In ‘The Complete Disciple’, Paul W. Powell describes a picture of a rugged wagon train painted by a famous artist of the American West. It is night and the wagons have been drawn into a circle for protection. The men are gathered around the campfire, and the wagon-master has a map spread out before him.…
So who is your favourite singer? For many of my age the answer could include one or more of the Beatles or the Rolling Stones or someone else from that amazing range of talent we grew up with. I was always a bit different – I’d possibly say the Scottish rocker ,New Romantic and co-Founder…
Psalm 119:103 “How sweet are your words to my taste,Sweeter than honey to my mouth.” “The unfolding of your words gives light, it gives understanding to the simple.” v130 “All your words are true;All your righteous laws are eternal.” v160 The Word of God, or the words of God have so many wonderful qualities and purposes: …
So, there we are. Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent and it was during Lent last year that the full enormity of the COVID-19 crisis became recognisable. Countries went into lock-down; people reacted in their own ways to restrictions. Initially there was panic buying in the UK as folk stocked up on the most…
Has science buried God ? Fixed Point Foundation, 2009 dvd £4 81 mins. Available on You Tube The debate on this topic between Professor Richard Dawkins and Professor John Lennox took place in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. The choice of venue was quite deliberate as it was here in 1860, a year…
First Sunday in Lent Year B 21st February 2021 Lectionary readings: Genesis 9 v8-17; Psalm 25 v1-10; 1 Peter 3 v18-22; Mark 1 v9-15. Being ‘saved’ really is ‘good news’. One way of linking together this week’s readings is to explore the theme of being ‘saved’. In the story of Noah and the ark, God…
When we visited the Holy Land a few years ago we had a Muslim guide and his knowledge of the Holy Land and the Bible (Old and New Testament) was wonderful. However, he never referred to OLIVE Trees in that way it was always OLIVER Trees. That provided us all with a chuckle but also,…
Maybe you don’t need me to remind you that today is St Valentine’s Day and as a grumpy old man, I look at these occasions as yet another marketing ploy for companies to re-brand their ordinary product, inflate the price and fleece well meaning members of the public. My wife tells me that I haven’t…
John 1: 1 “In the beginning was The Word…..” Have you ever really thought about how powerful words can be? It’s hard to believe the pen really is mightier than the sword when we see all the pictures and reports of violence which stream across our television and computer screens; yet eventually there has to…
The very well-known hymn ‘Abide with me’ says change and decay in all around I see, O thou who changest not, abide with me. There is a pattern associated with change which is summarised by the ‘Kubler-Ross change curve’. Several stages are involved from (initial) shock and denial through anger or frustration, bargaining and depression…