A Sermon for Pentecost 2023 : St Matthew's Perry Beeches
'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water' (John 7:38b) In my last parish, I once had a theological student on placement. He was from a very evangelical background and came to us because he wanted to learn about the Catholic tradition in the Church of England. It so happened that he was with us for Pentecost, so I thought it would be interesting to get him to preach that morning. I have to say, he preached very well, using a visual aid – two balloons. These balloons were identical in colour, size and shape, but one of them was filled with ordinary air and the other with helium. During the course of the sermon, the student produced his two balloons. As you’d expect, the one filled with ordinary air bounced around the pulpit a bit and then fell to the ground; but the balloon filled with helium, of course, immediately soared upwards. Thankfully, he had the presence of mind to secure the second balloon to something, as he obviously realised that if it...