The Word
-
Sacrifice: A Dirty Word?
What does the word ‘sacrifice’ mean to you? One of the Oxford dictionary definitions is ‘an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.’ I think that the concept of sacrifice is one that we struggle with in our contemporary culture- seen as outdated, irrelevant, negative. We want to have and… Continue reading
-
The Heart of the King: People Matter
As Jesus was saying this, the leader of a synagogue came and knelt before him. “My daughter has just died,” he said, “but you can bring her back to life again if you just lay your hand on her.” So Jesus and his disciples got up and went with him. Just then a woman who… Continue reading
-
A Dream Delayed: building character along the way
Do you have a dream for the future? If life right now is not all you had hoped it would be, do you get frustrated? Do you ever wonder when your dreams will be fulfilled, and question whether they will be at all? I think if we’re honest, we all do sometimes. I read a verse in… Continue reading
-
Tell Your Story
Stories are important. We love to hear them. We love to listen to people who are good at telling them. A great story can teach us without us realising we’re learning; make us think more deeply about an issue we thought we had got sorted; make us laugh; make us cry. Hearing the same stories… Continue reading
-
Prayer is Pivotal (Part 1): Lessons from #LC13
I’m not usually one to spend hours on end staring at a computer screen, but this week I made an exception. Holy Trinity Brompton, the large central London church which is (amongst other things) home of the Alpha Course, held their annual Leadership Conference. Last year my husband and I were fortunate enough to attend in… Continue reading
-
You Can’t Kid the Kids
“Mummy, why did you lie about liking Mrs Davies?” Whoa, hang on, what?! “Er… what do you mean? I do like Mrs Davies!” “Then why were you talking about her with Sarah’s mummy behind her back? It didn’t sound as if you liked her.” Oh dear. Rumbled by a 7-year-old with big ears and a… Continue reading
-
Fishing Expedition
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable… Continue reading
-
It’s Good to Think: being a Godly Geek
I have a confession to make- I’ve always been quite lazy when it comes to using my brain. I’m lucky in that I’ve always found it easy to learn, and when I was at school, if you were good at memorising facts and regurgitating them, you could do pretty well. (When I arrived at Cambridge University… Continue reading
-
Throwing off the chains
Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors… Continue reading
-
Culture Clash
For the last couple of days I’ve been reading about the Council at Jerusalem, in Acts 15:1-21. Paul and Barnabas had fallen out with other factions in the church who were arguing that the new Gentile converts still had to adhere to traditional Jewish practices, for example circumcision, in order to be saved. Paul believed passionately… Continue reading
