It appears that we have barely had time to remove the Christmas decorations, before finding ourselves again in the midst of chaos. This week the papers are again full of terrorist atrocities, sexual abuse and politicians scoring points against one another in the run up to the general election. But,...
It always strikes me as somewhat odd that at the start of the New Year, Christians up and down the year focus upon their New Year resolutions. Two thousand years ago Paul wrote to his friends in Galatia and asked them a simple but profound question. Had they, ‘received the...
I am often struck post-Christmas with how little we know about so much of Jesus life. Apart from glimpsing Jesus aged 12 in Jerusalem, we know of no specific event between him as a toddler on the run as a refugee and him proclaiming himself as Messiah aged around 30....
At the end of November after paying a cheque into the bank, the girl behind the counter asked me, ‘are you already for Christmas yet?’ That’s right. The end of November! As I walked down the high street, I started thinking about the things that needed to be done and...
On Monday, I chaired a meeting at which the Life in the Spirit Team considered what subject to tackle at our conference in 2016. Although there are numerous subjects we would love to address, we unanimously agreed on ‘Not Ashamed’. In his letter to the Romans the Apostle Paul says...
I am convinced that if we can grasp the glorious truths revealed in Paul’s letter to the Romans, then we will have grasped the glory of the Gospel of God. So what does that mean in practice? That we can simply quote chapter and verse? That we can debate the...
This week, Tracey and I had the privilege of spending six wonderful (and unbelievably dry) days in the Lake District. From the cottage in which we stayed we could see the shifting shadows on the ‘Old Man’ of Coniston and on occasions, its impressive stature reflected in the lake below....
Last week I sat and listened as a friend of mine spoke to one hundred and fifty, predominately twenty and thirty year old’s about hope. For many the message was a ‘word in season’. Having ‘intentionally ‘moved into some of the ‘toughest neighbourhoods’ in the nation believing that they would...
A week ago we were enjoying an Indian summer and I, maybe foolishly, was considering dusting down the BBQ for one last time. Then, within forty-eight hours it appeared that everything changed. The temperature dropped, the wind blew, the leaves fell and we found ourselves in the onset of autumn....
There is a staggering verse in Galatians Chapter 4 which should both thrill and amaze us. The Apostle Paul says; ‘And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying Abba! Father’ (Vs 6). Isn’t that wonderful? Not only has God has adopted...
