Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

 ‘Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.’ (Romans 4:20,21). How good are we at keeping our promises? Paul sppaks of a God who is able to...

The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So, he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a dish. He presented it to the girl,...

God obviously approves of romance – after all, putting Adam and Eve alone together in the Garden of Eden was His idea.  And romance – love between a man and a woman – has been around ever since. The history of the Israelites began with three great romances:   Abraham and Sarah.  Isaac and Rebekah.  Jacob...

Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.  Proverbs 27:5-6  As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 I remember it really clearly: stood in the kitchen of my student house, clutching a cup of tea, and being told – in...

China is a key country of concern for 2018 for Release International, which supports persecuted Christians around the world. Their latest ‘Persecution Trends Report’ warns Christians in China look set to face a harsh new year. Tougher regulations on religious affairs came into force in February, giving the State greater control over churches and other...

Millions of households in the UK are struggling to avoid hunger, as latest figures from the United Nations show that nearly three million people in the UK are now classed as severely ‘food insecure’, which means they are facing hunger on a daily basis.  In the whole of Europe, according the UN, only Albania has...

Don’t look to the government for so much help.  That is the message of an independent review which considered the Church’s reliance on government funding with regard to the upkeep of its church buildings.   The review instead calls for a ‘cultural shift’, where communities contribute to their church’s upkeep. The Taylor Report was commissioned in...

A new catechism, The Pilgrim Way, has just been published by the Church of England.  It takes the form of a series of questions and answers on the four texts that form the basis of the Pilgrim Course, which was produced four years ago.  The four texts are:  the Apostles’ Creed, the Beatitudes, the Commandments...

40 churches have been taking part in a trial of contactless giving, offering worshippers hand-held terminals in order to process their donations.  It is all part of an effort to encourage today’s increasingly cashless congregations to donate electronically. As the Rev Dr David Evans of Rugeley, in the Midlands, explains, ‘it’s a way that most...

The BBC has recently pledged to ‘raise our game’ on religion by increasing the portrayal of all faiths in mainstream shows The corporation said it would ‘enhance’ the representation of religion on TV and radio dramas and documentaries.  It said it would also create a new global religious affairs team, headed by a religion editor,...

Smile lines ** Editor:  with Valentine’s Day in mind… Oops! Memory is what tells a man his wedding anniversary was yesterday. ** Listen My wife says I never listen, or something like that… ** Insanity Doctor: ‘Has there been any insanity in your family?’ Woman: ‘I’m afraid so.  My husband sometimes thinks he’s the boss.’...

Letter from St James the Least of All   Happily, the Church of England still retains some singular parish clergy.  Take the parish of St James-the-Least-of-All in the county of C- for example.  Here the elderly Anglo-Catholic vicar, Eustace, continues his correspondence to Darren, his nephew, a low-church curate recently ordained…    On the perils of...