blog

  • Just a Thought... 31 October

    As Christians we can have a challenging relationship with the Old Testament Law: On the one hand we read passages like the one last Sunday morning from Deuteronomy ch 5, see the 10 commandments and realise that such a clear expression of God’s character is obviously a truth for all of time: it starts in vs 6 by tying everything that follows to “I am the LORD”! On the other hand we know the New Testament makes clear that: “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather...

  • Just a Thought... 24 October

    Depending on our sensitives, it can be all too easy to ‘take things to heart’: a careless comment, sharp answer, thoughtless glance or even a well-intended joke can be ‘taken to heart’ in a way that harms relationships, though they were never intended to do so. Of course, it works the other way too: a loving word, encouraging comment, warm gesture or even a smiling greeting can be ‘taken to heart’ and leave an impression on us far more easily than might be expected. Last Sunday morning, we saw how Moses described in Deuteronomy ch 4...

  • Just a Thought... 17 October

    “Everyone remembers where they were when they heard….” How would you finish that sentence? Older people might finish it with “Kennedy was assassinated.”, still others “…the challenger disaster.” many more: “the towers were attacked on 9/11.”. We remember such dramatic events because they are said to “change the world” or at least the way we view the world. Last Sunday morning we saw Moses tell God’s Old Testament people that they should… “Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said...

  • Just a Thought... 10 October

    The moment had finally arrived: centuries of darkness, decades of longing, years of hard work and at last on the distant aeroplane was the most precious thing these desperate people could be given. The large crowd had gathered, many in traditional dress. The leaders formed a line, instruments played, people clapped and shouted and at last everyone cheered as the first box was unpacked and a Bible in this language was held high! God’s Word had arrived! If you haven’t seen the video, please email the church office and we’ll send you a link to just such...

  • Just a Thought... 3 October

    “Old fashioned, out of date” is the way the world views so much from the past. Yet when it comes to the way God does things, we’ve seen so many times in the past that history really is His-Story. The fulfilment of His promises! As we’ve seen so many times before, the Lord always keeps His promises. We saw last Sunday morning Moses’, from Numbers Chapter 21, obedience to the Lord in raising up a bronze snake onto a pole so that the LORD’s rebellious people could look and be saved. It was a real...

  • Just a Thought... 26 September

    Are you a reliable person? Can people trust what you say? Are you someone whom others can count on? One of the descriptions of a godly person In Psalm 15 is of someone “who keeps an oath even when it hurts,” (Psalm 15:4b) Most of us realise that although we may aspire to be such a person and try very hard, we just can’t always manage it. Last Sunday morning we read Moses’ description of the LORD from Deuteronomy Chs 2 & 3 and saw that He is utterly reliable and unchanging. One of the things...

  • Just a Thought... 19 September

    Disappointment can be dreadful: that feeling we have when the good thing we expected doesn’t happen or isn’t what we expected. Most of us had it happen as children and as adults we learn from experience that the anticipation of something can sometimes exceed the event! Yet when we find ourselves disappointed with God it can be very serious: Last Sunday morning we saw from Deuteronomy chs 2 & 3 how Moses described the Israelites' disappointment on their first encounter with the promised land after escaping slavery in Egypt. It’s not that the land was poor but...

  • Just a Thought... 12 September

    None of us need much reminding that the world is broken: from chaos in our personal lives to headline disasters, we get the message! The Bible doesn’t shy away from our experience but explains the origin of the brokenness as the sinful rebellion of human beings in their rejection of the creator: Right at the start Genesis describes how the world fell-apart. Yet the message of the Bible is that God has a rescue plan in the Lord Jesus, His death on a cross and resurrection from the dead, to bring us back to Himself. He promises a...

  • Just a Thought... 5 September

    When someone becomes a Christian, the Bible says that they are called to belong to something that is utterly and eternally unique: ‘The Church’. Unlike any other institution or organisation, ‘The Church’ of the Lord Jesus is a gathering of His people throughout the world and throughout the ages. In the last book of the Bible, Revelation, that great gathering is described several times in the most graphic and exciting terms at the end of time and it sounds almost too wonderful for words! Yet right now, as members of a local church, we can start to appreciate...

  • Just a Thought... 29 August

    I often think that there are ‘two’ New Years in our culture: there is of course the New Year that begins on 1st January – and the whole world likes to celebrate that. Yet in terms of fresh starts and big changes, the start of September feels more like a new year: with so many people coming back from holidays, the new school terms and new things start to happen. Yet the end of summer can bring with it a host of regrets: certainly the weather has not been quite what many of us hoped, but alongside that maybe...