Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at God

We are given gifts for a good reason If we are not practical, it’s good to know we can call on plumbers and electricians to sort out our house problems.  Some people are gifted with practical knowledge and skills, and we could not do without them. Other people are more creative and artistic. Such folk...

THE WAY I SEE IT – Holidays and Holy-days ‘Going to go somewhere nice for your holidays?’ is the standard hairdresser’s opening gambit at this time of year. ‘Yes’, I reply, ‘I’m staying here’. They laugh politely, but clearly that’s not their idea of a holiday. In an average life holidays go through stages. Do...

The ‘Other’ Mary A new film about her has stimulated fresh interest in one of the most elusive characters in the New Testament story, Mary Magdalene. I saw the film recently and personally found it disappointing. How do you make a rather boring film about such a fascinating person? Was she, as widely believed, a...

Becoming a Christian I said last month that to become a Christian requires from us something outward and something inward.  Of course, the ‘something external’ is Baptism: a physical act in which we apply to the candidate a sign of Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection.  But Baptism implies a turning of heart and mind towards...

God is able to use us to meet others’ needs We are all familiar with the story of the Feeding of the 5000 (Matthew 14:13-21). It reminds us that God is able to use us in meeting the needs of others. As Jesus says to the disciples: ‘you give them something to eat’ (16). We...

World Cup Fever From the Vicar God is able to deliver us Life is Precious Who can become a Christian? Be genuine Living in peace with others Can you find 30 books of the Bible hidden in this passage? Seen this best-watched film? ** Editor:  Paul Hardingham looks forward to the world cup… World Cup...

World Cup Fever The former Liverpool Manager Bill Shankly famously said, ‘Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that!’ This month sees the start of the World Cup in Russia; a truly global...

From the Vicar June 2018 The former Liverpool Manager Bill Shankly famously said, ‘Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that!’ This month sees the start of the World Cup in Russia; a...

God is able to deliver us ‘If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from your majesty’s hand. But even if He does not, we want you to know, your majesty that we will not serve your gods or...

Life is Precious Christians believe that there is something special about human beings. Being human is not the same as being anything else in the cosmos – different in nature from being a rock, a tree, a spider or a chimpanzee. Humans are ‘in the image of God’. That means we share something of the...

Who can become a Christian? Once upon a time, Christianity was only available to Jews.  That may astonish us. But equally, the first Christians, who were, after all, Jews, could not possibly have believed that one day they would be vastly outnumbered by non-Jewish Christians. Sure, in those days Gentiles could become Christians, but only...

Be genuine A holiday brochure featured a picturesque village with an ancient church surrounded by beautiful flowers and trees. Tourists were encouraged to visit it and enjoy the welcome of the church and garden. Unfortunately, the advertisers hadn’t visited the place for themselves. While the outside of this church looked lovely, the interior of the...