It’s worth remembering that the name of the month of January comes from the Roman god, Janus, who is often pictured as having two faces – one looking back to the past and the other looking ahead to the future. At the start of a new year it’s always good to start off with that […]

‘There’s no Christmas without Christ!’ If only that were so. Sadly, there’s lots of Christmases without Christ, and as Christmas comes and goes again, it’s possible that many fall for the trap of living as though, the trimmings count more than the reality. The Apostle Peter knew little about the Christmas story, but what he […]

One of the strong emphases of Scripture when it comes to the return of Jesus, is the important question of ‘how we live’ in the light of His coming. As Paul concludes his letter to the Church at Thesalonica in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28, this emphasis can be clearly seen. While Paul has established the fact […]

This message was preached for the occasion of the celebration of the contribution of our organist, Mrs Jean Spicer, for nearly 70 years, something that is a great witness to the faithfulness of the Lord and the faithfulness He calls His people to. The central message of the parable Jesus told in Luke 19:11-27, is […]

There are certain events in life that we must all get ready for. As I write this, Christmas isn’t too far away – and we all know what that means! Some events, like Christmas, are expected. Others are not. The return of Jesus certainly fits into this second category. His return will not be announced […]

If there’s one thing we all need to survive in this world and in order to ‘keep on, keeping on’ it’s hope. Not a vain ‘pie-in-the-sky’ hope that people have when they believe something that isn’t true to lessen the pain of reality, but a hope that is based on something outside of us, something […]

The ability to walk is something that most of us take for granted. It’s only if and when we lose that ability we realise that learning to walk all over again is hard. The Bible also lays emphasis upon how God’s people should ‘walk’ -in the sense of how we conduct ourselves as ‘chidren of […]

One theme stands out in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, and that is the close relationship that Paul had with these believers. This is reflected in so many ways, but is eviden mainly in the language Paul uses to describe the depths of his feelings towards them. In 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13, it is apparent […]

When the Apostle Paul wrote his first letter to the church at Thessalonica, he was full of praise for the way in which these people had received and welcomed the gospel. Their lives had been transformed from worshipping idols to turn and wait for Jesus to return from heaven. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5, in describing […]

When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses (points for discussion) on the noticeboard of the church in Wittenburg in 1517, he would have no way of knowing that his actions would change the world. So now, 504 years on, we are still remembering what he did, but more importantly, what he taught. One of the […]