Saying boo !!!

Came across this today ... very funny ...but please do not try at home :-)

Click Here

For all those who are follicley challenged :-)

And before the comments start flying in this is not a family photo !!

For those who preach or are contemplating preaching...

If you preach , or if you are contemplating preaching then let me recommend to you this message from Art Azurdia . I found it extremely helpful and uplifting .

It runs for about an hour so you will need at least two cups of coffee for this one .

You can find many of his sermons by going to this site . A truly gifted man ...Enjoy .

FA Cup Triumph and a female invasion !

Well , what can I say ..yet another final for the intrepid Reds ...nail biting stuff at the end but that's what makes football the best game in the world .

On Sunday I was surrounded by a tribe of women folk again when Anne and Jules came to visit ..it's a good job baby Dillon was there to share football stories with me ...even though he is only coming up for one ...he alone understood the importance of our FA cup semi-final victory :-)

The Experience of Life

I visited and elderly lady yesterday born in 1914 ..So she is 92 years young . I shared a cup of tea and to my shame a slice of cake with her . I was fascinated by some of her experiences , paricularly during the second world war years .

In the space of one year in 1940 her mum and dad were killed in the Birmingham blitz ( she had had lunch with them on the day they were killed and during the night their flat took a direct hit ) . Within a few months her brother who had caught a kidney infection from being stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk died in a Birmingham hospital and then to cap it all off her sisters husband murdered her sister with a knife and at the same time finished off a one of the deacons wives in the church that she attended.

This particular lady struggled to cope with all of this , especially when you think that her husband was away fighting and she wouldn't see him for nearly 3 years ... Who can blame her for struggling . One thing she said though is that it was her faith in Jesus that kept her sane during this horrific period in her life ..

What a story ..Next time I have a few insignificant problems I will remember the courage of this particular lady who had to battle through such devastating losses . And she wasn't alone , thousands of people suffered this way in WW2 ...In fact the final death toll was over 59 million worldwide , a sad indictment of mans inhumanity to man .

Stickability

I attended a funeral yesterday at Wheelock Heath Baptist . Mary Green a 93 year old lady who died of old age a couple of weeks ago. I often used to go and visit Mary for a cup of tea and a chat . She was a lovely lady with a steadfast faith and strong opinions . I loved chatting with her . She had been part of the congregtion at the church since 1914 .Over 90 years of church attendance at the same church ...now that is stickability for you. Now she attends a different church in the heavenly realms of eternal joy and peace with her Lord.

Last night we had dinner at my sisters house . Jane and Nick you will be pleased to know have collectively lost 19lbs between them since we last saw them . I think it was the photo on the sofa that finally spured them on to weight watchers :-)

Today I have four of five pastoral visits to make so I had best get a move on ...

Head Splitting ..for Katie :-(

Cartoon courtesy of Cartoonstock .com

I forgot to mention yesterday that Katie ( Middle Cherub) managed to split her head open on the wall on Sunday whilst having a bit of a wrestling match with her dad ...Oops ...and yes I was in trouble .... Thankfully she is recovering nicely and I am not being allowed to forget it ...oh the joys of being a playful father :-)

Watch this Video .....
If you like sermons on revival ...then have a listen to this , its a compilation of sermons with some inspiring backing music ......grab a coffee and watch , listen and ponder your own Christian witness ..click here

Great Easter Sunday

Started off with the sunrise service , 7am start up Grinshill and then Breakfast at church ...a local Beauty spot ...

Then Sunday morning family service that I led .... "Seeing is believing or is it ?" was the title of the sermon ...taken from John 20 , themed around the resurrection.

In the evening Phil led a Baptismal service , 4 people baptised and once again the church was packed full ...

We are starting to think that we may need a new building ...now that's a nice problem to have ..

Fat Boy preaching in Wem

Here I am with my 90 seconds of BBC Fame ..click here ..

I need to stop eating the eggs ;-)

Wem Baptist Church Website

The Long awaited Web site for Church has finally arrived ...And Ben has added a link to my blog ..Well done Ben

This is the first iteration ...Lots more to go on it ...Like MP3 files of sermons etc and latest breaking news ..

But for a first pass its great ...Well done Ben

Check it out for yourself ...Click here ..

Also if you are around on Sunday and have Sky ...Go to BBC 1 ..Press the red button ...Scroll down to local TV and every hour at twenty to the hour you will see yours truly delivering a short 90 second Easter message ..... Its Hollywood next for me:-)

If you haven't got sky ...then click here ...And you should find the broadcast.

Just back from a mini Break

Had a couple of days away at Paul & Al's ..as usual , very chilled , very relaxed ..great time .

On the Sunday evening we went along to the church plant at Belper . Dr Gareth Crossley preached with power and passion( here a sample of his preaching by clicking here) ..I said to him at the end that I would be interested in seeing how his notes matched up to what he preached ...he didn't need his notes once ... maybe one day I'll have the courage to do that ... but I will probably have to forget my notes first :-)

Anway I have a sermon to write and an essay to complete ..soI need to knuckle down

Back Home Again

Arrived back home 1:30am this morning , so I am feeling a little weary this morning .

The Conference at Pwellheli was good , although for most of it I was rooted to the laptops and TV Monitors busily playing DVD's and tapping out the words to the songs that we sang for the worship sessions & the seminars . I can honestly say that I was more nervous doing that than preaching a sermon ...Technology and me don't normally mix that well so when faced with the prospect of operating the presentation equipment in front of 1500 people you can understand my trepidation ...but I survived

Incidentally message for Andy Helsby ...I met Warren Barlow at the conference , he was with the sound guys & he send his regards .

If you ever get a chance to hear Paul Mallard or John Gillespie or Dr Steve Brady you won't be disappointed . They expounded the bible with wisdom and power

Anyway back to the day job again ...

Off to the FIEC conference

Ben
Guess Who ?
The Go Lightlies Sorry Cath .... Left to right Nick , Jane ,Cath, Les ..we had no pies left :-)
The Girls ...Laura /Naomi/Anna


I'm helping out at the conference this year ...part of the Media group ... pressing the buttons for the powerepoint presentations ...I know my place ...here to serve :-)

We had visitors this weekend ....Must admit the Photo Couch was creaking a little under the extra weight ...but its o k because our Jane is on a diet ...so the couch shouldn't have to be reinforced for the next visit :-)

Will be back Friday

Bye For Now

Rob