I have never had someone chose Psalm 150 to be read at a funeral before. However the person who had died spent her life praising God musically and actively as she cared for others. The Psalm seemed to fit perfectly somehow. And as I reflected on this Psalm for a funeral and in light of…
I have been reading about trauma theology, especially considering trauma literature that can be found in the Bible. As part of a recent Communion service for colleagues, I revisited the story we retell at Communion services and wondered what it might look like to retell this story from the perspective of people who have been…
I recently preached a sermon on Acts 11:1-18, and I had a choice – preach the easy sermon or the challenging one. Although I have stripped out the stuff relevant to the local context, below is some of the stuff I shared. Hope it blesses you. Acts 10-11: Peter’s Controversial Act Reading between the lines…
Last week, I learned that in the UK, 9 out of 10 people with mental health concerns have experienced discrimination. 1 out of 4 people will experience a mental health problem in the course of a year. I learned that words are powerful tools that help cultivate life and bring out the best in others,…
So as part of settling in to our new home, we’ve started to visit places around our village. Recently we went to Chiddingstone Castle. Inside is the antique collection of Denys Eyre Bower and his ancestors. They collected items from around the world. (I’m always a bit wary about ‘collections’ and the ethics of how they…
The recent conversations in America about Confederate statues have made me wonder: what does the Bible say about monuments? Worship only God On God’s ‘top ten’ list of things people should do, the top 2 are: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3 ESV) “You shall not make for yourself a…
So I have moved into a manse and have started the process of ‘settling in’ to a new home, new work, new ‘worshipping God’ spaces, and all the other ‘new’ that comes with ‘settling in.’ I am probably not the only one who has experienced change this September. Like me, maybe you have been ‘settling…
Saddened by the news of Chester’s suicide (Linkin Park’s lead singer), I’ve been listening to the album Hybrid Theory for the first time in years. As I was watching the video of “In the End”, I was drawn to the grass growing with each foot step and noticed for the first time the frozen statues that…
“Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus.” (John 21:4 NIV) Jesus stood on the shore Children play in the water Catching ball, Fishing with pole nets, Swimming like fish Creating castles from sand Jesus stood on the shore Amidst sun worshippers The…
Two quotes: “But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.” (1 Corinthians 11:31-32 NLT) “And the army is disciple(in)ed.” (from 24-7 Prayer ‘The Vision Poem’)…
Jesus God and that 