What comes to mind when you hear the word peace? Maybe you have the kind of life where peace is missing altogether. Perhaps a better question then might be ‘what is it that stops you finding peace?’ I remember the children’s story Five Minutes Peace where Mother elephant is searching for a five-minute break from her children. In one scene she attempts…

Two quotes particularly struck me as I prepared to write this bulletin article.  The first came from my earthly spiritual hero C H Spurgeon (CHS) in a daily reading: “Let us study what books we may, the knowledge of a crucified Saviour will still remain the sublimest of all the sciences”.  The second is an unattributed quote in some notes of a…

I remember growing up constantly being told, trust your conscience and you won’t go far wrong.  The psychologist Carl Jung once said that despite clear evidence of our self-deception, “deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us, something is out of tune.”  But can our conscience itself become out of tune?  What if instead…

I’ve referred before to J B Phillips’ memorable translation of the first part of Romans 12v2: “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within”.  Perhaps we may picture a mould into which jelly is poured which, when set, clearly reflects the particular shape of the mould.  One of the great…

I would be surprised if your reactions to the latest Brexit developments have not included / veered between disbelief, dismay, disappointment, despair, disgust, derision (and other such words beginning with the letter d!).  Whilst I do not intend to directly enter the current debate, let us remind ourselves of certain key Biblical principles from 1 Timothy 2 v 1-7 applying to the…

At last week’s Family Service we thought about the astonishing miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11.  Having commanded in a loud voice “Lazarus, come out!”, Jesus then said “Take off the grave clothes and let him go”.  Lazarus had been restored to life but needed to be set free from his restricting grave clothes. We considered a…

I’m always amazed at the effect someone’s thinking and mindset have upon their everyday life.  Recently I’ve been trying to get in shape and have been spending more time in the gym and pool.  Over time I’ve seen my lap times go down, and the weight I can lift go up.  That’s all very encouraging.  But every once in a while, I…

At the end of the thanksgiving service on Wednesday for Laura’s mum, Bizet’s ‘March of the Toreadors’ was played.  The lyrics associated with this March refer to the “celebration of courage” and “of people with heart”, but towards the end the Toreador is told these three precious words: “Love awaits you”. These glorious words are true for every Christian – love awaits…

What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘school?’  Are you filled with joy at the opportunity to reminisce past relationships, experiences, and teachers, or are you more likely to respond with a silent shudder?  For many people, life at school wasn’t particularly pleasant, especially if they were never ‘academic.’  You may be delighted at being finished with textbooks, exams, and…

In a recent book the Israeli historian and professor Harari asks the simple question – what will now become humanity’s focus?  He poses this question on the basis that war has become so costly it is generally unthinkable, that humanity is able to solve world food shortages and that it may be possible soon to envisage a world free from sickness and…