If 2020 has taught us one thing, it has been the meaning of “safety” and “being saved.” So often when I write or talk about Jesus as saviour, I have to explain what the word means because I am speaking to people who already live fairly safe and secure lives At this stage I’d normallyContinue reading “Jesus, Saviour”
Tag Archives: Christmas
Happy Christmas
Dear friends, readers and subscribers to faithroots, Sarah and I would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas. We arrive at the celebration in very strange times. However, we believe that the message of Christmas and the celebration of a birth 2000 years ago remains central to finding hope in dark days. The light shinesContinue reading “Happy Christmas”
How silently the wondrous gift is given
What a palaver! We were all sorted with our Christmas presents. We’d worked out which ones we needed to post and got Amazon to deliver others directly. We knew that we would be seeing part of the family during the 5 day Christmas relaxations and so we’d bought presents and got them wrapped ready toContinue reading “How silently the wondrous gift is given”
Why Shepherds?
Why were shepherds the first people that the good news was announced to? There has been a long standing explanation that goes like this. Shepherds were amongst the poorest and were often despised having a reputation for dishonesty. Therefore, the appearance to them fits with a theme of Jesus being there for the poor andContinue reading “Why Shepherds?”
A son out of Egypt Hosea 11:1
For Starters What is it that you are eagerly awaiting as we come into Christmas. I expect that if you are a 5 year old then it is the promise of a present 3x the size of you! Maybe some of us are looking forward to the promise of a few days off, food, music,Continue reading “A son out of Egypt Hosea 11:1”
Christmas is not cancelled
Many people are frustrated and upset at the sudden U-Turn on Christmas arrangements. Those measures had offered some small reprieve but arrangements for festivities were still going to be minimal and restricted. Now, however, the hashtag #ChristmasIsCancelled is gaining currency. So, it is important to say that Christmas is not cancelled. Now, by this IContinue reading “Christmas is not cancelled”
Pantomime Farce
Yesterday I wrote defending the Christmas easing of lockdown. I demonstrated awful timing. By the end of the day, the 5 day period for seeing family was reduced down to Christmas Day itself and only for those who could travel locally Meanwhile, in the south of England a new tier 4 was introduced banning familyContinue reading “Pantomime Farce”
In defence of the government’s Christmas COVID measures
The UK government has come in for a lot of criticism for its response to COVID-19. Some of it has been spot on, some of it less so and some of it I would suggest completely unfairly. The reality is that a Global pandemic hitting on the back of a decade of austerity was alwaysContinue reading “In defence of the government’s Christmas COVID measures”
He is stronger than the Darkness
We’ve been learning this new song from Tommy and Eileen Walker over the past few weeks. Over the past few years, our Sunday Night Church congregation have grown fond of the worship songs provided by Tommy Walker. The words that particularly struck me in this song are “He’s stronger than the darkness.” Although this isn’tContinue reading “He is stronger than the Darkness”
Born to be king
The thing about the Christmas story is that because a lot of the detail lends colour to the narrative, it is in fact matter of fact and to some extent incidental. We have focused so much over the years on mangers, inns and stables that they have become central. Yet the one crucial detail inContinue reading “Born to be king”
