspective that comes only from knowing Jesus Christ.

Joyful Living in a Grumpy World (Part Two)

Read Philippians 2

Pentecost +17A

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, by all accounts, is one of the most beloved books in the whole New Testament, and one of the main reasons the book is so loved is because it’s the happiest letter the apostle Paul ever wrote. Its main premise is JOY, and the apostle Paul uses that word JOY frequently.

Join me as we will discover, over this four-part sermon series, the needed resource of JOY―an eternal perspective that comes only from knowing Jesus Christ.

Joyful Living in a Grumpy World (Part One)

Read Philippians 1

Pentecost +16A

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, by all accounts, is one of the most beloved books in the whole New Testament, and one of the main reasons the book is so loved is because it’s the happiest letter the apostle Paul ever wrote. Its main premise is JOY, and the apostle Paul uses that word JOY frequently.

Join me as we will discover, over this four part sermon series, the needed resource of JOY―an eternal perspective that comes only from knowing Jesus Christ.

It's Not About the Math!

Read Matthew 18.21-35

Pentecost +15

How many times are we REALLY supposed to forgive someone who has wronged us? Is it 77 times (as the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible has it)? Or is it “unto seventy times seven” as my trusty King James Bible has it? Which are 490 pronouncements of forgiveness.

This question seems to infiltrate the hearts of so many Christians, it’s a kind of hawkishness that approaches faith, not as a relationship with Jesus, but as a task that has a checklist of dos and don’ts. And so long as we stick with the dos we’ll be fine.

Such a posture hears Jesus’ words, and they figure they’ve got it figured out. Jesus says to forgive 77 times— or 490 — so that’s what I’ll do. And I’ll keep a running count just to make sure I get the number right. Sorry, my friends, but it isn’t about the math!

Rules or Relationships?

Read Matthew 18.10-20

Pentecost +14

So what do you think? Is Jesus talking about a set of rules or the development of healthy relationships?

This is the central question to answer from this passage in Matthew, is Jesus giving us rules to live by? Or is he favouring healthy relationships over everything else in our lives as Christians?

Can You Imagine?

Read Matthew 16.21-28

Pentecost +13

Can you imagine? One moment, Jesus is saying you’re “the rock on which I will build my church” and the next he’s calling you “a stumbling block.” That’s not just great wordplay – from cornerstone to stumbling block, but it’s also such a massive reversal of relational fortune, and because of that it had to be incredibly painful for Peter.

Can you imagine? And perhaps that’s the difficulty, Peter couldn’t imagine. He couldn’t imagine that Jesus had come not just to comfort people but to free them.

Pause and Give Thanks

Read Isaiah 51.1-6 & Matthew 16.13-20

Pentecost +12

There’s a lot of nuance in our scripture readings. Isaiah 51:1-6 references Abraham and Sarah as the rock out of which God’s people are fashioned. This matches the rock metaphor for Peter in the Gospel.

The promise of salvation and deliverance at the end of Isaiah 51:1-6 is extraordinary; this promise goes far beyond any temporal salvation. Isaiah is prophesying a salvation and deliverance that will survive even the decay of creation; it promises deliverance even in the face of death.

Isaiah’s prophesy looks ahead to our Gospel lesson. To a Messiah who establishes His church, not as a beachhead of political deliverance against the Romans or any other dominant world power. But as one which will prevail against the “gates of Hades” — or, less literally, the powers of death. Jesus will build a church,  that will not only prevail against the final horizon, but against the Satanic powers of death in our present age.

Peter: When the Rock Sunk Slowly

Read Matthew 14.22-36

Pentecost +10

In the Gospel reading, Jesus indeed calls to his disciples in the midst of the wild and restless sea, but Jesus does not beckon them away from the storm. Instead, Jesus’ voice calls them into the storm.

Hear and Do, O People

Read Matthew 22, 34-40

Pentecost +21

Stop for a moment, and close your eyes, and be mindful of God’s presence. What does it feel like for God to be near you? Perhaps it’s like the golden light of a sunrise shining through the window or like feeling safe and held, feeling unafraid.

As believers, in and followers, of Jesus, you and I are as close to God as our own mindfulness, as our own soul’s desire, as our own being.

When is a Miracle More Than a Miracle?

Read Matthew 14:13-21

Pentecost +9

When is a miracle more than a miracle?
When it’s about discipleship.
Because discipleship is is rarely tidy, rarely practical, and never convenient.

However, discipleship may be a miracle in itself.

Who Am I, and What Am I Worth?

Read Matthew 13:44-58

Pentecost +8

The people who heard Jesus speak this parable understood the gravity and tension in his story. It is important that we understand what the pearl is, and who the merchant is, this is more than just another parable. Jesus says twice,“This is what the Kingdom of Heaven is like”. In other words, "This is what eternity is all about…”. So, let’s have a have a deeper look at what Jesus is saying about the Kingdom of God.

Early in the Morning

Read John 20:1-18

Feast of Mary Magdalene

Our Gospel text opens with the statement, “Early in the morning, while it was still dark...”. This is where the Easter story really begins, this is where our Christian faith begins, it begins in darkness. It begins with fear, bewilderment, pain, and a profound loss of certainty. The creeds, clarifications and commentaries we cherish nowadays came later. What came first were many variations on the same theme, such as, hope amid struggle.

Join me as we look at what happens when ordinary people brush up against an extraordinary God. What does it look like when broken, hungry humanity encounters a bizarre and inexplicable Love in the half-light of dawn.

Does Jesus Condone Weeds?

Read Matthew 13:24-43

Pentecost +7

This story is about the Church. The Church is wheat and weeds both; however, we like to think we know who’s who. The big question is, why can’t we leave judging to God? What is it in human nature, that is somehow heightened in Christian human nature, that has to judge? Join me, as we ask the question: does Jesus condone weeds?

Small things make a Big Difference (Part Four)

Our Habits

Read Romans 7

We want a big change and we want it now. But maybe taking your life in a new direction has a lot more to do with the little things. Join me, as we learn how to embrace the small things that make a big difference.

Small things make a Big Difference (Part Three)

Our Words

Read Proverbs 18:12

We want a big change and we want it now. But maybe taking your life in a new direction has a lot more to do with the little things. Join me, as we learn how to embrace the small things that make a big difference.

Small things make a Big Difference (Part Two)

One Thought

Read Proverbs 23:7

We want a big change and we want it now. But maybe taking your life in a new direction has a lot more to do with the little things. Join me, as we learn how to embrace the small things that make a big difference.

Small things make a BIG Difference (Part One)

One Thing

Read Zechariah 4:6-10

We want a big change and we want it now. But maybe taking your life in a new direction has a lot more to do with the little things. Join me, as we learn how to embrace the small things that make a big difference.

Birds, Thorns, and Other Surprising Responses to God’s Word

Read Matthew 13:1-23

Pentecost +6

The “Word of God” is an abstract and complicated topic. When you hear the phrase “Word of God” what comes to your mind? What do you picture? What do you envision?

Join me as we look at what Matthew suggests, that the Word of God is an experience, and listening is the key to that experience.

"Give me this [living] water, so that I may never be thirsty"

Read John 4:1-15

Wednesday | Pentecost +5

John has a way of teaching us who Jesus is, and what faith looks like. John does this by giving us a glimpse into Jesus' encounters with various people. We saw it with John the Baptist. We saw it with Nicodemus. And now, surprisingly, this encounter with a Samaritan woman, who is shunned by her own townspeople for her immoral behaviour.

Join me as we encounter what faith in Jesus looks like.