By Not Known Imagine you met someone standing under a street sign pointing to their favourite restaurant. A kind response would be to urge them to follow the sign, go to the restaurant and enjoy a meal. The purpose of the sing is to point away from itself to something else. It is quite like…

By Not Known What happens when you are ready to sleep at night? Some people drop off to sleep in an instand and wake up many hours later feeling ready to go. For these people, bedtime is a time of rest and re-creation in the deepest sense. For others, it is different. They lie on…

By Not Known It is a joy to have the youth lead the services today. We thank God for the way in which he has revitalised our ministry to youth in recent years. He has provided us with a good cohort of committed youth leaders as well as a pastoral staff to support this ministry.…

By Not Known Perhaps you know this experience. You start doing an act of kindness for some people. At first they thank you. But after a time it all becomes routine and they cease to say ‘thanks’. You feel taken for granted and maybe even resentful. Do we take God’s grace for granted? God has…

By Not Known How many emails do you get? Many email in-boxes are packed night and day. (You may be surprised at how much church business is done by email in the ‘wee hours’!) Many check work email from holiday destinations because otherwise it’s an electronic tsunami when they return. Email is a wonderful tool,…

By Not Known The opening words of the Lord’s Prayer have been on our minds this month as we considered the Biblical base behind the new Ministry Plan for our congregation After the very important title of address, Our Father who is in heaven, the prayer starts with a focus on God. (That is an…

By Not Known ‘Kingdom’ Is a big Bible theme from Genesis to Revelation. Put simply, God’s kingdom is God’s rule over God’s people in God’s place. The kingdom pattern was established in Eden. Adam and Eve lived as God directed in the place that God provided. However, this did not last, for they sinfully tried…

By Not Known The Lord’s Prayer includes the puzzling line: hallowed be your name. What does this mean? Perhaps it means that God’s name should not be said aloud at all, or, always pronounced in pious tones. On this basis, the Jewish community developed ingenious way of talking about God without using his name, lest…

By Not Known It’s easy to talk about God. His name slips off our lips as we casually chat about him in Bible study or invoke his help in our prayers. But God is not as familiar to us as the location of our favourite restaurant. As Isaiah reminds us, he is beyond our understanding…

By Not Known What food do people eat? How is it served? How is it eaten? Who eats first? These and thousands of other things reveal the patterns of relationships and behaviour that add up to our culture. Culture can be as broad as a nation or race, or as small as the culture of…