Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at God

Schoolgirls in 1918 were warned that they might never be married.  So many prospective husbands had been killed in World War 1, that their chances could be slim.  It’s hard for us to imagine the slaughter.  The total number of both civilian and military casualties is estimated at around 37 million people, ending only when...

‘The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.’  Isaiah 50:4 Awake in the early hours, and my thoughts fluttering here and there, the name of a friend dropped into my mind...

November is the month that in my mind is forever associated with fog. Growing up in a mining village, where everyone had a coal fire and chimneys spouted dark smoke all day long, we used to get some real ‘pea-soupers’ in November. Sometimes it was so thick the buses would stop running and we would...

Mother Teresa once observed: “We cannot do great deeds, but we can do small deeds with great love.” That’s something to remember in our daily life.  What good are great public efforts if they are fuelled by personal ambition or a desire to rule?  If you are not personally kind, what good does it do...

One of the most beautiful passages in Scripture is found in Isaiah 43: ‘…you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned…For I am the Lord,...

What about Halloween? From the Vicar God is faithful All things come from You, and of Your own do we … not give back much! The Beatitudes: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ Best way to enjoy the Bible?  Be like a dog with a bone! Flyers overhead ** Editor:  By the Rev Paul Hardingham. What about...

It’s that time of year when the shops are full of pumpkins and youngsters are knocking on our doors to ‘trick or treat’. How should Christians respond to Halloween? Is it simply a fun festival for the children or does it have a dark side that we should avoid? Firstly, Christians should not respond to...

It’s that time of year when the shops are full of pumpkins and youngsters are knocking on our doors to ‘trick or treat’. How should Christians respond to Halloween? Is it simply a fun festival for the children or does it have a dark side that we should avoid? Firstly, Christians should not respond to...

Jesus taught a great deal about money and its dangers.  Most of His parables concerned money in one form or another.  He used the word ‘Mammon’ to describe a false financial god, saying “You can’t serve God and Mammon.” So, a right attitude to money is essential for Christians.  Until we are released from the...

This October I will be speaking at the 83rd anniversary of the Methodist Chapel where I grew up. It is a privilege and an honour to return to the place where I came to know Christ some 50 years ago, and to encourage the folks who have served faithfully in this little mining village over...

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.’ (Matthew 5:9). H.G. Wells wrote of Mr Polly, ‘he was not so much a human being as a civil war.’ A lack of peace in our lives reflects the lack of peace in our families, community and nation. In this beatitude, Jesus calls...

Sarah brought her beautiful dog Bobby to a Quiet Morning at church.  He was very well behaved and loved all the attention he received.  As we began our time together Sarah gave him a bone to chew on, and he settled down contentedly, enjoying his own experience of ‘heaven’! The expression came into my mind,...