There was a lady in one of my previous churches who believed that I had a special ‘hot line’ to God – which of course I do – but so does every Christian! She was always coming to me and asking, ‘Do you have any word from the Lord for me?’ It actually became very […]

Today is the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is the season in the Church Calendar when the Church prepares its people for the arrival of Christmas, the coming of Jesus to earth when he was born as a baby at Bethlehem about two thousand years ago. ‘Advent’ is a term from the Latin word adventus […]

I like swimming … let me rephrase that … I like splashing around, floating on my back, chatting to other people in the sea or swimming pool, etc. I don’t like being out of my depth. As long as I can keep at least one foot on the floor I’m o.k. Julia swims like a […]

The online dictionary defines a ‘selfie’ as ‘a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media’. It also adds a rider stating that ‘occasional selfies are acceptable but posting a new picture of yourself every day isn’t necessary’. Apparently the modern selfie has […]

The Rev Alex Martin hoped that the realistic statue of a homeless Jesus sleeping outside his church would inspire conversations about how to care for people in need in his tight-knit Ohio community. It definitely got people talking after someone called the police to complain about a ‘vagrant’ sleeping on a bench outside St. Barnabas Episcopal […]

Those of us who are of a certain age will remember Max Bygraves (1922-2012) the English comedian, singer, actor, and variety performer who appeared on numerous radio and television shows, made twenty appearances at the Royal Variety Show, had a number of hit records, appeared in various films, and presented numerous quiz programmes, including Family […]

We are probably all familiar with the old story of the young man driving down to Cornwall for a weekend break and getting lost on the way. Pulling up outside a pub in a small hamlet in the West Country he asked an old boy sitting outside in the sun if he knew the way […]

A man dreamed that he was escorted into a church by an angel one Sunday morning. There was something strange about the Service. The organist moved her fingers over the keys but no music came forth. The congregation sang and their lips moved but not a sound was heard. Other phases of the Service were […]

Two friends of ours were staying in Los Angeles in 1994 when the city experienced a major earthquake. They were actually sight-seeing in another part of the San Fernando Valley and felt absolutely nothing at the time. In fact they didn’t even know there had been an earthquake until they got back to their hotel. […]

One of the joys of having been a Baptist Minister for more than 50 years is that every now and then I get letters or emails or phone calls from people that I have been able to help in times past. This week I had a letter from a chap called Craig who wrote to […]