A few years ago, the Two Ronnies on their TV programme had a never-to-be-forgotten sketch called ‘Four Candles’ (still to be found on YouTube!). As we enter the weeks leading up to Christmas that are called Advent, each Sunday we will be lighting an Advent Candle. Each of them is...
November includes one of those ‘pause for thought’ moments. That moment is clothed with silence, marching bands, festival of remembrance, familiar hymns, readings and prayer. Our thoughts are not monochrome. The tragedy of war encompasses the losing of loved ones, broken bodies and scarred minds, orphaned children, widows and the...
Do you have a favourite Psalm? Included among mine is Psalm 5. In it the writer, David, stands as we all do, on the interface between good and evil. From his standpoint, he recognises the very real danger of being swept along with the bad. At the same time, he...
A year has many ‘fresh start’ points. January has its resolutions (maybe better to see them as ‘renewed commitments’). Spring, with its focus on Easter, brings renewed wonder at God’s incredible love for each of us – what a wonderful Saviour we have in Jesus! September brings many fresh starts...
Debbie and I have just celebrated our second wedding anniversary in a hotel that boasts an ‘estuary view’. It lived up to its name: the tidal waters rushed in and then ebbed away. The expression ‘time and tide wait for no man’ was so visibly true. No matter how desperate...
Travelling by train to London for college has its advantages. I have time to have a coffee and eat breakfast. I can relax and rest my eyes, read and I can have my quiet time – read the Bible and my daily Bible notes and pray. My fellow passengers take the...
The period between Easter and Pentecost is an opportune time for us, as a church and as individuals, to reflect on living in the light of the miracle of Easter. Jesus met with his disciples in different places and times with a number of aims. Some took more than a...
Many years ago, one Easter Day afternoon, I was baptised along with five others. I had become a Christian on the previous Remembrance Sunday. In baptism I was entrusting my life to the Jesus who had shown me on that first Easter, just how much he loved me and how,...
At the end of March – by the way, welcome to March! – we are planning to celebrate the national 20th anniversary of Open the Book. We continue to go as a team once a fortnight into Whitehouse Primary School. There we share Bible stories from both Old and New...
