Bible reading : Romans 12:1-21 V1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” Is God really only interested in our spiritual lives? We’re not divided into a physical part and a spiritual…
In June of last year Rev Richard Teal became President of the Methodist Church for this Connexional year. He had 3 points for his inaugural address, like many preachers, and it gives pointers which I think are relevant to us all. His 3 points were headed Orientation, Disorientation and Reorientation and I have not forgotten…
Fifth Sunday in Lent Year B 21st March 2021 Lectionary Readings: Jeremiah 31 v31-34; Psalm 51 v1,2; Hebrews 5 v5-10; John v20-33. ‘Freedom from bondage’ and ‘Daring to think differently’. John, writing at the end of the first century, was mindful of the everyday persecution suffered by Christian communities spread across the eastern…
Rescuing Darwin : God and evolution in Britain today by Nick Spencer and Denis Alexander.Theos, 2009 65 pages £10 ISBN 978 0 955 445 354 For all that this is a short book it really packs a powerful punch. Nick Spencer was director of Studies (now Senior Fellow) at Theos, the public theology network and…
When Leo and Amy opened a 300 seat, fine-dining restaurant, Leo admitted he was “scared of everything.” Amy equates their leap of faith in starting their business to holding hands while jumping off a mountain. But if you’re going to do something scary, “you want to do it with someone you know and trust,” Leo…
I still get quite emotional as I look at this beautiful picture of class one at the Dunblane Primary School. Yesterday marked the twenty fifth anniversary of perhaps one of the darkest days in recent British history, we have a very similar school class photograph featuring our eldest daughter when she was the same age…
I have a hopeless memory for things that must be done and so I use a combination of a diary and to-do list to manage myself. Some of you will recognise the need. A to-do list is all very well, but it only helps us manage our jobs if we do the things listed. Tasks…
Scripture: Matthew 6:16“When you fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be…
When the ground was covered in snow and we were unsure about venturing out in case we slipped over and checked the freezer to establish how long we could leave it before a shopping trip I was reminded of a book we read to our children when they were little, it was called ‘Kipper’s snowy…
There were a lot of women after the 1914 -18 War who never married. There were not enough men to go round and some women simply never met anyone to equal the ones they had lost. At the top of our Road as I grew up lived the Misses A. Both had been engaged as the…