Have you ever read a Bible passage that just doesn’t make sense to you? That is what happened to me this morning. I was reading a passage where Jesus appears to break the rules. As He does so, the Pharisees challenge Him about breaking God’s laws. If you want to read the passage for yourself, […]
Facing The Darkness And Finding The Light
I don’t know about other preachers but I find, at times such as Christmas, there is a reoccurring theme throughout my preaching. During Christmas 2019, that theme has been “darkness and light”. I have found that there have been two verses in particular that have really spoken to me; The people walking in darkness have […]
Disruption
Yesterday as my, almost, six-month old grandchild vomited on my jumper (yet again), I found myself reflecting that a baby brings an awful lot of disruption with it. Your world is never the same. Things that you used to take for granted are no longer the same. When you used to just jump in the […]
Missing It
I recently took my daughter to a hospital appointment in London. The challenge that lay before us was navigating ourselves to an unfamiliar part of London in the rush hour. Our appointment time was just as the daily rush was beginning and it meant that we would be trying to get home in the midst […]
Dark and Light
As I have been preparing for the upcoming festive season, a lot of my thinking has been around the theme of light and darkness. I love the prologue of John’s Gospel and contrasting images of light and dark that it presents; The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John […]
Where the Heart is
I am approaching that time of year, in my preparation and planning, that I refer to as “the bosses birthday”. Christmas There are services to plan, activities to co-ordinate, visits to make, family responsibilities and a diary full of places to be and things to do. All this happens before the big day itself. Don’t […]
Ingratitude?
Today, my quiet time focussed on the story of the ten leper’s. It’s an interesting account told in Luke’s Gospel chapter 17 vs. 11 – 19. Jesus is travelling towards Jerusalem when a group of leper’s call out for pity. Jesus heals them but, only one returns to say “thank you”. Luke points out, and […]
In need of a change?
I have been thinking quite a bit about change just recently. WL Bateman is credited with saying; If you keep doing what you have always done, you will keep getting what you have always got Many people know that they need to make changes in their lives. For some, it’s a small change that will […]
Let’s Talk About It!
Yesterday, I attended a day of conversation on one of those “hot potato” issues that is facing the Church today. Over the years, there have been many issues both great and small that Churches have argued about and divided over. What struck me with yesterdays discussion was, it was a conversation. It amazed me that, […]
The Day My Mind Went Blank!
I am sure I am not the only one this has happened to but, there was an occasion my mind went completely blank. It was when I was training for ministry and leading a worship service. We reached a point where, in that Church, it was tradition to say what is known as “The Lord’s […]