My wife and I are regular viewers of the BBC Songs of Praise programme, and I am frequently bemused by the “antics” of the conductor.  Some use a baton, others rely on their hands, but often the conducting doesn’t seem relevant to the timing. There is such a variety of actions that I wonder how the congregation…

It has been said that, “the trouble is that common sense is not very common”, I am often fascinated as I read what I consider to be familiar Bible passages and, as a friend of mine once said, “A verse jumps out of the page”. This was my experience as my daily reading focused on…

A copy of this poem was presented to several ladies recently and after asking the donor for permission I was told “This was something she found and used many years ago, not written by her but, it surfaced again when decluttering.  * Anonymous*    I carry a cross in my pocket, a simple reminder to…

Listening to a Methodist church choir from the USA, I was intrigued to hear a spiritual song that included these words. “I am ready when you call me Lord but give me just a little more time.” For several years I was privileged to be employed in an administrative capacity with a Retirement Home for…

In the late 1960s, I was privileged to attend a 12-week evening course at the London Bible College, now known as the London School of Theology. The lecturer, who read Greek, was asked by another student, “Why do you only teach from the Authorised Version and not modern translations?”  His response was, “In translating the…

The book of Nehemiah is just one of many fascinating Bible accounts and I am grateful that my daily reading app frequently takes me to passages I have not read for some time.  Chapter 2 has two interesting statements separated by a few verses. Verse 2 “I was very much afraid” and then verse 4,…

For most of my life, I have frequently heard preachers ask questions, without expecting an answer. More recently I have heard members of the congregation call out answers. Although I do not expect any answers the heading may make you think. An elderly Christian motorist was travelling on unfamiliar roads and looking for a road…

The recent announcement, in a local paper, that the Broomhill Lido (swimming people to people of my age) is to re-open in 2026 brought back a memory from around 70 years ago. Before attending senior, and while at Primary, school in our final year we used to visit another swimming pool for “lessons” though I…

2 Corinthians 12 verse 5 includes this phrase – I will boast about a man like that,  When I was 13 years old, and thanks to the intervention of an aunt, I started work on Saturdays and some school holidays on a Land Settlement Association holding in Newbourne, Suffolk. It belonged to a Christian man who also…

Ephesians 4 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. As one of many who gave up making New Year’s resolutions, it is, nevertheless, worthwhile to undertake a personal assessment and I was challenged by the subject of Anger Management. Working with older people for many…