tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64032485154800222772011-07-08T13:04:17.424+01:00My reactions to Scripture and current events, not found in sermons!Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-36829604469043187412010-03-31T10:39:00.001+01:002010-03-31T10:39:06.687+01:00

We had a text message first thing this morning saying a new grandchild was on its way. At 8am I had a Communion service in Offchurch; it struck me that my daughter-in-law's pain and subsequent joy (we trust) is a picture of our Lord's suffering and joy - the joy of a new life anticipates the joy of the new creation which Christ's crucifixion and resurrection brought to birth. An obvious parallel,

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-35125879049758764912010-03-30T21:54:00.001+01:002010-03-30T23:38:15.481+01:00

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Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-66859668100389889842010-03-30T21:27:00.002+01:002010-03-30T21:31:57.062+01:00

I am one of those seasons when everything seems to be happening at once - lots of preparation, lots of services, events, meetings, visits, some good news, lots of people with very bad news. And it's raining! How do we cope spiritually when there's too much to cope with? Sometimes we can't. But we can't throw in the towel either - 'orderly retreat' is the best option: accepting that we're

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-8198065760114175492010-03-09T21:13:00.001Z2010-03-09T21:13:07.249Z

What exactly is the good news Christians have to tell? I've been given a very simple way to remember it, based on the hand. (The following order could be changed.)(Point to the palm of the hand - as if to a nail print from the crucifixion) The good news above all is about Jesus Christ, who though Divine left the glory of heaven to become one of us, was crucified for us, rose to new life, and is

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-50471751150736549262010-02-24T14:24:00.001Z2010-02-24T14:58:12.926Z

What a joy grandchildren can be! Over the last few days France and I have spent time with both our two small grandchildren. I was surprised by an immense sense of privilege in looking after them, and joy in seeing how they are growing. That wasn't due to any specially warm response to my presence - it was pure enjoyment of who they were. (Nappies etc. were more Frances' department, I admit.)

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-55257566930984691292010-02-24T11:50:00.001Z2010-02-24T11:50:49.028Z

Is there a limit to what we should tolerate? Obviously, yes - but what should those limits be and who decides? That's a debate that affects us all, whether we're bringing up teenagers or teaching in schools about relationships or deciding whether women should be bishops or gay marriages be encouraged. The limits of toleration have moved over the years, and I find that as life goes on my own

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-3892857505608036772010-02-09T15:27:00.002Z2010-02-09T18:16:06.596Z

Can a loving God be a God of wrath? Can love punish? As parents we know that we have to punish sometimes, even though we hate doing so. Sometimes we have to let a beloved son or daughter go their own way and take the consequences. 'If I never loved I never would have cried.' But when God punishes or lets evil happen, it is all too easy to cry 'Foul!' In Exodus 34:6-7 God reveals himself to Moses

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-45851285693127826682010-02-08T19:53:00.001Z2010-02-08T19:53:10.042Z

I often adapt prayers from St Paul in my own private prayer times, and one of them, from Ephesians 1:15-19, asks that the people he's praying for may know the hope to which God has called them, the riches of God's glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparable power for us who believe. Whatever their circumstances (and Paul's were bad - he was in prison awaiting trial for his life),

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-56663660170200586902010-02-01T21:52:00.002Z2010-02-02T12:22:04.846Z

I can understand the heart-ache of those whose loved ones have an unbearable and incurable condition, where the only release is death. We would not let an animal suffer so; how can we be less humane for humans? If we can pray that God will end their suffering, can we not allow that God might want us to be the means by which he answers our prayers? Although we know that human life is sacred,

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-50922706785026775892010-02-01T21:04:00.000Z2010-02-02T11:58:44.969Z

Yesterday in our united service we were thinking about love - God's love for us, which hopefully results in love for God, for neighbours and for each other. We were using 1 Corinthians 13 as the basis for our thoughts. The description is of Christian love. But does God love as Paul describes? He is the source of Christian love; is he the pattern, or is his love of a different kind? 'Love is

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-30458644469696686552010-01-23T15:42:00.001Z2010-01-23T15:42:14.196Z

'Old men shall dream dreams' (Joel 2:28, quoted in Acts 2:17). Last night I had a dream (draw your own conclusions). I dreamt that I was in church, and one of the congregation came up and said, 'Tim, come and see the thorns in the churchyard. If we don't act soon they'll take over.' I went outside, and saw a thistle-like plant, except that it was taller than I was and had seed heads like poppies,

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-4697808222876237002010-01-19T15:53:00.001Z2010-01-19T15:53:01.830Z

In the parable of the sower the two groups of people who receive the word of God in vain are those with a shallow faith that is put off by trouble or persecution, and those with a pressured faith that is squeezed out by worries or wealth and their pressures on time and energy. In our world we think that the latter problem is the greater, but there is still a sizeable group who are put off by

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-22235393782105603302010-01-16T18:22:00.002Z2010-01-16T19:48:59.248Z

The following are my notes for a sermon to be preached tomorrow - whether they bear any resemblance to what I say remains to be seen! At 9.53 pm our time last Tuesday an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 hit the country of Haiti just before sunset there. Its epicentre was 10 miles southwest of the capital, Port au Prince. As earthquakes go, it was not a huge one – last year there were 14 bigger

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-39774657446638648672010-01-13T23:24:00.001Z2010-01-13T23:24:32.489Z

'Therefore I tell you, do not worry...' What's behind the 'therefore'? Teaching (in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6) about giving, prayer and fasting, about laying up for ourselves treasure in heaven not on earth, not serving two masters. Behind all that is the desire to live for the God who sees what is going on in secret, and to seek the reward that he most certainly gives to those who so

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-29253040718981728932010-01-09T15:38:00.001Z2010-01-09T15:38:46.027Z

The troubles of Mr and Mrs Robinson in N Ireland have become public, and once again religion and politics are mixed into a messy and very sad story. I'm not in a position to comment, let alone pass judgement, on the details of their situation. However, a number of general issues are highlighted by the news and are worth thinking about.One issue is this: When Christians are involved in a fall from

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-72754475546732399962010-01-05T20:50:00.001Z2010-01-05T20:50:54.328Z

Much of my inspiration comes at random moments. Driving to one of my churches this morning I was thinking about a phone conversation last night, in which a friend was saying how important it was for Christians to hear God speaking to them. Feeling sorry for myself, because I wasn't aware of hearing God speaking to me except on rare occasions, I was surprised by sensing a rebuke, and the

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-82220904438368655162010-01-04T18:14:00.003Z2010-01-04T22:48:35.413Z

The news today is of evidence that it was grossly unfair of the MOD to blame the pilots for the Chinook helicopter crash in the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland, and that it is possible that computer software was involved. I jumped to conclusions, and assumed that there was a cover-up - and I felt very angry indeed. Then I read a comment written long ago about the fury of God, saying it was right

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-32060825747230473402010-01-04T17:59:00.000Z2010-01-04T17:59:35.271Z

In my sermons yesterday I used the verse quoted to the wise men about Bethlehem: 'Out of you will come a ruler, who will shepherd my people Israel.' I spoke about how a shepherd looks after the sheep, and why, but not in great detail. As I was thinking about God as shepherd, I wondered why God values us, his sheep, so much. I don't think it is because we meet his needs (for someone to love, for

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403248515480022277.post-64980147382446145442009-03-25T15:19:00.001Z2009-03-25T20:15:37.642Z

Last week I was asked to visit Year 6 at the school, because they had some questions to ask me as vicar. I don't know what they thought of my answers, but I really enjoyed the 40 minutes or so I had with them. Their questions were very profound! Here are some, and my answers as far as I can remember:1) If there is a God why do bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people?

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497469290480654079noreply@blogger.com0