Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at God

C.S. Lewis called it the Grand Miracle and the Central Miracle. He noted that “Every other miracle prepares for this, exhibits this, or result.s from this…The fitness, and therefore credibility, of the particular miracles depend on their relations to the Grand Miracle.” So if you can believe in Christmas – the incarnation of the Son...

We Will Remember – 80 years on From the Vicar Psalm 122 and Advent Why should you bother to pray? 80 years on, we still need courage and endurance When life goes wrong for us Why do we need Advent? Lord, prop us up! The Soldier’s Prayer ** Editor:  Canon Paul Hardingham considers how we...

This year we’ve been remembering the Battle of Britain, described by Winston Churchill in August 1940 as ‘one of the decisive battles of the war… never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’ It was a dramatic turning point in the history of the Second World...

This year we’ve been remembering the Battle of Britain, described by Winston Churchill in August 1940 as ‘one of the decisive battles of the war… never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’ It was a dramatic turning point in the history of the Second World...

‘I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord. Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem.’(Psalm 122:1,2). These words from Psalm 122 inspired Hubert Parry’s great Coronation Anthem ‘I was Glad.’ As a Song of Ascent (Psalms 120-134), it was used by pilgrims going to the...

The great preacher C.H. Spurgeon once said this of prayer: ‘God says to His own son: “Ask of Me and I will give you the nation for your inheritance.” [Psalm 2:7-8] If the royal and divine Son cannot be exempt from the rule of asking, that He may have; you and I cannot expect that...

This year is the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain – when the horrors of the Luftwaffe bombs were heavy over British skies. On this Remembrance Day we can only imagine the terror of living in Coventry, in Liverpool, in London during those months, 80 years ago. It must have seemed like the beginning...

Where is God when we are hurting? When we are sick or a loved one is sick, why doesn’t God always answer our prayer for healing? If He has not answered us, how do we know that He is even there at all? The words of Alister McGrath* are helpful; “Experience cannot be allowed to...

There is a story of an old farmer who always prayed the same prayer at his church meeting. ‘Lord, prop us up on our leanin’ side’. After hearing this many times, his minister asked him one day quite what he meant. The famer replied: “Well, it’s like this… I’ve got an old barn out in...

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve, I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health, that I might do greater things, I was given infirmity, that I might do better things. I asked for riches, that I might be happy, I was given poverty, that I...

Understanding the Bible From the Vicar Psalm 90 What is the origin of evil spirits? Who authorised the Bible, anyway? Why are you facing such a temptation? Struggling towards relinquishment (part 1) Don’t ‘go it alone’ ** Editor:  Canon Paul Hardingham considers the authority of the Bible. Understanding the Bible As we acknowledge Bible Sunday...

As we acknowledge Bible Sunday this month, it’s a good opportunity to ask the question: why should I read the Bible? The Bible is the world’s best-selling book of all time. However, it isn’t one book, but a library of 66 books, composed by some 44 writers over a period of 1500 years in a...