Mark 6:31: He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. Mark chapter 6 is a busy narrative and it provides the seeds for this third in my summer series of thoughts. Jesus…

Read: “O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” (Psalm 104:24) Last week I began a short series of thoughts to take us through the summer holidays. We reflected on the quiet significance of endings, as many children, families, teachers and school…

Read Ecclesiastes 3:1 – ‘For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.’ For many children and young people, this is the last week of the summer term. Some students may have finished their university careers or will soon be enjoying a summer break. Others, depending on their stage of…

Read John 6:41-51 Have you ever worked for one of those managers who says, “My door is always open,” yet when someone actually needs to speak, the diary is full, the meeting has moved, or the moment never quite arrives? A parent may tell their children, “You can always come to me,” but then the…

When I was a child, I remember the chore of writing thank-you letters after Christmas and birthdays. At the time, it felt like a duty. Now I know how good it is to receive gratitude when someone has been given a gift. Today’s Bible reading is John 5:1–18. It tells of a man who had…

Ever since I was a child, first standing by the sea and marvelling at the horizon, I have been intrigued by perspective. I know I often use it in illustrations and sermons, but I make no apology for returning to it today. What we see from a distance can be very different from the detail…

Those of us who drive know the anxiety of wondering whether the fuel will run out before we reach the garage. I now have an all-electric car and, while most people worry about battery range, I am actually happier because I am less likely to take the risks I once did. Yes, perversely, I am…

When I was working, I often chuckled to myself at some of the ridiculous buzzwords and phrases used in the corporate world. To me, these words often obscured ideas that would have been better expressed in plain language.  More seriously, the legal world seems to have a language all of its own, as do other…

Read John 16:12-15 Some of us can ‘do maths’, while others are baffled by numbers. As we grow up, we tend to master the skills we need to get by in life—unless, of course, we are among those who find numbers fascinating for their own sake. My father was one of those people. He took…

Read: John 7:37–39 If you have always lived in East Suffolk, you may have become desensitised to the impact on our lives of the many rivers that make their way into the sea between Harwich and Lowestoft. The coast is very beautiful, but the rivers can also make travel tortuous. For example, the distance from…