Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at God

Many years ago, at the Pleasure Beach at Blackpool, there was a certain ‘ride’ or amusement that was strictly for the physically fit. It consisted of a flat wooden disc about 20 feet in diameter and set at an angle of 45 degrees in the floor. When it began to rotate, the aim was to...

‘Happy is the man who doesn’t give in and do wrong when he is tempted, for afterwards he will get … his reward….’  James 1:12 Temptation becomes a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block, when you realise that it’s just as much an opportunity to do the right thing, as the wrong thing. Temptation...

New Year Resolutions From the Vicar – New Year Resolutions   What’s the Big Idea? An Introduction to the Books of the Bible: Genesis Reflecting Faith: God’s Acre The Godspell about Jesus Looking ahead Good preparation for our death ** Editor: Canon Paul Hardingham considers the year ahead. New Year Resolutions Last year (2023) 30 million...

Last year (2023) 30 million people in the UK made New Year resolutions, with health (28%), money (27%), family (24%) and self-improvement (21%) topping the charts for the most common resolutions. However, surveys suggest that most people lasted seven weeks before giving them up and 21% only lasted for a month before giving up. What...

Last year (2023) 30 million people in the UK made New Year resolutions, with health (28%), money (27%), family (24%) and self-improvement (21%) topping the charts for the most common resolutions. However, surveys suggest that most people lasted seven weeks before giving them up and 21% only lasted for a month before giving up. What...

This is the first of a new series aimed at providing an overview of the Bible. This month we consider the first book, Genesis. As the title suggests, Genesis is primarily about beginnings. In chapters 1-11, it records the creation of the heavens and the earth and human beings; marriage and family; sin’s effect on...

I thought we’d spend a few months at the start of this New Year considering the outside of a church building, and the gardens around it. For many churches this will include a churchyard, though not necessarily. If your church does stand in a churchyard, then it may be what is known as a ‘closed’...

Mark is the shortest of the Gospels, and most likely the first to be written (about 65 – 70AD). It is certainly the most action-packed! The gospel of Mark was written by John Mark, whose name occurs often in Acts. His mother lived in a house in Jerusalem, where Jesus’ followers met in the early...

January is named after the Roman god Janus. He had two faces, so he could study the past and see into the future. At the start of a new year, we dispose of old calendars and diaries. No doubt, it is only natural to look back at the former year. Perhaps we recall occasions of...

“Thank you” – “I’m sorry” – “I forgive you” – “I love you”. These are the most common words spoken by people in their last moments of consciousness before dying. That’s what Dr Kathryn Mannix tells us, and she should know, having spent her whole career working alongside dying people, and learning from them. Her YouTube...

The Heart of Christmas From the Vicar Spiritual Disciplines: Celebration Preparations The Light of the World No Room?  On the Contrary The Most Beautiful Story No one Name is big enough! A Season for joyful song  Christmas all wrapped up!  The story behind the hymn:  O Come, All ye Faithful All faiths are not the...

We’re at that time of year again! But is Christmas just about the shopping, tree or presents? At its heart, Christmas is all about a God who has showed up on earth. The Creator of the universe, whose hands flung stars into space, cared enough to come to earth as a tiny baby.  ‘The Word...