John Newton is famous for writing the wonderful hymn “Amazing Grace”. Before he started following Jesus he was a slave trader, indeed, the captain of a ship transporting slaves from Africa to America. He became a Christian on March 21st 1748, during a long, stormy voyage back to Britain. He went on to become a
Read moreIn the morning services we are beginning our summer series of sermons on Acceptable Sins. What are “acceptable” sins, you ask? The idea comes from a book by Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins. Bridges explains: “We who are believers tend to evaluate our character and conduct relative to the moral culture in which we live. Since we usually...
Read moreThis past week we have been looking after our neighbour’s chickens. I say we, but really I mean Amanda with a bit of help from our girls, which is the case when it comes to most sorts of garden-related activity. As I write this Amanda is round there putting them to bed and tucking them
Read moreWhat a great summer of sport this could be! Already, England have trounced Australia in the rugby, Murray is still in contention at Wimbledon (at least, he was on Friday morning), the (cricket) test match begins on Thursday, the Rio Olympics are starting in less than a month. What a feast for the sports enthusiasts
Read morePsalm 133 is a very short, rather quirky Psalm. It begins straightforwardly enough: “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.” So far so good – and I hope that this weekend at home together has been “good and pleasant” in all sorts of ways. It is the next verse which
Read moreOn Wednesday in our Fellowship Groups many of us were discussing what it means to be content in the middle of suffering and hardship. Of course, it is all very well to talk about it when things are going just fine. It seems another thing altogether when people are in the middle of life-changing, heart-breaking
Read moreThe referendum is nearly upon us; I hope you are planning to vote. I confess I still feel as confused as ever and all the information on helpful websites doesn’t quite seem to make it clear what to do, which way to go, whose promises to believe. What does seem clear is that no one
Read moreToday Her Majesty the Queen will be celebrating her 90th birthday at street party on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace, and we’ll be holding our own (slightly smaller) tea party just outside church. I’ve enjoyed flicking through the new book, The Servant Queen and the King she serves. I particularly liked the poem she quotes
Read moreI love hearing about what God has been doing in the lives of Christians. It was great to hear on Sunday from Chris Stonehouse, wasn’t it. It is true to say that we can know people for years without actually finding out how they became a Christian and so, in some sense, we don’t really
Read moreDo you ever find yourself thinking that evangelism, that is, telling someone about Jesus, is particularly difficult these days? After all, people in the 21st century are more resistant than ever to the good news about Jesus: it seems impossible that those who refuse to believe that there could be only one truth, should ever
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