Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at God

‘One difference between grace and mercy is that grace is getting what we don’t deserve (favour), and mercy is not getting what we do deserve (justice).’ (R.T. Kendall). Jesus calls us to show mercy in our everyday relationships: ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.’ (Matthew 5:7). How are we to show...

A Fifth Column is ‘any group of people who undermine a larger group from within, usually in favour of an enemy group or nation’.  You can hardly accuse Christians of being Fifth Columnists, for we are urged to respect and pray for those in authority and St Paul claimed: “we give no offence in anything,...

In June of this year we commemorated the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings in the knowledge that many of the veterans would not see another major celebration of that remarkable event. That brought an added poignancy to the proceedings. I’m sure that, like me, you were touched by what many of the veterans had...

Forty years after they were rescued in the South China Sea, a group of Vietnamese boat people met up earlier this year with the Captain of the ship who saved them. When conflict erupted in Vietnam in 1979, hundreds of people fled in boats with no idea where they were going. Linh Thi Thuy was...

Back in 2002, one year on from 9/11, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, reflected on the terrible attack.  All these years later, we think it is worth looking back on what he said.  We have run this long, for you to cut as you like. ‘For myself, the view of the skyline...

Holy Days or Holidays? From the Vicar Beatitudes – Blessed are those who hunger and thirst… Jars of clayIn praise of stalwarts The Way I See It:  Warfare, yes, but also mercy The story behind the hymn:  Thou art worthy The Bible that was thrown away  ** Editor:  The Rev Paul Hardingham considers the benefits...

Some porters were hired to carry a group’s possessions on a trip through the jungle. The pace quickly increased until the head porter called a halt: ‘We’ve come so far, so fast we need to take a break and allow our souls to catch up with our bodies!’ How often do we feel like this?...

Some porters were hired to carry a group’s possessions on a trip through the jungle. The pace quickly increased until the head porter called a halt: ‘We’ve come so far, so fast we need to take a break and allow our souls to catch up with our bodies!’ How often do we feel like this?...

‘You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.’ (Augustine). We all have deep longings in our lives that we seek to satisfy, however Jesus points out that we can only be truly satisfied by God Himself: ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst...

The apostle Paul’s understanding of resilient ministry is summed up in 2 Corinthians 4:7: ‘But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.’ Here is the great paradox of the Christian life: God has placed His treasure (the life of His Son...

In the church I belong to we recently suffered two deaths in quick succession. Two of our older members (both in their eighties) passed away within a short time of each other, and we will miss them dearly. Doreen was with us from when we first started the church some 27 years ago. The matriarch...

75 years ago, as a choirboy, I remember thinking that lots of our hymns were about war. Not the one we were fighting in Europe, but a cosmic battle between good and evil. Christians were to put on their armour, pick up the sword of the spirit and fight with the ‘God of battles’ until...