Service Date: 21 February, 2010

Luke 4:1-13
Sarah: Welcome to a new series of Who Wants to be a Christian! I'm your host, Christine Tarrant. And here's our first contestant, Alison from the University of Sheffield! Nervous, Alison?
Alison: A little. But I do want to play.
Sarah: Why's that? What's at stake for you this morning?
Alison: Well, I want to follow Jesus. That's one of the reasons I'm in church this morning. But I don't always find it easy knowing exactly how to do it...

Service Date: 14 February, 2010

Luke 9:28-36
For a few weeks now, it's felt as though I've been going on and on about God's love for us. And I don't feel apologetic, for God's love for us and for all is the good news Christians have to share with the world. But as well as God's love for us, it's worth looking at our love for God too.
Today is Valentine's Day, focussing on romantic love; but what's that sort of love got to do with the Christian story? After all, so far as we know, Jesus never fell for anyone. And though one picture for the church as a whole is the bride of Christ, that doesn't mean any of us individually is going out with him. Yet though Jesus isn't our heavenly boyfriend, we human beings can only love God through human forms of love. And while we're used to the idea of loving God the way a child loves father and mother, it's worth looking at how we come to love God through the lens of being in love too.

Service Date: 7 February, 2010

Luke 5:1-11
I guess we start young learning what other people think of us. I know when I first had a godson, and I went to stay with his parents, I found myself saying, ‘Good boy!' and ‘Bad boy!' to this toddler who could hardly understand words at all. When he staggered over to me and handed me his toy to look at, his mother and I praised him for his generosity. When he started to play around with his food, and thought throwing it was much more fun than eating it, we told him gently but firmly where he was going wrong.

Service Date: 31 January, 2010

Luke 9:10-17
It's a long way from this story of people thousands of years ago gathering in the Galilean countryside to hear what Jesus had to say to us in St Andrew's this morning. And it's a long way from us gathered here this morning to the people of Haiti, thousands of miles away on the other side of the world, still coming to terms with the terrible aftermath of the earthquake that hit them a fortnight ago. But this snippet of story told recently by an American missionary who used to live and work in Haiti brings us all together. Listen to what happens when he finally manages to get through by phone to people he knew in Haiti, and asks of news of those he knew there:
As the names flew by too fast over the iffy phone connection, I didn't recognize them all. Most of the names he said were alive, some dead.
Then he said, "We don't have food or water." What do you mean? "No food or water." Same answer.

Service Date: 24 January, 2010

Mark 10:13-16
There's nothing new about what I'm about to say. Margaret's reading says it all, really: I'm going to pass on to you now what I've heard and read from people who've been on our journey of faith before us. But though it's not new news, it's still good news. Let's hear what our church believes.
God loves us even before we come to love God ourselves. Though we can't understand such love, God invites us in baptism to accept it with the openness and trust of a child. Christ's journey from death to new life is the pattern of our lives, as we follow in his footsteps. Jesus himself was baptized by John in the Jordan. His baptism found fulfilment in the cross, where he gave his own life for the life of the world.

Service Date: 10 January, 2010

John 2:1-11
You've heard that saying, ‘Always the bridesmaid, never the bride,' haven't you? Well, that's me. Susanna bat Deborah, at your service, and yours, and yours, but not my own. And most of the time that's fine by me. It's a really stressful day for a bride, you know? Getting the clothes right, and the hair. Saying goodbye to mum and dad, and hello to thousands of his relations all looking down their nose at you for daring to marry their beautiful boy. Much better being the bridesmaid, making sure everyone has enough oil in their lamps, making sure the little ones don't run off or start yelling at the wrong time, making sure the bride gets to synagogue looking her very best.

Service Date: 10 January, 2010

Luke 2:41-52
Over the past few weeks, a lot of us will have been in touch with our families, or celebrated Christmas with people of different ages. Of course, with the snow, many travel plans will have gone agley - I was glad to get back from my parents in Dorset just before the snow moved south - but still it's a chance to be together with different generations. I particularly noticed that for our Nativity and Christmas Day services, with both babies, children and young adults well in evidence. It was lovely to see many generations represented together in church.

Service Date: 27 December, 2009

Matthew 2:1-12 - our royal correspondent
Sarah: Jerusalem FM wouldn't let me release this next interview till they were quite sure the station won't get into trouble, and since it was the Sabbath yesterday, the lawyers couldn't get onto it till this morning. Anyway, I am now assured that we don't risk being prosecuted under the Civil Contingencies Act. Probably. Jean of Jerusalem is our royal correspondent. You've a good surname for someone who keeps up with royal doings, Jean!
Jean: People have only told me so about a thousand times. But I've moved for the job, actually; my family comes from Bethlehem. Can we get on with the interview, please?
Sarah: Sorry. I understand King Herod - long live Herod! - is troubled.
Jean: Yes, and I can tell you, all Jerusalem is troubled with him. And it's not very safe being around a troubled king.

Service Date: 25 December, 2009

As a result of my recent feature on the Great Bethlehem Mystery, you'll be delighted to hear that I, Rabbi Sarah, have been asked to be a guest editor on the Ha-Yom programme. So this morning I've decided to look a bit more closely into that fascinating story. First a bit of background, from the prophet Isaiah.
Hebrew Bible reading: Isaiah 9:2-7
Sarah: Welcome to our political correspondent, James of Joppa.
James: an interesting prediction there, from Isaiah, one of our longest standing and most highly respected prophets. What do you make of it from the political point of view?
James: Well, the military aren't going to be at all happy with this. If, as Isaiah predicts, the oppressor's rod is going to be broken, it's a clear case for cutbacks in army spending on equipment and weapons - rods broken, uniforms burned and so on, as he rather picturesquely puts it.

Service Date: 20 December, 2009

Part One: The official story
Relevant extracts from the angelic archive, eternity, heaven.
My name's Rabbi Sarah. Some of you may remember me from last Easter when I was reporting for Jerusalem FM. But they've had a lot of cutbacks this year, and as a result I've had to go freelance, looking for interesting stories wherever I can find them. And have I got a tale to tell you today!
What you've just heard is the standard version. The one everybody knows. But I've been able to track down some of the sources behind the story. The characters no one else has ever interviewed before. The good, the baaad and the naughty. And this is what really happened on the night of the Great Bethlehem Mystery...
Sarah: It wasn't easy getting hold of an angel to talk to. When you've got eternity to play with, it's not hard to avoid reporters. But eventually Gabriel got tired of not answering my calls.