Is it hubris to believe we can control a virus?

Glen Scrivener thinks it is.  So today I am going to do the risky thing and attempt to disagree with a brilliant mind!  First of all, we need to distinguish between “Can we potentially control a virus.” And “have we been able to control this one” or “will we definitely be able to control it.”… Continue reading Is it hubris to believe we can control a virus?

Isolated (Proverbs 18)

“Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;    he breaks out against all sound judgment.”[1] These are probably not helpful words for a Government attempting to encouraging COVID-19 patients to self-isolate. Yet, our experience of having to socially isolate over these past 7 months have been a crash course in the cost of such isolation. When we… Continue reading Isolated (Proverbs 18)

Facing your fears

In Sunday’s sermon I said that having peace with God means that we can face our fears.  In this article, I want to talk through the practicalities of doing that.  The first step of course is to recognise exactly what it is that we are afraid of.  This also helps us to properly assess the… Continue reading Facing your fears

Peace (Matthew 8:23-33)

“I just wish things could get back to normal.” Have you heard other people saying that? Have you found yourself saying it too?  If I were to take you back to February and March, how did you feel then? Perhaps you were anxious but there was also the adrenalin of being in this together too… Continue reading Peace (Matthew 8:23-33)

What is peace? (Ephesians 2:1-14 and Matthew 8:23-27)

A few years back I was thinking about the nature of church life. I came up with a brilliant phrase to describe it “Messy Church.” “Brilliant,” I thought, “I’ve even got a potential best-selling book title there!” There was just one problem -someone had already coined the phrase to describe midweek children’s and families outreach. … Continue reading What is peace? (Ephesians 2:1-14 and Matthew 8:23-27)

Home (Proverbs 14)

One of my favourite places to visit is Blenheim Palace. It’s an impressive tourist attraction, an elegantly designed building set in acres of beautiful parkland.  As well as being a tourist attraction, it’s actually the home of the Marlborough family. However, a number of commentators have observed that it wasn’t so much designed to be… Continue reading Home (Proverbs 14)