This is a short message to wish you all a Happy Christmas. What a wonderful way to celebrate the special day by being able to celebrate it on the Lord’s Day. I hope that you are celebrating with great joy and that this includes giving and receiving some fantastic gifts. All of the little presents… Continue reading The wondrous gift
Tag: Christmas
Happy Christmas or mere escapism?
I’d like to wish all of my readers a Happy Christmas but does this mean that I’m deluding myself. To get caught up in a celebration about peace and joy may feel like a little trip into escapism. We talk about hope but there doesn’t appear to be much of that around. This year started… Continue reading Happy Christmas or mere escapism?
The whole Christmas story
A few weeks back, Glen Scrivener commented on twitter to the effect that the Gospel was the best story, it was complete, incomparable, unbeatable. There was general agreement with this although some asked whether he would concede that the prequel found in the Old Testament came pretty close and was essential to the strength of… Continue reading The whole Christmas story
Should we cancel church on Christmas Day?
There’s been some debate, some of it heated about whether or not churches should be gathering this Sunday. Particularly in the United States, there are a lot of churches that seem to have decided to hold services because Sunday clashes with Christmas Day. The argument has been that churches are in effect prioritising the holiday… Continue reading Should we cancel church on Christmas Day?
The true star of Christmas
The star of Bethlehem dominates some carols and many nativity plays. I remember the nativities I was involved in at school often involving the three kings (let’s not get into that one) following a moving star all the way from the Orient (again, something for another day) to Jerusalem and then on to Bethlehem. Have… Continue reading The true star of Christmas
The inconvenient God
A friend of ours, Anna, is training for Church of England ordination and recently was asked to take an RE lesson in school. She asked the children to suggest words and phrases that they associate with God. What is God like? One child responded: God is inconvenient” What an incredible and honest statement, there’s the… Continue reading The inconvenient God
The missing verse of Christmas
I wonder what the preacher will preach on today at the Christmas Day service. There’s a good likelihood that he will pick up on the account in Luke 2. If they do, I suspect that the reading will focus on v1-20. We’ll hear about the census, the journey to Bethlehem. We may well hear quite… Continue reading The missing verse of Christmas
What I need for Christmas
Mariah Carey sung: I don’t want a lot for ChristmasThere is just one thing I needI don’t care about the presents underneath the Christmas treeI just want you for my ownMore than you could ever knowMake my wish come trueAll I want for Christmas is you Songwriters: Mariah Carey / Ellis Williams / Robert Allen… Continue reading What I need for Christmas
Give me Jesus
What is Christmas all about? What is it that we most need? Later in this week I’m going to be sharing some specific thoughts on what those who are lonely, grieving, depressed, hurting need at Christmas. Spoiler alert, what we need is joy, deep unspeakable joy. That joy is found in Jesus Christ and in… Continue reading Give me Jesus
Hope in the aftermath of grief
This is a guest article from my dad, Roger Williams. Dad was due to preach at a little church north of Bradford last Sunday and was preparing his sermon whilst my mum was in hospital. After mum died, dad felt strongly that he had been given a message to bring and that he should fulfil… Continue reading Hope in the aftermath of grief
Faithroots 