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There are a lot of things people are afraid of, causing great anxiety to the sufferer when they are exposed to the source of the phobia. I am sure you have heard of claustrophobia – the fear of closed spaces or acrophobia – the fear of heights. There are some unusual phobias that, perhaps, you haven’t heard of

This gospel is basically in four parts, four themes. Anger, adultery, divorce, and oaths. The first two are primary then perhaps inform the other two. It seems unfair equating anger and lust with murder and adultery. These feelings are normal, anger and lust and all of us if we are honest will have those feelings.

Jesus says in the gospel today; do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. And yet we read in Isaiah; look you fast only to quarrel and to fight but is not this the fast that I choose to loose the bonds of injustice to undo the thongs of the yolk. Is it not to share your food with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house and so forth then your light shall break from like the dawn.

One Sunday as they drove home from church, a little girl turned to her mother and said, “Mommy, there’s something about the preacher’s message this morning that I don’t understand.” The mother said, “Oh? What is it?” The little girl replied, “Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. He said God is so big that He could hold the world in His hand. Is that true?”

In Isaiah we hear; the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, and in Matthew; repent for the Kingdom of heaven has come near. Follow me and I will make you fish for people. The hope for all of us to follow and to repent and fish for people the sense that we are in darkness still in darkness, yet we see the light. Repentance, the process of moving from darkness to light and fishing for people is walking with others in darkness to light.

Did you spend time in your early adult years growing up and searching for your purpose in life? What were you looking for? Over three thousand years ago, Alexander the Great spent his twenties conquering the world. By the age of thirty, he created one of the largest empires in history, having never lost lost a battle.

I have called you in righteousness, from Isaiah today, as part of the readings for today with the gospel passage of Jesus’ baptism. We often interpret passages like this in Isaiah as referring to Jesus, but that’s not the only understanding. one of the other understandings is the servant is the people of Israel.

Today we have a recording of our worship at St George’s Hastings.

Is there anyone in your family who is difficult to buy Christmas presents for? Or are you yourself difficult to buy for, and dread the question: what do you want for Christmas? It is often almost impossible to come up with gift ideas for adults today, because we tend to buy what we need or think we need when we think of it, and they tend to be the practical items and what we are going to use or wear.