Thought for the Week

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord

Perhaps you recognise those words? They come from Revelation 14:13. They are also the title of a helpful booklet by Roger Carswell. With two members of our church family dying so recently, I turned to it once again. How can we say that those who die in the Lord are blessed? The answer comes in

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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

This last week lots of us have been having a fabulous time at the Wild, Wild West Holiday Club. It probably didn’t look much like the wild, wild west but we did have some excellent teepees and lots of cactuses (or should that be cacti?) One of the most famous westerns, and some would say

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I want to know what love is

Do you remember the song I want to know what love is? It was released back in 1984 by Foreigner. The singer seems confident that his beloved can show him what love is, and that love is real. We humans prize love, we long for it and look for it. The constant outpouring of love songs in

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Time for everything?

Ever feel there is not enough time? Life can feel so busy these days and I often feel I’m not giving enough time to my immediate family, my wider family, my church family, my friends, my work. With all the things on the to do list there is definitely no time for rest as well.

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Is God my Friend?

If we belong to Christ, we enjoy a wonderful intimacy with God. Through Christ, we know God as “Father” and he calls us his “sons”; Jesus himself calls us “friends” and “brothers” (Romans 8:15, Galatians 3:26, John 15:15, John 20:17). So, what could be more natural than to think of God as our friend? God

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Fight or Flight?

How can hell be both “outer darkness” and “eternal fire”, very hot and very cold? It is Jesus himself who tells us it is both (e.g. Matthew 25:30, 41, ESV) – and presumably he knows what he’s talking about? To be honest, it’s something I’d simply accepted without really asking why it should be so.

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You fool!

I guess most of us have ready definitions for many things, including theological things, things like sin. So, for example, we might say: sin is rebellion; sin is lawbreaking; sin is falling short; and so on. How often, I wonder, do we think of sin as folly? Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be is

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What’s in a word?

You may know this famous exchange between Humpty Dumpty and Alice in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass: “When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make...

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I don’t want to be a burden

Have you heard someone say something like that, as you watch them struggle on, gently but firmly turning down every offer of help? “Oh, I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t want to be a burden on anyone.” Perhaps you have even found yourself saying the same? There are people only too willing to help: to

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Christianity and cultural diversity

For some time I have been interested in the fact that Christianity is more widespread throughout the world than any other faith or religion. We only have to think of religions such as Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism to realise that they tend to be located in particular parts of the world – although not exclusively

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