In the second sermon of Jesus' story of the 10 bridesmaids, we wrestle with Matthew's context, style of writing and emphasis to discover how they drive the parable's meaning. How is the Kingdom of God presented in a parable and gospel with so much judgment in it? And how does the delay of the Groom challenge our hope for the arrival of God's Kingdom?

It's safe to say that the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids is not one of Jesus' most loved stories. We have most likely heard it as a warning to be prepared for Jesus' coming, but this misses the nuances of the story, its cultural setting, and how Matthew has written his gospel. What if the parable offers us something far richer, more complex and which challenges our discomfort with the nature of the story and the outcome? 
NOTE: The audio file of the recording of this sermon was corrupted; this is an AI-generated podcast of the source material from that transcript of the sermon.

Exploring Faithfulness in the Fruits of the Spirit series is inspired by the online exhibition from the National Gallery. The exhibits are Orazio Gentileschi, The Finding of Moses (NG6684), early 1630s, oil on canvas and  Soldi, Isabella, Duchess of Manchester, 1738, oil on canvas.

Peace. A word used liberally by those across all Christian traditions. But how should we understand it as the third Fruit of the Spirit? In this episode of our Art From the Heart series, we take a look at what we can learn about peace from Monet’s Waterlilies.

We often make the mistake of believing the parables were spoken for our benefit. This is a classic example - the story of a would-be king entrusting his servants with money while he goes away and then holding them to account for the return they produce. Are we the servants of King Jesus, tasked with yielding a return for the Kingdom of God and accountable when returns? Or does the historical context and Jesus' journey towards Jerusalem lead to a deeper understanding of why he told this parable and thus a more nuanced and complex application to us?

Jesus talks a lot about farming, sowing seeds and how the Kingdom of God can be compared to various agricultural settings and practices. His parable of the weeds takes us into some deep territory about the nature of our world, the evil growing within it and how the Kingdom of God has a strategy to address it. What is this plan, and how does it disturb us and our presumptions about evil and the nature of God's Kingdom?

A reflection on the complex experience of joy. Wondering how the neurology and psychology of joy alongside the artistic capturing of it helps us appreciate the theological perspective of Joy as a fruit of the Spirit. Drawing from recent developments scientific research and National Gallery curators’ commentaries on Frank Auerbach’s _Mornington Crescent_ and Van Gogh’s _Sunflowers_.

Jesus was a master storyteller. Speaking in parables was second nature to him, in fact, we are told he taught nothing without a parable. But how did these strange, quirky, confusing, sometimes violent and judgemental stories and riddles function? What was the point of them? In this introduction, we explore their purpose and role in Jesus' life and mission and examine how they, far from being moral lessons or clever sermon illustrations, were more forceful, illusive and subversive than we have ever imagined.

Continuing our art from the heart and fruits of the spirit series, this talk looks at self-control through two paintings: JMW Turner’s painting “Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway” and Ben Hartley’s, “Devon Lane, Westlake.”These paintings invite us to meditate on technology, development, infrastructure and housing and how these impact nature. We pause to consider how self-control in consumerism could help slow down climate change. The talk finished by looking at how we could bring new self-control practices into Lent.

We conclude our marathon series on desire by taking a look at four more habits of Cruciform Desire in the context of our communal life together. We examine further what place joy has in our life of desire and the role of spiritual disciplines in our Christ-like formation.