The Parish of Saint John the Evangelist, Roslyn 

Insights

   We should have called this page 'Sermons', but the word has acquired an unfortunate reputation which might have turned people away.  At St John's we do not believe that a vicar's words need to be sleep-inducing, and to prove it we have made sound recordings of many of our sermons available for downloading.

   This page contains the most recent sermons, as well as a few selected highlights.  More recordings are available on the Archive pages; please click on the link below.  These pages will be updated regularly as new sermons become available.  (You may need to use your internet browser's Reload or Refresh function on each page to be sure you are seeing the most recent version.)

   Please read the notes below for information about how to download these files.

Archive Pages	last updated 7-Mar-10
Sermons from St Mary's Mornington	last updated 19-Feb-10
Sermon Samples Short extracts from some of the sermon sound files	last updated 18-Oct-05
Views and Reviews	last updated 20-Sep-08

     About these Recordings

   All of these recordings were made during Sunday services at St John's.  The sound quality may vary in places, and there is occasional background noise.  The sermons were often illustrated with data-projector slides which we are unable to include; however, they still make sense as audio-only recordings.

   The files are compressed into MP3 format to keep download times reasonable.  A typical dial-up internet connection will take 10-20 minutes to transfer one of these files, depending on the length of the sermon.  (You can go and make a nice cup of tea while the file trickles down your phone line in little pieces.)  If the process seems to be going much more slowly than this, there may be a lot of traffic on the internet, and you might want to try again later.

   You can download one of these files by clicking on its title (in the left-hand column of the table below).  However, what happens next will depend on your internet browser's settings.  You might get a dialogue box giving you the option of saving the file, or your browser might play the file automatically.  To ensure that you end up with a copy of the file on your own computer (so that you don't have to download it again if you want to listen to it a second time), we recommend that you click on the title with the right-hand mouse button.  A menu should appear; select 'Save Link Target As...' or 'Save Target As...', and then decide where to save the file.

   To play the files after you have saved them on your own computer, open them with Windows Media Player or any equivalent software.  (Double-clicking on your copy of the file will probably start the most appropriate programme automatically, but this will depend on your computer's settings.  If it doesn't work, try clicking on the file with the right-hand mouse button and choosing 'Open With' from the menu.)

Recent Sermons
title	date	summary	file size
Words of Warning	7-Mar-10	The difference between prohibitions and warnings, and how we so often ignore the latter.  (Revd Roger Barker)	15:59/ 2.74 MB
Promise and Call	28-Feb-10	A vision for the future - Abram, the Transfiguration and Bishop Kelvin's ordination.  (Revd Shirley Brunton)	11:32/ 1.98 MB
Talking About Sin	21-Feb-10 7:00 p.m.	"What do I need a Saviour for?" - pride, humility, and our society's last taboo subject.  (Revd Roger Barker)	15:12/ 2.61 MB
Farewell	14-Feb-10	An old story and a new beginning - Kelvin Wright's last Sunday sermon as Vicar of St John's Roslyn.	17:17/ 2.96 MB
I and Thou	7-Feb-10	Relationships with objects and with people, and encounters with God.	15:40/ 2.69 MB
The Wages of Sin	31-Jan-10	Good and evil and stupidity: the real reason for avoiding sin.	14:54/ 2.55 MB
Freedom and Fear	24-Jan-10	An unexpected omission of vengeance - God's absolute love, and human reaction to it.	14:55/ 2.56 MB
The Wedding at Cana	17-Jan-10	The best wine last - how Jesus' first miracle sets the pattern for our relationships with each other and with God.	15:16/ 2.62 MB
Perfection	10-Jan-10	Why the pursuit of perfection isn't the way to God.	9:50/ 1.68 MB
Seeing and Doing	3-Jan-10	Different sorts of knowledge, and the three components of wisdom.	13:07/ 2.25 MB
Looking to the Soul	27-Dec-09	Recognising and caring for the deep, eternal part of our being.	10:57/ 1.88 MB
Everything and Nothing	24-Dec-09 11:30 p.m.	The Incarnation: from infinite potential to a tangible focus.	7:08/ 1.22 MB
Selected Older Sermons
title	date	summary	file size
The Way of the Magi	11-Dec-05 7:00 p.m.	A God for the excluded: who the Magi were, and how they found their way to Bethlehem.	22:47/ 3.91 MB
The Word of God	20-Nov-05 7:00 p.m.	The different ways in which God's Word is spoken to the Universe, and the importance and limitations of the Bible.	21:59/ 3.77 MB
The Trumpet Shall Sound	28-Aug-05	Perfect and eternal music: reflections on life after death.	16:09/ 2.77 MB
In the Beginning	22-May-05	The scale of geological time.  The place, nature and importance of the first five books of the Bible.	21:41/ 3.72 MB
What Have You Got to Say for Yourself?	1-May-05	The novel The Da Vinci Code; the importance of understanding our own beliefs and being able to explain them to others.	15:47/ 2.71 MB
What God Do You Believe In?	10-Oct-04	Elephants and 'Uncle George'; our pictures of God, and where they can come from.	14:52/ 2.55 MB
Power and Authority	8-Aug-04	The difference between power and authority.  Three qualities which mark a true leader.	19:25/ 3.33 MB
Patterns of Resurrection	22-Feb-04	Great themes of the Universe: death and new life, from butterflies to mountains to stars.	15:47/ 2.70 MB
St John the Evangelist	29-Jun-03	Intelligent, Traditional, Faithful, Growing: the patron saint of St John's Roslyn.	17:07/ 2.93 MB
Into God's Keeping	23-Feb-03	Helicopters, whales, rainbows and the hole in the roof: tales of funerals.	14:26/ 2.47 MB