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…
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…