Disclaimer: If you are thinking about hurting yourself or believe someone you know may be, call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 now. When I was a teenager, one of my youth group peers committed suicide. He was about 18 years old. Later, I served in a church where two youths killed themselves. In […]
Read MoreTag Archives: Ephesians
Words
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” Every child knows that’s not true. And as we get older, the more we realise just how untrue it is. James got it spot on in chapter 3:1-12, when he described how an object as small as our tongue has such enormous […]
Read MoreTurning It Around
I have had the privilege of solemnising a wedding in Scotland. What a delight! The skirl of the pipes, the crisp northern air, friendly and hospitable people, and of course, the giddy enthusiasm of newlyweds on their great day. In one of the few quiet moments that weekend I remembered watching the New Year’s TV […]
Read MoreTruth with Tenderness
There’s a song by Paul Simon with a line that is worth noting. Now I don’t consider “Rhymin’ Simon” to be one of the great theologians of our time, but in this instance at least he stumbled into a trustworthy saying: you don’t have to lie to me, just give me some tenderness beneath your […]
Read MoreTherefore!
I’d been a squash player for many years, though I had never had a coaching session in my life, until… ‘Steve!’ boomed the voice of George, the squash club’s professional coach, as he peered into the court half way through a game I was probably losing. ‘You’re holding that racquet wrong!’ Hmm! ‘What do you […]
Read MoreSharper than a Two-Edged Sword
Just between you and me, I have always been a little bit nervous about Hebrews 4:12. The thought of being probed by a sharp sword isn’t the most comfortable of ideas. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of […]
Read MorePrimary Colours
Physics teaches us that the range of colours you see on your TV screen are in fact all produced by varying proportions of red, green and blue light. Mix these three primary colours together and you get white light. It’s a little different for mixing paints, but the idea of three primary colours still holds. […]
Read MoreIt Takes Grace to Get Along
In Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, joy is one of the main themes, along with perseverance and hope. These make Philippians one of the best-loved of the New Testament letters. Quarrels don’t readily spring to mind. But chapter four specifically names two women who were at odds. Paul names them, and recruits help […]
Read MoreIn Living Colour
There used to be a cinema by the bridge in Windsor called the ABC Playhouse. It’s long gone now, but it was a special place to me. As a boy I saw Mary Poppins there, the first feature length film I had seen that incorporated cartoon animation with live actors. Penguins for waiters – what […]
Read MoreFaith in the Workplace
You invest more than one-third of your life at work. Punch the clock, turn on the computer, start your engines at 8 a.m., rest a few minutes at noon, but keep your mind and body in gear till the sun has set. Then tomorrow—repeat. Sound familiar? So how can your relationship with God grow in […]
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