First in a series of Advent podcasts
Tag: Christmas
Have the National Trust got rid of Christmas and Easter?
It’s that time of year, we’ve had first sight of the big department stores’ adverts, Cliff Richard has released an album and the annual market stalls, lights (unless you live in Medway) and Ferris Wheels are going up. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. So, bang on time, along with complaints about the… Continue reading Have the National Trust got rid of Christmas and Easter?
Common Grace without special grace?
I want to flesh out my thinking a little bit more on something I touched on in my comments on the M&S advert. There I engaged with the question “what were you expecting from an advert?” Was it crass, self-centred commercialism? Well yes of course. The question is whether we should have expected better. Others… Continue reading Common Grace without special grace?
Thismas, thatmas and that advert
Have you seen the big Christmas advert yet? Usually at this time of year, the focus is on John Lewis and their budget blowing mini movie advert. However, all eyes this year have been on the M&S advert. The advert creates a number of typically traditional celebratory scenes, however there is a twist, the character… Continue reading Thismas, thatmas and that advert
The wondrous gift
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
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
Faithroots 