Sermons from All Souls Church All Souls Church in St Margarets near Twickenham

Maf starts with a parallel - 007 expected to protect the British way of life (but acting contrary to it) and the Jewish Messiah - expected to arrive as an all-conquering military hero but manifested in a carpenter's son who preached peace and forgiveness. Maf looks at 3 familiar examples of how Jesus encouraged us to be freed from bitterness and resentment. Overcome evil with good - by turning the cheek, handing over your coat, going the extra mile; confront evil with grace, humility and humour.

Joe encouragingly points us to the most sense-making decades of our lives - our 70s, our 80s and our 60s - which most of us have to look forward to :-). He then goes on to talk about truth - a timely topic in our swirl of post-truth, deep fakes, filters and curated content. Do as you would be done by; do what you say you will; be truthful (no spin) - Jesus puts us straight - it is either "yes" or "no".

Joe teases apart a thorny topic; Jesus's teaching on human failures ranging from lust and adultery to divorce. How are we to deal with our impulses? "You can not stop the birds from flying overhead but you can stop them from nesting in your hair", Joe reflects, recalling the wisdom of Martin Luther. Grace, repentence and a God-given change of heart are what is needed.

Joe joins up recent sermons to show how Jesus' stretching expectations - e.g. righteousness beyond that of the pharisees - can (only) be fulfilled through a change of heart. Personal affront (holding a grudge) may result in expressions of anger which reflects the state of one's heart. What starts with a thwarted will can lead to personal insult, self-righteousness, contempt, a lack of appreciation for others, resentment and violence - what starts small can kill us. Jesus gives practical instructions for how to deal with anger early and at depth.

Bishop Emma reflects on her favourite passage. She takes apart the word Jesus used for "blessed" (separating it from the conditional "you will be blessed if...") and goes through each of the "Good on you when..." statements that comprise "the beatitudes". Full dependence is what we need; to recognise our reliance on God, generate genuine gratitude and be in right relationship with our peers.

Ritesh continues our series showing how Jesus fulfilled the law. Jesus showed how to live a righteous life from the heart. Ritesh takes us back to God's choice of David - a man after his own heart. We then go back to Jeremiah and Ezekiel and God's promise to transform us from inside to out. Don't pretend - confess - yield and be changed. This is what matters.