Back to My Roots

Yesterday I went home to Liverpool , to top up my accent !! We did the usual sights and sounds ..culminating with a trip on the famous Mersey Ferry . Connie , Anna's German friend was hopefully suitably impressed with the soon to be European Capital of Culture

Good Night

It was a good night last night at RAF Shawbury . The evening started with a powerpoint presentation on Creation Vs Evolution , then a meal, then questions ...the questions asked were great ...

Why is the church in decline ?
How can you really believe in Adam and Eve ?
Surely religion is responsible for warfare?
How can God allow so much suffering ?


And many more ......the panel had to be on their toes last night ......If you are reading this and are thinking to yourself I wouldn't mind the answers to those questions . Then let me recommend a book to you by Stephen Gaukroger called " It Makes Sense " ...you will be able to get it on line for £5 ...click on the link .

Off out with constance ( Our German Guest ) today ....but the Dentist first ....aaaargh

Interrogation

Tonight I am on a "Question Time" type panel at RAF Shawbury . A number ot RAF personnel have been asked along to quiz the panelists on Christianity . I'll let you know what they asked when I post later on .

Good Psalm

If you want to know just how much God does know you ....then read Psalm 139 ....I have been sharing this psalm with a number of people I have visited today ..

Last night we all went over to Manchester airport to pick up Constance ...Anna's German pen pal..its great to see her again . Anna has seen her every year for the past four years , so they are striking up a good friendship .....Anna is having a BBQ for her tonight and guess who is the master chef :-)

Back Home

We all had a great time in South Wales . It is really good to catch up with friends who you dont get to see alot of. Sunday was a blessing , I always enjoy much liberty in the pulpit at Blackmill and it was good to see some new folk there on Sunday morning ...

Anyway I have attached some photos of the BBQ held in our honour on Saturday night ...we really are not worthy :-)

Thanks to all our dear friends at Blackmill ..

Classic Quote

Last night we had the " Dynamites" BBQ for the 3-7 year olds ...Toward the end as they were having their story the question was asked ..

How do you get to Heaven ? ......little Ben's hand shot up ...and he simply said "you have to die first "

It was a classic answer that brought the house down ......Jesus said in Matthew 21:16 " from the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise"

The young fella is obviously a future preacher :-)

Hebrew 9:27

I'm going down to South Wales to preach this weekend .....so no more blogging until Monday night .....Have a great weekend

Rob

For Dog Lovers

End of Term Bash for 7ups

Last night the 7ups at church ( kids between the ages of 7and 11) attended the end of term BBQ along with their parents ...It was a great night ...the kids sang ..the leaders performed a brilliant play called "The Red Tie Club" ...all about how you can obtain access to heaven ....and then I finished off with a short evangelistic talk , taking Ephesians 2:8-9 as my text .

Afterwards I was chatting with one of the parents ...he turned out to be Australian ....a bad day to be talking to an Aussy as they had just trounced us on the first day of the ashes :-(

Pain and the Trials of Life

I managed to sit down and write most of my sermon from Habakkuk 3:17-19 today ...I have been really challenged by reflecting on the mans faith ..... Life for Habakkuk was pretty dire and God had told him that it was going to get worse !!.....And what what his response ...

"Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,I will joy in the God of my salvation.The LORD God is my strength;"

I know lots of Christian men and women who have experienced much pain and many of life's trials and yet they remain faithful to the God who is their rock ....who is their strength.

They know in their hearts the words of the psalmist..

"God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble . Therefore we will not fear, ( Psalm 46:1)

Naked Ramblers

Gill and I got the fright of our lives last night as we were out jogging ....I thought I was hallucinating ...But lo and behold walking towards us were three ramblers ,absolutely starkers ....Not every day you see that ...It turns out that they were arrested later on that day ...Read about the story by clicking here

Drama ...and the Bible

Came across this chap today ...Max Mclean ...He is an actor who specialises in performing whole books of the bible . He uses the full bible narrative .....see what you think ....here is a sample ...click here

Cartoon capers

Content... with what you have ...

Heard a good sermon today on financial contentment ( yes there is such a thing ) ..Alistair Begg ( a Scotsman talking about money !!)...His text was 1Timothy 6:6-10...you can hear it here ...its about 12 minutes long ...so grab a coffee and sit back ....

In his discourse he used an illustration from the fictional novel.... "Three Men In A Boat " by Jerome K Jerome ...a book I havn't had the pleasure of reading ....but its now on my list ....if you would like to read it on the internet ...you can link to it by clicking here.

Immune from Pain and suffering ....No

I'm going to South Wales this coming weekend to preach at my spiritual home , Paran Chapel in Blackmill .. I think I will be preaching from this text in the evening ..Habakkuk 3:17-19

Though the fig tree should not blossom ,

Nor fruit be on the vines ,

the produce of the olive fail ,

and the fields yield no food ,

the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no herd in the stalls ,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord ;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

God , the Lord , is my strengh;

He makes my feet like the deer's ;

he makes me tread on my high places

Habakkuk knew the pain of suffering ....and most of us who have lived for any lengh of time can relate to his sentiments ....You see life is not always ' a bed of roses' ....marriages fall apart , friends and family let you down ..people get sick and die and sometimes you feel like your whole world is falling apart ..

Habakkuk must have felt that way ........But at the end of it all he had faith in a God who he knew was in control ...... ' Yet I will rejoice in the Lord ; I will take joy in the God of my salvation '

When the going got really tough ...he was a man of faith who trusted in God

Romans 8 :28

Complaint

Daughters being daughters sometimes complain ....I know you are shocked ..but these are the facts ...especially if they are 13.

Katie felt left out by my previous blog because she didnt feature in any of the photos ...so just for Katie ....here she is playing swingball in the moonlight ...

Sorry Katie

Lazy Sunny Afternoon

Had the mob over this afternoon . My sister Jane her husband Nick , my nephews Rob ( alias Billy bob) and Ben , ny niece Naomi and last but my no means least Jules ...Billy Bob's girlfriend and a former Sunday school pupil of mine ( How old does that make me !!)

Anyway we had a marvelous afternoon ...the conversation was riveting ...hows this for a set of topics ....Irritable Bowel syndrome ...Anorexia ....The sweet pea festival ..And Jane's work

Oh and I have to point out that I won at Boulle .....

Sweet Peas

Did you know that it is the Sweet Pea festival in Wem this weekend .....of course you did ..and of course you all know what a sweet pea looks like ....I have attached a photo to jog your memory .

Apparently people are very passionate about their sweet peas and they spend all year cultivating them in order to win the coveted festival prize

So I have bought some seeds ........next year I could be crowned champion :-)

Preparing for Sunday

I'm in the study ..pondering my text for Sunday

" Therefore , as you received Christ Jesus the Lord , so walk in him, rooted and established in the faith , just as you were taught , abounding in thanksgiving " Colossians 2:6-7

Why dont you ponder it as well ....ask yourself a few questions ..

1. Have I really received Christ ...If not then what is stopping me ?
2. Is Jesus really Lord of my life ?....How obedient am I ?..What need to change ?
3. Does my life reflect the fact that I walk in Him ?......am I rooted and established in faith (maturing)
4. How thankful am I ?

Enjoy your pondering :-)

5 minutes of fame ...that didn't happen

There I was totally stressed about going on live radio ...and what had they done ...only arranged for too many guests ..Thats BBC efficiency .for you ....so Ididn't get to go on .....however the BBC felt so sorry for me that they gave me a slot on Sunday morning in order to plug the Holiday Bible Club ...so if you want to listen you will have to get out of bed between 8and 9 am on Sunday morning :-)

Being Volunteered.......

Phil .....My mate the pastor ...has very kindly volunteered my services as Yr 7 chaplain . Precisely what that means I have yet to find out . Tonight I am being introduced to all of the parents and children at the Thomas Adams High School . So I'll keep you posted as to what the job entails :-)


Another job that he has volunteered me for is to be a guest on the Tracey Higgins Show ( BBC Radio Shropshire) tomorrow night . Phil goes along quite regularly and he is taking me with this time . Its a current affairs chat show .....I mean what do I know about current affairs ..... If you want to suffer with me then tune in . The show goes out between 6pm and 7pm ....I think you will be able to get it through the internet ...Just follow the link above ...

Anyway enough chatting ...need to get on with my sermon for Sunday ......so far I know that I will be preaching from Colossians ...what in Colossians is anyone's guess ..

Its that time of year again ...School sports day

For nearly twelve years now we have been attending various sports days, as the girls have grown up . This was our first Shropshire event ....Newtown School Primary school and my youngest daughter was the mini olympiad . She is obviously a team player as her band of merry little chums managed to win the relay race ....well done Laura .

As it was a sporting day , I decided to hold a family relay race in our back garden .....all four of us ( it would of been 5 but Anna is 15 and doesn't do that sort of thing !!) raced around four strategically placed chairs ....200 laps to the finish ..... I now know what the mirror keeps telling me ....I'm 41 ......But then again so is Brad Pitt :-)

For People Who Preach and Teach

For those of you who are privileged to teach God's word ,then bookmark "monergism.com"....Oh and if you know what monergism means before it is explained on the site ...Then you are definitely an A* student .....

Hooligans :-)

Holiday mood

I've been thinking about the family holiday today ( I think the warm weather is putting me in the mood) . We are going to France ...Thollon les Memises to be precise ...click here and you will see it for yourself. We are very fortunate in that Gill's mum and dad have an apartment in the mountains overlooking Lake Geneva ....and we are even more fortunate this year because they are paying for our flights and car hire ...wonderful people

The first week will be spent with a group of friends from Grace Bible Church , Saltford near Bristol . They go out there every year and I know we will have a good laugh with them as well as good times of Fellowship

Less than a month to go now .....I better shed some pounds

Good Food , Good Company ...Good time ..

Good time of fellowship today ...I preached at Wem this morning and then the whole church went off to enjoy lunch together in a huge marquee loaned to us by one of our church members.

The food was lovely , everyone mucked in to produce a magnificent feast ( Thanks go especially to Isabel and Lorna who organised it all )

The fellowship was great , people talking , playing croquet( how very English), and generally having a relaxing time in the glorious weather .

The afternoon ended with a time of worship in the marquee . I interviewed the editor of the Shropshire Chronicle ....who told us about his Christian experience in relation to his job in the media industry ...and then Phil ( our pastor) talked about fellowship taking Romans 12 9-21 as his text ... " Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil ; cling to what is good . Be devoted to one another in brotherley love . Honour one another above yourselves "...

Great day ...I would have posted some photos ...but guess what ...senility strikes again I forgot my camera ...so you will have to use your imaginations .

The Youth OF Yorkshire

Had a great time in Dewsbury last night . All of the youth listened really well despite the fact that I was the speaker !! If any of you are reading this blog , thankyou for making me feel really welcome and for allowing me to captain the winning rounders team :-) Remember what I said ...dont just listen do ( James 1:22)

Thanks to Ben and Liz for your warm hospitality and to Josh and Luke for converting to Liverpool football club :-)...Yorkshire is a great place ...where a cup of tea is something special ..

On The Road

Busy day ahead today ......I must finish my sermon this morning ....In fact I must start and finish my sermon this morning !! Then I am taking a primary school assembly near Elesmere and once that is over I'll be heading up to Yorkshire ( Dewsbury to be precise..."Ben & Liz's" church to be even more precise..) to speak at a youth meeting this evening .......I've decided that I will talk to them about yesterdays London bombing , quite what I am going to say is not totally clear yet ...But three hours on the motorway will give me ample time for pondering ...

This is Laura my youngest daughter ..she had a fantastic school report last week... 

and finally Katie ....she also is doing brilliantly at school 

this is Anna ....she had a wonderful school report as well  

London Disaster

I write this piece as the London Bombing disaster is unfolding . Mindless terrorism that devastates lives .What will it achieve ?The answer is absolutely nothing . It always always strengthens the resolve of its victims . When will they learn that it is pointless.

What about God in all of this, some of you may be asking .Why does he allow it to happen ? The answer is simple ......God has warned us that this kind of thing will happen and that it will continue to happen until he returns on the last day. In fact he warns us that it will get worse as that day approaches .

We live in a fallen world , a world that has turned its back on God and because of our turning away from Him the world is crumbling ......The good news though is that even in all of this we can have the certainty of a heavenly eternity if we simply put our trust in Him .

Jesus was asked about a natural disaster that had occured just down the road from where he was speaking ....read what he said about it ...Luke 13:1-5

They asked Jesus whether he thought the people who had been killed where being judged in any way .......Jesus said no .....they were no worse or better than anyone else .......He simply made the point that we should all be ready to die ......Are you ready to die ......have you trusted in Christ .

Somber stuff I know .....but then life and death are serious issues.

Male Pride Restored

Over the last couple of weeks my wife and I , in an attempt to shed a few pounds ( or in my case stone) before our holidays , have been going jogging ........half an hour of torture ...and to cap it all ...every night she has beaten me to the finishing line ....how embarrassing ..

But tonight it was different . Spured on by the success of the London 2012 Olympic campaign , I went into overdrive and cruised past the finishing line a whole second ahead of her .....male pride restored

Incidentally do you know whether or not they will be staging a geriatric Olympics in 2012 ...for the likes of Steve and Paul ..and John Pullen ( if he reads this ...sorry John ) ...I however if tonight is anything to go by will be in prime condition for the main event ....so Seb if you are reading this ...get in touch

Not Waving But Drowning

A few years back our nation voted this poem by Stevie Smith its 4th favourite

It obviously struck a chord with many ........In the busyness of life people are often drowning and we just don't see it ......The harassed mums, desperate teens , stressed out dads , ageing grans and Grandads ....Ordinary folk that are all around us who are drowning in their sense of emptiness , unfulfilment and loneliness.

Have a read the poem is very poignant ......


Not Waving but Drowning

Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.

If you are in that situation .....waving but drowning .......then read "this text" which tells of a God who knows your inner pain , a God who wants you to trust in his Son ,a God who will save you from drowning .

The Ainscoughs For Tea

For those of you who remember Dave and Deb , you will observe that Dave has been dying his hair silver for a while now :-)

Dave and Deb ( friends of nearly 20years now) came round for tea last night . We celebarated the occasion by getting stuck into a "Baileys Cheescake"..that I had knocked up earlier in the day .....yes I can hear you say is there no end to this mans talents ......

Anyway off to do an RE lesson and an assembly this morning ...visiting this afternoon as well as Sermon prep ...elders meeting and then prayer meeting .....Full day today

Flowers in The Park :-)

My Wife (on the right) and her best mate ...Still blooming and in the prime of their lives ..I have had to work really hard on the photo editor to smooth out some of the lines ..Only jokin of course :-)

On the Spot at the Christian Union

My wife ( Gill) and I have just had a wonderful half hour with some High school Students at the School in Wem ....they had some brilliant questions ....How would you answer them ??...here is a sample of what they asked ........

• Do you believe in abortion ?
• Why is it so difficult to concentrate on the Sermon in church ?
• If you are part of the Elect of God , does that mean you are born a Christian ? ( that one kept me going for a while)
• If my friends are not part of the elect then why should I bother to witness to them ? Dont you think it is unfair of God to have his chosen people ?
• If I was Raped and became pregnant would you recommend that I have an abortion?
• Would you marry non-Christians in church ?
• Why did God create the Devil ?

As you can see Gill and I had to have our thinking caps on today .....

A Man Of Conviction In A Sea Of Consensus

If you have 10 minutes , grab a cup of coffee and go to www.truthforlife.org and listen to Alistair Begg's Sermon " Daniel in the Den of Lions " part B

The audio streaming is free ...........

Enjoy the challenge

The week ahead

Well its Monday ...Personally I enjoy Mondays ...for me its all about starting afresh . New opportunities to explore .....sins to defeat ....biblical discoveries to be made ...( yes you may have gathered that I am the optomistic type ) . The apostle Paul sums it up with his monday morning charge to us all ...

Philippians 3 :13b-14(NIV)

" Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead .I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus "

This lunchtime I will be visiting the Local High School Christian Union were I and one or two others will be subject to what has been billed as "Question Time "......So apologetics is the flavour of the day today .....I may share the tougher questions with you later

Well done Matthew

The baptism was brilliant .....Paul , Wayne and Matthew all in the water together .....It was like watching wildlife on one :-) ...I'm hoping to post some pictures ...but being old and with the onset of senility I forgot my camera....so if anyboby took some photos please e-mail me ..Thanks

Oh and thanks to Ali ( Mats Mum) for the catering ...she had obvously read the bit about feeding the 5,000 ....My stomach was streched even further ...its a hard life

Oh ..private message for Paul ......I still have the tapes ...:-(((

Off to Liverpool today to The Bridge Chapel ...if you are visiting from the States then check out the preaching of Bill Bygroves at the Bridge Chapel Liverpool ...you will find his audio sermons on their web site ...do a Google search for now ...i'll link to it eventually when I eventually sus out how to do it

God Bless

What a formidable team

Look at the talent that has come to Belper ...if you live in Derbyshire check out the church ...incidentally can you spot the difference between the baby's head and Steve :-)

The Reluctant Hero

Moses was a man with a mission but at first he was reluctant to pick up the baton . "Who am I" he said ( Exodus 3:11) , "I am not eloquent" (Exodus 4:10).......and the Lord's answer to him ...

Exodus 4:11..

" Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing , or the blind ? Have not I , the Lord ? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say ." (NKJ)

If you are called of God or to put it another way if you are a Christian , then have the confidence in God that he knows your weaknesses and yet He still desires to use you ...

Anyway that today's thought ...I hope somebody out there finds it helpful ..


Away at Matthew's baptism today .......I'll tell you all about it tomorrow

Advice

Ok boys and girls ...I just cant sus out how to create links within text ...yes I know I'm thick , but try and have a little sympathy for an ageing scouser

So please can someone give me the idiots guide to including links in the blog text ...

Humble thanks in advance