Corby Glen Group Virtual Church

Listen to a simple service of prayer and reflection centred on Matthew 4.12-17, 23-25 for 7 January

This completes the series of Kingdom Prayers

Reflection on Matthew 4.12-17, 23-25

Through the season of Advent we heard John the Baptist’s message of repentance. Today we hear of the moment when Jesus begins to proclaim: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. Then we hear of Jesus going so much further than John did.

John was the long-foretold herald of the Messiah, the Anointed One of God. His message was one of p...

Listen to a simple service of prayer and reflection centred on Matthew 2.1-12 for 6 January, the Feast of the Epiphany

Reflection on Matthew 2.1-12 for the Feast of the Epiphany

The wise men said: we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage. Then … they left for their own country by another road.

We are all on a journey. That journey begins with our birth and ends when our mortal bodies fail and our earthly pilgrimage concludes in death. Every life-long journey is different as each of us respo...

Listen to a simple service of prayer and reflection centred on John 1.43-51 for 5 January

Reflection on John 1.43-51

Nathanael said to him: Where did you come to know me?

In Psalm 139 we read these words: O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away … Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. These powerful words offer...

Listen to a simple service of prayer and reflection centred on John 1.35-42 for 4 January

Reflection on John 1.35-42

Having just reflected upon the moment when John declared: Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, we now move into a moment where that great proclamation of faith bears fruit. In a recent conversation, someone said to me: But you never know what good your words and actions might be doing. This is, of course, very true. We never know what good, or harm, we might be bringing into the...

Listen to a simple service of prayer and reflection centred on John 1.29-34 for 3 January

Reflection on John 1.29-34

John said: Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! … I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.

We do not know how long John’s ministry of preaching and baptizing in the wilderness had been going on before this moment in the gospel narrative. Whether it had been days, weeks or months is not really relevant because today we hear of the m...

Listen to a simple service of prayer and reflection centred on John 1.19-28 for 2 January

Reflection on John 1.19-28

Then they said to him: ‘Who are you?’

How often are we asked about our faith? How often are we asked whether we believe in God, or whether we go to Church? For some these questions occur quite frequently, for others they are never asked. Whether questions of faith crop up regularly, or not at all, should be a matter upon which we should reflect.

If we are never asked about our fait...

Listen to a simple service of prayer and reflection centred on Luke 2.15-21 for 1 January

Reflection on Luke 2.15-21

Today’s reading brings together two moments in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus that may seem quite disparate but, in reality, unite in revealing something of the wonder of Christ coming to earth. The shepherds were caring for their flocks on the hillside that surrounds the hilltop town of Bethlehem when the angels of heaven proclaimed the birth of the Messiah to them. Prior to the angels appearing to the shepherds an angel had...

Listen to a simple service of prayer and reflection centred on John 1.1-18 for 31 December

Reflection on John 1.1-18 for New Year’s Eve

He came as a witness to testify to the light … the true light which enlightens everyone.

Today we say goodbye to the old as we prepare to enter into the new. At midnight bells will be rung, fireworks will crackle into life and resolutions will be made. There will be parties, embraces and the sharing of memories and hopes for the future. In the year ahead there will be both...

Listen to a simple service of prayer and reflection centred on Luke 2.36-40 for 30 December

Reflection on Luke 2.36-40

Today’s reading carries on from yesterday’s account of Simeon’s encounter with the baby Jesus. Today we read of how Anna, a prophet, came forward and began to praise God. Unlike Simeon’s words, she uttered a prophecy in which she spoke of the child who would bring about the redemption of Jerusalem. Anna had lived and worshipped in the temple for many years. She had resided in the house of God where she had spent h...