Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at God

‘But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’ (Luke 2:10). As we conclude our series on the spiritual disciplines, this month we look at Celebration, which is very appropriate for this Christmas season. We are called to rejoice in...

Christmas is a time for making plans. Presents to buy, cards to send, decorations to put up, food to order, travel arrangements to make… the list goes on and on. But whether our plans are ambitious or simple this Christmas, we still dread anything going wrong. Yet plans seemed to fall apart that first Christmas....

A well-known atheist was once interviewed on Radio 4. When asked how he spent Christmas, and he said that he went to Midnight Mass at church.  ‘But you’re an atheist’, his interviewer protested. ‘Yes’, he replied, ‘but what they celebrate at Christmas is the most beautiful story ever told’. That ‘beautiful story’ tells of a...

Sometimes people are given a name to match their beginnings.  When a young woman in Kenya gave birth in the back of a missionary’s car, on her way to hospital, she then decided to call her little boy MOTAKA! (Her attempt at ‘motor car’.) Centuries ago, a little boy was born in a Middle Eastern...

Some of us like to sing, no matter what we may sound like to others!  And sometimes, something happens that is so special that we can’t help but burst into song. In the Christmas story, singing is featured on three occasions. When Mary visited her elderly relative, Elizabeth, she was so overwhelmed with happiness at...

“And this will be a sign to you, you will find the babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” Luke 2:2 Do you ever dread wrapping all those Christmas presents? The large roll of fragile paper that slides around on the table, the lumpy gifts that defy wrapping, the tape that sticks to...

Nobody knows who wrote this well-loved Christmas carol. It was originally a Latin Christmas hymn, ‘Adeste Fidelis’. It seems to have first ‘surfaced’ in English due to a John Francis Wade, who lived in the 18th century, and who made his living copying manuscripts and, sometimes, music by hand. Wade was a Roman Catholic, and...

For many religions, God is considered unknowable – just a supreme power or presence ‘out there’ somewhere.  Not so Christianity.  The heart of the Christmas message is His coming to us in peace and love – as the Bible says:  ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’ (John 1:4 RSV) Jesus was born a...

Looking back on the 2023 cricket season How to Deal with Enemies From the Vicar The Two Minutes Silence Spiritual Disciplines: Generosity The Story Behind the Hymn: O God our Help in Ages Past Be a Barnabas – encourage one another Be a stained glass window Why go to church? ** Editor: by the Ven...

The 2023 cricket season ended on a jarring note.  A widespread review of the game in England found it suffered from racism, sexism, elitism and class-based discrimination. Older cricket fans will wince.  They recall the days when each county side was divided into amateurs and professionals, called Gentlemen and Players.  They had separate changing rooms....

In the season of Remembrance, we consider those who have heroically given their lives in war. However, Jesus calls all of us to a radical heroism in our daily lives: ‘You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those...

In the season of Remembrance, we consider those who have heroically given their lives in war. However, Jesus calls all of us to a radical heroism in our daily lives: ‘You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those...