What Child Is This?
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions (Luke 2:46)
On Monday night...
Song Of Bethlehem
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour (Luke 1:46-47)
There’s an episode of The Simpson’s where the...
People Of Bethlehem
for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. (Luke 3:8)
Every now and then I’ve picked up a hitch-hiker, usually...
The Road To Bethlehem
"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Luke 3:4)
One thing I had never done,...
Departing For Bethlehem
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. (Jeremiah 33:14)
Sometimes...
Walking In The Reign
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world (John 18:36)
For some years, while Christopher was growing up, we had family membership of Historic...
The Day Peace Broke Out
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:44-45)
At...
Not All The Goats In The World
he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood (Hebrews 9:12)
One of the things people...
Feeding The Hungry
And all ate and were satisfied and the disciples took up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of fish and bread (Mark 6:43)
When my mother goes into...
Tenant Farmers
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it (Psalm 24:1)
The first house I remember living in was 9 Cadham Crescent in Glenrothes. We moved to...
Ushering The Way
"Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." (Mark 9:38)
My first ever...
The Greasy Pole
He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." (Mark 9:35)
I’ve been doing...
Say It With Love
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. (James 3:10)
In the early days of cinema the films...
Seeking The Way
Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way. (1Corinthians 12:31)
A while back I got myself a SatNav for...
Sayers And Doers
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. (James 1:22)
Apparently it was the author Kurt Vonnegut who first came...
Hard Words
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion." (Psalm 137:1)
When I was training to be a Reader, I studied the Psalms. I was...
Got An Ology
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise (Ephesians 5:15)
Many years ago the actress Maureen Lipmann did a sequence of adverts...
Be Kind
be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)
I think I indicated recently...
Still Hungry
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)
Come One, Come All
When they got out of the boat, people at once recognised him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they...
Things You Can't Kill
But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised." (Mark 6:16)
Since I was about seven, when I was in hospital...
Ordinary People
He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two...
Needs Known And Unknown
Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" (Mark 5:30)
Before the...
When All Around Is Madness
A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion (Mark...
Tiny Seeds
It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth (Mark 4:31)
It rained yesterday. For some...
A House Divided
And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand (Mark 3:25)
There is said to be a street in he United States where,...
Time To Be Human
Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath (Mark 2:27)
Lazy day, Sunday afternoon
Like...
On Our Lips
"Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5)
It’s that time in the service again....
Living Spirit
Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. (Acts 2:18)
I’m not a Royalist and I...
Not Of This World
They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. (John 17:15)
In 1990 theVoyager 1 spacecraft had just passed the planet Saturn...
You Had One Job
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
When I go shopping, I take a shopping list. It means there’s...
The Fruit Of The Vine
Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit (John 15:5)
We’ve often holidayed in France. Sometimes we’ve flown, but most times we’ve driven...
Precious Lambs
"I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11)
I’ve lived in this part of the world for more than thirty years, but I started out as a city boy. I was born...
Look And See!
Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see (Luke 24:39)
I am partially colour-blind. My wife says that explains a lot...
Blessing And Doubt
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side (John 20:27)
I grew up in Coventry. In...
One More Time To Live
and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve (1 Corinthians 15:4-5)
Gateway Of The Kingdom
"Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!" (John 12:15)
“He’s coming! He’s coming!” The cry goes...
Your Humble Servant
So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest (Hebrews 5:5)
A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an' a' that;
Hiding In The Dark
For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. (John 3:20)
The story goes of a wife who...
Jesus And The Losers
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and...
The Bow In The Skies
I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth (Genesis 9:13)
“Who built the Ark? (Noah!...
Unveiling The Light
For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts (2 Corinthians 4:6)
A married couple were having coffee...
Quiet Time
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1:36)
For the last couple of...
Fisher Folk
And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him (Mark 1:17-18)
I...
Greater Wonders
"Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." (John 1:50)
Do you remember “Tomorrow’s...
Ears Open!
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. (Psalm 29:4)
One of the things that has plagued me over the years is...
