Archive

Have you ever uttered the words, ‘That hit just a little too close to home?’ It’s a familiar phrase we use when something is said that makes us feel uncomfortable or embarrassed because it...

I was laid low with a bug recently, so I took myself to bed and watched an old Western, A Fistful of Dollars starring Clint Eastwood. In the opening scene of that movie, Eastwood’s character: the...

Children are full of questions like, ‘Are we there yet?’ ‘Why do I have to go to bed now?’ or ‘Why did my pet hamster die?’ Usually, children are asking a question because they want to...

We have names for everything. They are how we identify each other and all of the many things in this world. Our names keep us from calling each other ‘hey you’ or from having to describe what...

Considering God’s missional nature can be tough if it conjures ideas about missionaries who lived this out in radical ways. We respect these examples, but they feel unattainable. Is this what it...

It is noted in the Bible that John 7:53-8:11 is not included in the earliest manuscripts, nevertheless, there are lessons we can learn from the passage. The sin of a woman is usually pointed out...

‘All for one and one for all!’ was of course the rallying cry of Athos, Porthos and Aramis, the three musketeers made famous in the swashbuckling adventure novel of the same name, written by the...

In the summer of 1642, a young disabled veteran named Nicolas Herman took vows to join a religious community in Paris. He described himself as a ‘great awkward fellow who broke everything,’ and...

Whenever I think of light I think of illumination. Light is the opposite of darkness. If there is no light, I can’t see, and I would trip over anything that’s in my way. As John says in his...

When we start to see autumn foggy days, I am reminded of my childhood in our home town of Ely. From our dining room we could see the great mass of the cathedral’s West Tower, which at 218 feet rises...

Yogi Berra, an American baseball player and manager, said a lot of funny things. One that is apropos to this time of year is ‘If you don’t know where you’re going, you might not get...

Epiphany means ‘manifestation,’ and this passage reminds us that all of Jesus’ life was manifesting or revealing who God is. In the darkness of the night, a fierce windstorm suddenly came up...

We have just celebrated the birth of Jesus, our Messiah where gifts are given to each other. As our family grew and grew, it became harder and harder to keep up with all the events and the gifts...

I must admit, I don’t often go to live orchestral events but when I do I love it. To hear so many instruments playing together sounds incredible, and I am often stuck by the skill of the players as...

Comparison is a trap that is so easy to fall into. It’s a cheap and easy ego boost to notice when we are bigger, better, faster, stronger than someone else we know. It can also be brutal, when we...

Forty years ago I had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land, better known today as the State of Israel. Among the various biblical sites visited, the one I found especially impressive was...

One of the most precious occasions in life is a wedding. It speaks of a new beginning and new life. On this special day in Cana 2000 years ago, Jesus, his mother Mary, and a number of his disciples...

For several years, I’ve been practising the use of a word for the year to help me focus on a single concept of spiritual growth. The name of this practice is ‘My One Word’ and you can find...

Emmanuel, God with us, Messiah, our deliverer, Saviour, my knight in shining armour who has delivered me from my darkness and sin. In my darkest moment, I did not believe in a God who loved me....

As Jacob came towards the end of his life he gathered his family around him to tell them of their future. He told his eighth son, Asher, that his land would produce rich food, fit for a king (Genesis...

Following the baptism of Jesus, the Bible makes it clear that God the Father both loves and takes pleasure in the Son. And during what has been called the transfiguration we are told, “While [Jesus]...

Think of the stars on a dark, cloudless night – small, distant lights scattered across the vast sky, yet enough to bring comfort and direction. Jesus is the brightest of these stars, a light that...

I can’t let the beginning of the new year go by without first wishing you a happy (happier?) one; and second, commenting on the plethora of advice on how to have a better year than the one that just...

I have a clear picture in my mind of when I was a year and a half old, as I stood on the sidewalk of our new home. I was waiting for my father as he unlocked the front door. I instantly fell in love...

For many, Christmas includes the tradition of giving gifts. Have you ever watched someone open a gift and recognised that it wasn’t what they wanted? Is it wrong to want more? We are often...

An epiphany is an experience of a sudden and striking realisation, often used to describe a scientific breakthrough or philosophical discovery. So when Archimedes jumped into the bath and yelled,...

As the young man talked, his audience, who were mostly kids, quietened and stilled. They were gripped by his story, his honesty, and openness. He talked about the time when his parents told him that...

This week, we are blessed to celebrate the coming of another year with fireworks, parties, and cheers of ‘goodbye’ to 2024 and ‘hello’ to 2025. At the start of a new year, many people use the...

I love it when my neighbours put up their Christmas lights. In the winter, our road is very dark very early and we have no streetlights. The colourful lights are welcoming and seem to be showing the...

Sitting there quietly in the large emergency room was anything but joyful. I watched as people slowly and constantly showed up seeking aid; the young, the old, all with their levels of pain or...

Here we are at the beginning of another year, and it’s time again to think about making some resolutions that are actually going to make a positive difference in our lives. I know that New Year...

New Year Resolutions – some of us do great with them. Some of us don’t make any resolutions. And some of us might want me to change the subject. I get it. It has been reported that only 8.9%...

When I was growing up one of my musical heroes was the Brummie Roy Wood. In the 1960s he was a founder member of the rock band The Move and in the early 1970s, he was instrumental in forming the...

What is the ultimate goal of the Christian life? Let me suggest that the essence of Christianity can be summed up in a Latin term: Coram Deo.1 This phrase refers to something that takes place in the...

For a lot of people, much of the enjoyment of Christmas comes through watching the delight of family and friends as they open gifts. For most of the year, we know gifts come with no strings attached,...

As I drew on my paper, the name Emmanuel [Immanuel], came to mind. My drawings are a form of stress relief, and a way to concentrate on the one true God who loves us all and desires our...

During the seasons of Advent, Christmas and Easter people, even if they are not Christians, hear the name of Jesus Christ. Some people will think deeply about him while others will give him a passing...