Last Sunday, we were studying Paul’s wonderful prayer-report in Ephesians 3:14-21, and I suggested that we try praying it every day this week. It then occurred to me that it might be helpful to re-write it as a prayer – which might make it easier actually to pray!… Our great Father, You are Father indeed:
Read moreIndividual rights are part of everyday life. There is the right to vote, the right to a fair trial, the right to free speech and freedom of religion, and (in some parts of the world) the right to bear arms. We may even be heard exclaiming with exasperation, “Don’t I have the right to some
Read moreFifty years ago this week, Martin Luther King delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech in Washington DC. I learned that, although he had used those words in previous speeches, he wasn’t planning to use them in his prepared speech for that day – until a friend of his, the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson,
Read moreIs Jesus the Son of God? Yes, of course he is! However, we can be so used to affirming and defending this truth that we can forget or neglect the complementary truth that he is human. (Note that Jesus is human still, as well as divine. Having become a man once, he has remained a
Read moreI think I’ve known it for many years but lived in denial, and you may well have suspected it, but the fact is now undeniable: I’m a perfectionist. Recently, I was recommended a talk with this wonderful title: “Perfectly Dreadful – recognizing and overcoming perfectionism.” As I listened, I thought, “That’s me!” Given that there
Read moreSometimes I find myself thinking it would be easier to be a Christian facing persecution rather than living, as we do, with the silent seduction of our materialistic society. For most of us, life in this world is so comfortable and pleasant – or at least it promises to be – that we can easily
Read moreHuman beings have desires. It’s part of what it means to be human. We want all sorts of things: some are good and some bad; some we’re happy to own up to, while others are closely guarded secrets; some we’re barely aware of ourselves. The thing is, what we want, what we really want, is
Read moreChanging grace You could easily miss the letter of Jude in your Bible. It’s so short and it has only one chapter. In case you haven’t found it yet, it’s tucked in just before Revelation. And it may be small, but it packs a punch – as we’ve been discovering in our evening services. It
Read moreI thought I would pass on the wisdom Giles shared with us on this topic at the weekend away – or at least what I can remember of it. A ‘quiet time’ is simply time alone with God, reading his word and praying. It’s not commanded in Scripture, but it’s a good habit
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