Dear friends, I was heartened to read what the Archbishop of York said last weekend in response to government proposals to allow same-sex couples to marry. He said, “Marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. I don’t think it is the role of the state to define what marriage is.” It shows
Read moreDear Friends, What is ‘secular grace’? It sounds like a contradiction in terms. How can ‘grace’, which comes from God, be ‘secular’, where there is no room for God? However, the phrase aptly describes what we find portrayed constantly in TV shows and other media. Secular grace is the unconditional acceptance of other people and
Read moreDear Friends, A friend at church reminded me of this Bible verse a few weeks ago, and then I read it again in my own reading this week: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV). But how can Paul describe
Read moreDear Friends, I’ve lost count of the number of times people have told me they’re too busy to come to church, or that they’ll come to something if they’re not busy. It sounds very reasonable. After all, none of us can be in two places at once. And we do need to honour commitments that
Read moreDear Friends What will this new year hold for us? It wouldn’t take long to list our hopes and fears, the things we would like to happen and the things we are afraid might happen. And we could quickly write lists not only for ourselves, but also for our loved ones, our church and our
Read moreDear Friends, A few weeks ago, my wife Helen and I enjoyed a real treat. We took an audio tour of paintings at the National Gallery in London. The tour was entitled ‘The Life of Christ’ and the first painting was of The Annunciation, by Carlo Crivelli, painted in 1486. It depicts the scene from
Read moreDear Friends, It is now two weeks since Gary Speed, the Wales football manager, was found dead, presumably having taken his own life. There have been many touching tributes from fans, players and pundits. If only he could have seen and heard the good things people are saying about him now, surely he wouldn’t have
Read moreDear Friends, ‘Onward’ is how Howard Schultz, founder and CEO of Starbucks, signs off his communiqués. It is also the title of his book, which tells the story of how he returned as CEO in 2007 after a slump in the company’s performance. What did he do to turn the company around and make it
Read moreDear friends, There’s an old children’s chorus that goes like this: “Count your blessings, name them one by one… And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” When was the last time you did that? When you stopped and listed some of the many good things God has given you and done for
Read moreDear friends, It was Bob Dylan who sang, “You gotta serve somebody.” We’re all serving someone or something. We all have something we’re living for, and therefore serving. It may be an ambition, a dream, a person. Sadly, most of those things or people will let us down – all except one. As Tim Keller
Read more