Saint John the Baptist Church - Chipping Barnet - Sermons

Saint John the Baptist Church - Chipping Barnet - Sermons

by Fr Sam Rossiter-Peters

Season 1

Sermon on Second Sunday Before Advent - Fr Sam

In this deeply honest and pastoral reflection, Fr Sam unpacks one of Jesus’ most challenging teachings, forgiveness without limit. Drawing from Matthew 18, where Peter asks how many times he must forgive, Fr Sam explores what it really means to live out forgiveness “seventy times seven.” Through a powerful personal story of betrayal and hurt from his time as a pastoral assistant, Fr Sam illustrates how forgiveness is not about ignoring pain or pretending everything is fine. Instead, it begins at the altar,“Drown them in the chalice,” his priest once told him, meaning that true forgiveness starts in the presence and grace of Jesus. Fr Sam reminds us that forgiveness is not weakness, denial, or instant healing. It’s a journey of grace, often slow and painful, where we bring our hurt to God again and again until mercy begins to reshape us. Forgiveness, he says, is not something we manufacture; it is something God does within us. In a world where many wounds run deep, in relationships, communities, and faith, this episode invites us to rediscover forgiveness not as obligation, but as the path to freedom and peace.

Sermon on Remembrance Sunday - Fr Sam Rossiter

In this moving Remembrance Sunday reflection, Fr Sam challenges how we imagine heaven and the life to come. Too often, he observes, we picture heaven as “earth but a bit better”. A continuation of our current joys without the pain. But, as Fr Sam powerfully reminds us, that vision cannot hold for those who have seen or suffered the worst that humanity can do. For them, heaven must be something entirely new and not an extension of this world, but its transformation. Drawing from Jesus’ exchange with the Sadducees about marriage and resurrection, Fr Sam shows how Christ reveals heaven not as a continuation of earthly relationships, but as a perfected network of love, where all are united in and through the Holy Trinity. Using vivid imagery and honest theological reflection, he weaves together the themes of war, suffering, love, and divine relationship, reminding us that we were created for connection with God, with each other, and with creation itself. Remembrance Sunday, then, becomes more than a moment to mourn the fallen. It becomes a symbol in need of fulfilment: a call to live differently now, to build peace, and to embody the divine love that heaven promises.

Sermon on Last Sunday after Trinity - Fr Sam Rossiter

In this reflective episode, Fr Sam explores one of the most profound dimensions of faith — the kind of faith that we can hold for others. Drawing from the Gospel story of friends bringing a paralysed man to Jesus, Fr Sam challenges listeners to see evangelism not as a performance or a pressure, but as an act of love, hope, and quiet courage. He begins with a candid question: “Is there any point in telling people about Jesus?” In a world that’s indifferent or even apathetic toward faith, sharing what we believe can feel daunting. Yet, as Fr Sam reminds us, faith is not about results — it’s about bringing people to Jesus and trusting Him to do the rest. Through this sermon, Sam paints a vivid picture of what it means to be a “city on a hill” and “a light in the darkness.” Like the friends who carried their companion through a crowded house just for the chance that Jesus might heal him, we too are called to carry others to Christ through our prayers, presence, and love — even when we don’t know how He’ll respond. The message is both liberating and empowering: our role isn’t to convert, convince, or control outcomes. It’s simply to make the introduction — to believe that the meeting itself can change everything.

Sermon on 18th Sunday after Trinity - Fr Sam Rossiter-Peters

In this sermon for the 18th Sunday after Trinity, Fr. Sam Rossiter-Peters invites us to a deeper, more courageous engagement with Scripture. Rather than reading the Bible in black and white, we are called to wrestle with it — to question, to study, and to seek God’s living truth within its complexities. Drawing from passages that challenge our understanding and our times, Fr. Sam reminds us that faithful interpretation means holding Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience together — trusting the Holy Spirit to guide us into a fuller vision of God’s justice and love.

Sermon on 17th Sunday after Trinity - Cyril Awere

Cyril Awere shares his story as part of celebrations of Black History Month at St. John the Baptist Church, Chipping Barnet.

Sermon on 16th Sunday after Trinity - Fr Sam Rossiter

In this episode, we reflect on what it truly means to be satisfied — not just physically, but spiritually. Drawing from John 6:25–35 and the story of the feeding of the 5,000, Fr Sam explores how Jesus invites us to move from seeking mere provision to encountering the Provider Himself. Using the relatable story of his young daughter learning to communicate her needs, Fr Sam illustrates how, like children, we often sense our hunger or longing but misdiagnose what we truly need. The crowds following Jesus wanted more bread, but Jesus offered something far greater — Himself, the Bread of Life. As we celebrate Harvest Thanksgiving, this message reminds us that gratitude for our “daily bread” is only the beginning. We are called to move from thanksgiving to transformation — to receive the Bread of Life in the Eucharist, and then to give back our first fruits in worship, generosity, and service. Fr Sam invites us to see giving not as an obligation, but as an act of worship. Whether through money, time, kindness, or prayer, every offering is a response to God’s abundant grace.

Sermon on 15th Sunday after Trinity - Fr Sam Rossiter

Whilst Christianity is often thought of as a dualistic religion which says that the spiritual is Godly, and the world of matter evil, in fact God cares a lot about the material world. In this sermon for the 14th Sunday after Trinity, Fr. Sam Rossiter-Peters narrates how Jesus and St Paul simply advise us to orientate our concerns properly, putting God before the world.

Sermon on 14th Sunday after Trinity - Fr Sam Rossiter

In this sermon for the 14th Sunday after Trinity, Fr. Sam Rossiter-Peters reflects on the difference between knowledge and wisdom, drawing from the insights of philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle, and the deeper call of Christian faith. Through the story of Matthew the tax collector, we see how true wisdom begins with recognising our need for God and seeking Christ the Physician, who welcomes, heals, and transforms all who come to Him with humility.

Sermon on 5th Sunday of Easter - Fr Sam Rossiter

If our foundations of faith are built in a way that allows for questions, which embraces the challenges of faith, which has room for mystery and the unknown, then when the inevitable period of exploration comes there's a well-worn roadmap to follow. Young people who are taught to question and to think for themselves can use the time of exploration when they're older to establish an adult faith which puts into practice those tools of questioning that they've learned through childhood. And even if their faith tradition then comes to be very different from what they had as a child this is usually an exciting time of growth. Fr Sam Rossiter-Peters explains the importance of us to begin by questioning ourselves, by wrestling with our assumptions, and asking if what we believe about the church and about God is really because God has led us there, or because we're a bit personally uncomfortable with the alternative. Of course, we want to be faithful to Scripture and theology, but faithfulness means probing, challenging, examining, not just the words, but the spirit behind what we're reading. Because although it sounds straightforward, love one another as I have loved you, can be taken in lots of different ways.

Sermon on 3rd Sunday of Easter - Fr Sam Rossiter-Peters

I realise that I've said to enough of you enough times, this is probably my favourite piece of scripture, that this sentence has lost any kind of meaning. That said, this morning's gospel is my favourite piece of scripture. I love it, because of how tender Jesus is with the disciples. That phrase, children, you have no fish, do you? Always sounds in my head, like a gentle and loving parent, lamenting with their child over a hurt, like a scraped knee. Since becoming a parent myself, that tone, which Jesus uses a few times throughout the Gospel of John, making it probably my favourite gospel, apart from the other three, means even more to me. It reminds me of the tone that I use, particularly with my daughter when I go into her room during the wee hours of the night, because she's woken up crying. Fr Sam Rossiter-Peters explains the Easter message, that there is redemption even through the worst moments of our lives, the worst mistakes we've made. As with Peter, Jesus doesn't deny that bad things happen and he doesn't need us to either. To be redeemed, we need to have something to be redeemed from.

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