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Sometimes when I am watching sport on TV the commentators will refer to a player and say, ‘He, or she, has been doing the heavy lifting’.  What they mean is that that particular player is doing the most demanding part of the work, or the work that is requiring the most effort, on behalf of their team. In the Old Testament book of Isaiah there is a theme that runs consistently throughout.  Isaiah repeatedly draws a contrast between idols and the one…

Samuel Beckett’s play, ‘Breath’, lasts for a total of 35 seconds. No people are seen on the stage. Instead, the stage is littered with miscellaneous rubbish.  There is a recorded cry – a birth cry – at the beginning of the play.  This is then followed by a recording of someone slowly inhaling and exhaling, as the intensity of the stage lighting is increased and decreased.  There is a second identical cry.  And the play concludes. Is that all there is to being human?  Is that what…

For many people the idea of judgement, and of God as Judge, is so unpalatable that it renders faith in the God of the Bible impossible.  Perhaps that might describe you?  Although I am a Christian, and a church leader, I admit to occasionally feeling a palpable sense of awkwardness upon reading some of what the Bible says about judgement. How are we to navigate this challenging topic? One comment I would venture is that I wonder whether at least some of…

What is your greatest fear?   Many of us could list all kinds of different fears that we experience. Some of us are afraid of heights. Others are afraid of the dark. Still others are afraid of clowns. But when it comes down to it I think many of us would say that our greatest fear is our fear of death.   I’ve been consistently reading the words of Jesus for about twenty years now, yet He never ceases to surprise me with what…