Sharing some thoughts

One of the problems that the Church has had to live with over the years is bad theology. There are all kinds of different theological arguments about all kinds of different subjects but one of the most controversial is over the question of faith. There was a lady who had become a devout Christian – she was told and firmly believed that Faith can not just move mountains, but actually remove any mountains at all from our lives, and bits that get difficult or awkward. And she began to apply this theory in her life with some incredible results. Obstacles seemed to just disappear – she got over illnesses quickly, she got a better job, her financial position improved – she even seemed to find parking spaces more easily than other people. It was an incredible faith. But then she became ill, and the illness didn’t seem to get any better. Eventually she was diagnosed as having cancer. First she denied it, then she claimed Biblical promises that would her recover, then she became resentful a...

Today’s collect is one of the most well known of all of the collects used in the Church calendar. It’s also one of the longest lasting. It’s changed slightly over the years, but the part that most people remember best has remained unchanged, and that is the first 2 words, ‘Stir up’. Of course the words bring with it all kinds of connotations about stirring up the Christmas puddings, that’s if you don’t buy them in Tesco or Marks & Spencer’s. But those words ‘Stir up’ must surely mean so much more to us. Today is of course the last Sunday of the year in the Church Calendar. Next Sunday, Advent Sunday, is the New Year celebration in the Church, and so as we end this one Church year, and prepare for the next, I want to think for a few moments about those words ‘Stir up’. If we take our minds away from Christmas puddings and think for a moment what those words really mean, we’ll perhaps get images of things really moving, God working amongst us, and amongst our whole community. W...

Few of us will need convincing of the power of words – how many of us have not at sometime or another, (or all too regularly !), said something which we have later regretted. There’s the kind of classic line of shaking hands with a lady and congratulating her and asking when the baby’s due, only to find out of course that she’s not pregnant, but a little large ! Or there’s the story about a young man working his first day in the fruit and vegetable department of a super market. A lady came up to him and said, "I want to buy half of a head of lettuce". He tried to put her off by explaining that they only sold whole lettuce. But she persisted, and finally he said, "I’ll have to go and talk to the manager." He went to the back of the shop, not noticing that the woman was walking right behind him. When he got into the back of the shop, he said to the manager, "There’s a silly old woman out there who wants to buy half a head of lettuce. What should I tell her?...

A dying man said to a Minister, "I will not go on unless I know I'm saved, or else know it's hopeless to seek to be sure of it. I want a definite witness, something I can't be mistaken about!" The Minister replied, "Suppose you had a vision of an angel who told you your sins were forgiven. Would that be enough to rest on?" "Yes, I think it would. An angel should be all right." The Minister then continued though, "But suppose on your deathbed Satan came and said, 'I was that angel, transformed to deceive you.' What would you say?" The man was speechless, and the Minister then told him that God has given us something more dependable than the voice of an angel. He has given His Son, who died for our sins, and He has testified in His own Word that if we trust Him all our sins are gone. The Minister read from the First letter of John (5:13) ,"I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life…...

On the 11 th hour of the 11 th day of the 11 th month in 1918 the First World War officially ended. There was great rejoicing, and celebrations began, but for many people their lives had been devastated seemingly beyond repair. Eventually in 1921 after many calls for the dead and seriously injured to be remembered the first Armistice day parade was held – tragically of course the world would once again, in less than 20 years, be plunged into a huge war… Ever since, whilst people have remembered and commemorated Armistice Day, wars and conflict have continued. But one of the most important things about remembering is to learn, and whilst it seems that we as humans are pretty slow to learn lessons about avoiding war, there must be a hope that one day things will get better, and the peace, which is surely the desire of all of us, will be complete. In St Paul’s 1 st letter to the Thessalonians (4: 13 – 18), he wrote, "The day of the Lord is coming, when the heavens will op...

The Romanian Pastor, Richard Wurmbrand, spent 14 years in prison under the Communist regime just for being a Christian. 4 of those years were spent underground where he was kept in a box. When he was eventually released his son asked him what he’d learned during his time in prison. His reply was that in all that time he’d almost forgotten a lot of the Bible, but he knew 3 things for certain; that there is a God, that Jesus is his Son and that love is the best way. Today in the Church Calendar we commemorate All Saints Day, and for many Richard Wurmbrand would be the epitomy of a modern Saint. And as we celebrate All Saints Day one of the challenges must be to ask ourselves what a Saint is. This is the day when we remember and give thanks for the family of the Church united under God, and remember especially those that have given so much in the service of God and his Church through the centuries. It’s a day to look back with thanks at those who’ve done so much to shape the Church, but...