About recordings
Downloading sermons
This section of the website holds sermon recordings from St Patrick's church. They're in MP3 format, typically 5-15MB in size depending on length (most will be 15-30 minutes, and include a Bible reading at the start). The recordings index page will always have the most recent sermons at the top. As the database grows we'll be adding more features for sorting and searching the available sermons.
From the page for a recording, you can download the MP3 file by clicking the button that looks like this:
Or you can play it directly in your web browser, by clicking play on the control which looks something like this (the exact appearance will vary depending on your web browser):
Some older web browsers don't support this option, in which case you'll see an apologetic message where the little controls should be, but you'll still be able to download the recording by clicking on the green button.
Getting the most out of recorded sermons
Recorded sermons are a great resource. It helps church members catch up on a particular sermon or series they've missed, or listen again to something they want to think about further. It lets us - both individually and as a family - share our weekly Bible teaching with people who aren't part of the congregation at the moment. Whether you're a church regular or a visitor, we hope you'll find these recordings helpful.
Grab a Bible
If you're able to do so, you might find it helpful to have a Bible to hand while you're listening. Almost all our sermons start with a bit of the Bible being read out loud, and the job of the preacher is to help us understand and apply what we've heard. We usually use the NIV translation in church - you can find it in phone apps, online, or in almost any bookshop - but there are lots of other good translations too. If your translation is different you might notice it uses slightly different words or phrases for the same verse.
The download page for each individual recording also shows the Bible reference, with a link to a public website where you can read the text online.
Ask God for help
Another thing you'll often hear on the recording is the preacher praying before he speaks, to ask for God's help in understanding what he's said in the Bible. You might like to do that before you hit play, too.
Be part of a church
Learning together from the Bible is a really important part of the life of the church. It can be great to listen to sermon recordings by yourself - but another part of the picture in church is that we are thinking about the same things together week by week, so we can encourage and comfort and challenge each other with the Bible. If you find these recordings helpful, why not join us on a Sunday too?