4th December 2024
A little over two years ago, the world watched as Queen Elizabeth, who had reigned over the UK for 70 years, was laid to rest. It was a time of sadness for the country, but especially for her family....
3rd December 2024
Commands seem like such a negative thing. The human nature within us will tend to rebel against being told what to do. As a child, we received a lot of messages to not do or touch things. We did of...
2nd December 2024
The word ‘advent’ means ‘arrival’, and in Christian communities around the world, it is a season of remembering and celebrating Jesus’s arrival on earth, and the anticipation of his...
30th November 2024
As we enter this first week of Advent, we come with hearts full of expectation. This is a season where we reflect on the coming of Christ, both in his humble birth and in his future return. The Lord...
29th November 2024
In a world filled with uncertainty and darkness, we find ourselves journeying through the season of Advent. This sacred time of waiting and anticipation reminds us of the profound significance of...
28th November 2024
Has God given you an understanding of what he wants for your life? If not, it would be good to pray for insight into his desire for you. If God has given you a vision for your life it would also be...
Bible study (27 November 2024)
with Gavin Henderson
27th November 2024
Loneliness has become a big problem in recent years, especially in young people. The internet and social media have exacerbated this problem because even though time on social media has increased the...
26th November 2024
A good investigation will include who, what, where, when, why, and how. Jesus had healed a blind man on the Sabbath. The Pharisees could only focus on the breaking of a law. They were blind to the...
25th November 2024
It is as though Habakkuk and Christ were, at separate times, reading from the same script. Habakkuk cries out to God, at the beginning of his book, ‘How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do...
24th November 2024
Imagine knowing the end of the story before it unfolds. As we come to the end of our worship calendar for the year, we celebrate the victory that Jesus has already secured for us. His kingdom will...
23rd November 2024
When we talk about friends, those who sat with Job often come to mind. At first, they seemed like good friends – they did take the time to sit with him in his misery, without speaking, offering...
22nd November 2024
For many people the book of Revelation is a puzzle to be solved, a conundrum that is perplexing, or a riddle that is mystifying. John, however, in writing this book intended it to be a blessing to...
21st November 2024
Isaiah wrote these words after an encounter with God, seeing ‘…him high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.’ (Isaiah 6:1). The setting was so...
20th November 2024
From the dawn of creation, the triune God has demonstrated a passionate mission for all humanity created in his image. God fully trusts and empowers us, his body, with this mission — let us truly...
19th November 2024
It is disheartening to have worked on a jigsaw puzzle for days only to find it in a pile on the floor the next morning. We have cats – need I say more. I do not give up though; I just scoop up...
18th November 2024
There is an old folktale about a king who wanted to give his sons the best education possible. So he instructed his wise men to travel widely and gather and compress all the world’s wisdom into a...
17th November 2024
One of the most famous story plots in history is the tale of the underdog. From the oldest story of the slave who turns out to be royalty, to the modern sports movie about the unlikely heroes who...
16th November 2024
One of my favourite movies is The Importance of Being Earnest, based on a play written by Oscar Wilde. The movie has many great lines and one of my favourites comes when the mother of the...
15th November 2024
For most of my life, I have done my work sitting down, usually at a desk. It seems I am not alone. In fact, so many people spend so much of their workday in the sitting position that smart watches...
Bible study (13 November 2024)
with Gavin Henderson
13th November 2024
One day Jesus turned up at the pool of Bethesda which was a place where crippled people lay waiting because there was a belief that when the waters were moving the first person who entered the water...
12th November 2024
I remember falling backwards over a large cement stone or block in my garden. The pain kept me glued to the ground, and my cries for help did not result in my rescue. I finally managed to get...
11th November 2024
We are back in Nineveh, the chief city of Assyria. They had been warned once, by Jonah, and had avoided destruction because they repented. Nahum’s graphic prophecies, about 140 years later,...
10th November 2024
When I was 18 years old, I met someone who would change my life for the better. Here’s the catch: we couldn’t have been more different as people. John was a white man from Great Britain; I was a...
9th November 2024
We live in a world that is a strange mix of life and death. Both are all around us. Every night when we go to sleep, we experience a kind of death. When we’re asleep, we aren’t in control...
7th November 2024
What do you say to someone who has lost a loved one? Often, I am lost for words, and sometimes there are no words that are adequate in this situation. We can’t resolve the grief a person is feeling,...
6th November 2024
The Bible begins with the book of Genesis affirming that God created the world and that it was very good. Continually throughout the Bible God reaffirms his positive attitude towards his creation. Yet...
5th November 2024
My daughter and I love to take the flashlight tour of the Baldwin Hotel Museum this time of year. We like to hear the history. Some of the people come to be spooked by the ghosts that may be...
4th November 2024
You don’t need to search far for references to Jesus in Micah’s prophecies. They are there in plain sight, from the prediction of his birth over 700 years before the event (Micah 5:2), ...
3rd November 2024
Have you ever had a conversation in which the primary communication was not the words spoken? Maybe an exchange with an old friend where you say very little to express your relationship? Maybe a...
2nd November 2024
Every year, I buy an amaryllis bulb, put it in the planting mix, give it some water and set it in a window. Then I marvel at how a bud emerges from the bulb, growing taller and larger until it finally...
1st November 2024
‘Jesus’ blood never fails me’ are the words in a contemporary Christian song1 but what does the blood of Jesus mean? To talk of the blood of Jesus can seem more appropriate to the script...
31st October 2024
If you are a captured soldier, in a closely guarded prison, unless you are able to escape, you are, to all intents and purposes, out of the fight. But if you are a Christian soldier, regardless of...
30th October 2024
Sometimes it can be a real struggle to find the energy to pray, especially when we have a busy period at work; we are rushed off our feet looking after our children, or we are consumed with grief,...
29th October 2024
Do you have a hard time listening? I set my mind to be still and to listen to the voice of God. I tell God that I have come to listen to him, and I try to think of nothing else but God speaking. I...
28th October 2024
In this scripture, Jesus himself draws a parallel between his own story and that of the prophet Jonah. On a sinking ship, Jonah declares to terrified sailors, “…I worship the...
27th October 2024
Have you ever been caught in a hurricane or a tornado? It can be a harrowing experience. If you are lucky, the only experience you’ve had with these monsters is footage from the news. But these...
26th October 2024
My last study may have left you feeling discouraged about the state of our hearts – dark, corrupt and deceitful above all things – or wondering about my reasoning in bringing up something we...
25th October 2024
‘It’s a perfect day!’ the bride and groom beamed. It was their wedding day; the sun shone, everyone was dressed in their best, and having a wonderful time. Food, wine, song and dance flowed in...