Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at God

What’s the point of Easter? From the Vicar The Beatitudes – ‘Blessed are the Poor in Spirit’ Easter joy A time to mourn Charles Wesley’s hymn for Easter:  Christ the Lord is risen today!   **   Editor:  The Rev Paul Hardingham, on the power that we need… What’s the point of Easter? As we...

As we celebrate Easter, it raises the question: What difference can the Resurrection make to my life? My past is forgiven: Have you ever been half-way through a project and wanted to start again? In life we all have regrets about things we have done, said or thought. The good news is that Jesus died...

As we celebrate Easter, What difference can the resurrection make to my life? My past is forgiven: Have you ever been half-way through a project and wanted to start again? In life we all have regrets about things we have done, said or thought. The good news is that Jesus died to forgive these things:...

Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). The word blessed describes how we can live under God’s blessing. Jesus talks about the ‘beautiful attitudes’ (Billy Graham) that characterise followers of Jesus. They speak more about ‘who we are’ than ‘what we do’ and reflect perfectly the character of Jesus that...

I remember vividly a simple poster I saw on the notice board of our local Methodist Chapel. It had a silhouette of three crosses on a hill, and underneath the words, ‘FOR YOU’. Nothing fancy or clever, but a clear presentation of the Easter message, and it struck me deeply. At Easter our thoughts are...

I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women. How the mighty have fallen! 2 Samuel 1:26 A lament is a passionate expression of grief, a heartfelt cry of sadness. Here David, who composed some of the most memorable...

Jesus’s death on the cross, and His resurrection on Easter morning are both part of the redemption story.  Paul links them in this way: ‘He was delivered for our offences [the Cross] and raised again [the Resurrection] for our justification’ (Romans 4:25).  Charles Wesley does likewise in his glorious Easter anthem. Christ the Lord is...

Making Sense of Lent From the vicar Where do we belong now? God and the Tesco token Psalm 63 – or how to cope with the pressures of daily life You may have surprised your parents, but never God How to discover God’s will for your life Round, like a circle in a spiral, like...

This month sees the start of Lent, the six-week period leading up to Easter. In the early Church, it was a time when new converts were instructed in the faith, ready for their baptism at Easter. Over the years, Lent has become a season of penitence, self-examination and fasting.  Jesus began His earthly ministry by...

This month sees the start of Lent, the six-week period leading up to Easter. In the early Church, it was a time when new converts were instructed in the faith, ready for their baptism at Easter.  Over the years, Lent has become a season of penitence, self-examination and fasting. Jesus began His earthly ministry by...

I was in France when the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve 1973 – the moment Britain joined the European Union – and later I received the maroon passport which identified me as one of its 743m citizens. Almost all our new-found friends had been Britain’s enemies in the past, so this union seemed...

I was shopping recently with my wife at the local Tesco store. Having paid for our goods we were given a blue token, which my wife explained we could place in the donation box of a local good cause as we left the shop. Sure enough, near the exit were three large plastic containers into...