The Miracle Maker dvd Icon Films, 1999 87 minutes £7.00 A book with the same title is also available : Hodder & Stoughton, 2000 £2.00ISBN 978 0 340 735 633 This animated cartoon is a graphic re-telling of the story of Jesus based on the gospel accounts as seen through the eyes of Tamar, the…
One of the pitfalls of living in our troublesome world is that we can become problem-centred rather than God-centred. When this happens, we lose the proper perspective. Gradually, all our problems begin to look huge and the strength of almighty God seems small. Instead of moving mountains by faith, we become constant worriers, creating mountains…
One of the traditions in our house over many years has been the Simnel cake, ideally we would have it on Mothering Sunday, but in honesty, I am seldom organized enough to hit that target and more often than not it has been Easter Day before the Simnel Cake has been ready to eat. I…
The old idiom states that ‘seeing is believing’. Indeed, it is difficult to deny what is in clear sight; we cannot ‘un-see’ an image though we may forget. Sight is one of our six senses and one that I have always had a great fear of losing; my respect for the way visually impaired people…
Bible reading Matthew 23: 37-39 The mother hen who keeps her brood safe. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For…
My Brother’s Keeper by Rod Gragg. Little, Brown & Co., 2016 250 pages £12.99ISBN 978 1 455 566 280 What a beautiful book. Beautiful for two reasons. Firstly, its 250 pages yield 30 different stories, so, about 8 pages for each story – not enough to get bored ! This book can be put…
The story of Ruth in the Old Testament is so rich in meaning that thousands of sermons must havefound their inspiration from its words. Here are just some of the ideas to be found in this short lovestory – The love of Ruth for her mother-in-law provokes Ruth to say “Where you go, I will…
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…