Carey Conference 2026 Day 1

So up to Northampton to start the year at the Carey. Great to see everyone. Three main sessions to start

• Stephane Simonnin on Tyndale. Very helpful, focusing on Tyndale's vision.
• Peter Williams on the reliability of the Old Testament. Usual soaing stuff on numbers and other issues.
• Peter Abutu. For some reason the British government would not give a visa to the Kenyan we booked but we were able to get a Nigerian here. He introuduced himself and then preached very helpfully on the perfection of Scripture.
• We also dipped into the 1689 with Richard Lawrence on Christ being God without conversion, composition or confusion.

Lord's Day January 4 2026

So a new year is here and on the first Lord's Day of it, we began with communion and then the morning meeting. That was well atteded. I was agin very personal with a text for the year ahead. Only four or five of us in the evening but woth others online.

Lord's Day December 28 2025

It was a good day last Lord's Day in the church. The morning was fairly typical apart from so many still being away. In the evening we retreated to the parlour where I preached to my family (about six of us all told). We sang apella.

Lord's Day December 21 2025

I only preached in the morning last Lord's Day as we contined to tackle Christmas themes. Usual umbers though some already away and ine or two extras mostly ouor own family.

10 Carols Named for Places

1. The Coventry carol (Lully, lullah, thou little tiny child)
2. The Wexford or Enniscorthy carol (Good people all, this Christmas time, Consider well and bear in mind)
3. The Sussex carol (On Christmas night all Christians sing)
4. The Somerset carol (Come all you worthy gentlemen)
5. The Sans Day or St Day carol (Now the holly bears a berry as white as the milk)*
6. The Hereford carol (The truth sent from above)
7. The Huron carol ('Twas in the Moon of Wintertime)
8. The Burgundian carol or carol of the beasts (The winter season of the year when to this world Our Lord was born)
9. The Kerry Christmas carol (This holy Christmas night leave out the bread and meat for them)
10. The Gloucestershire wassail (Wassail! wassail! all over the town)

Twelve Days of Christmas in various styles

The National Parks Christmas Magic (June Audio)

Something nice for Christmas (froma few years back)

Midweek Meeting December 17 2025

At least two nice things last Wednesday. Firstly, I found a Christmas text I wasn't aware of as a Christmas text before. Secondly, someone was there for the first time and prayed. The text was in Zechariah 2. It was a good time of prayer.

Day Off Week 51 2025

Had another reading day last Tuesday. I read the various books that I am reading day by day at the moment. With those I also read a book called Entitled about Andrew and Fergie. It is rather a depressing book in many ways as it describes, I think fairly accurately, the lives of two once married individuals and the excesses that they have given themselves to down the years. I don't suppose they are very different to the average Jack and Jill but because they have been exposed to so many temptations and have so often given in, we end up with a pretty discouraging state of affairs, to the extent, in Andrew's case, that he appears to be guilty of punishable crimes. Not at any point in the book do they seem to have come under the sound of the gospel and they do not seem to realise the need to repent and find forgiveness in Christ, which is their only hope. We do not know how it will all turn out before they die but it would not be a surprise if more came out. Andrew Lownie has thoroughly researched the story. He presents quite a different version of how the infamous interview with Andrew came together and appears to be quite convinced that Jeffrey Epstein did not kill himself. He is also quite convinced that Andrew is guilty of sex crimes.

Lord's Day December 14 2025

We entered the Christmas period yesterday with sermons on The first Christmas lights and The first Christmas card looking at Matthew 2 and Luke 2 respectively. Eddie preached in the morning and it was me in the evening. Typical say in that the morning congregationwas large (40?) but could have had more along and the evening small (15?). We were both enabled to preach well.

Micah Thomas Article Now Online

 See here 

10 Metareferences in the movie Elf

I have just finished watching the movie Elf as I do at this time of the year each year. I was struck by one particular scene where Buddy the elf looks out from a bridge on a snowy night and how it references James Stewart in the Frank Capra film It's a wonderful life. Others have noticed similar things and the movie is described by some critics as being a "meta film" in the way it acknowledges and plays with audience expectations of the Christmas movie genre, tying familiar tropes together to create an original story wrapped in a "holiday classic bow".

1. It's A Wonderful Life Buddy's bridge scene references George Bailey contemplating his purpose in life.
2. Miracle on 34th Street Buddy's trip to Gimbel's is reminiscent of the scenes in Macy's. Gimbel's was Macy's store rival.
3. Edward Scissorhands Buddy makes snowflakes like Edward. He doesn't have the same tools but he achieves the same result.
4. A Christmas Story Buddy's snowball fight is a reference to this film. Buddy saves Michael from school bullies just like Ralphie.
5. A Christmas Story The Ralphie actor has a cameo. Peter Billingsley plays Buddy's elf supervisor Ming Ming.
6. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Leon The Snowman resembles Rudolph's Sam. The snowman Leon and Sam are both mentors to elves
7. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Buddy's elf costume recalls Hermey the mistfit elf's costume.
8. The Santa Clause Elf plays on the theme of nonbelievers being converted by the irrefutable evidence of the Christmas spirit and Santa Claus's existence, with a normal man being thrust into the North Pole environment.
9. The Christmas Star Edward Asner plays Santa again not a crook this time but the real thing.
10. National lampoon's Christmas Vacation Once again there are antics with an oversized Christmas tree.

These metareferences are sometimes referred to as Easter eggs. So Easter at Christmas!

Midweek Meeting December 10 2025

Our usual gathering last Wednesday and something of a Christmas theme.

Day Off Week 50 2025

Had one of my reading days last Tuesday. There are a number of books that I am reading day by day at the moment. With those I am reading other Chrstmas books including this Washington Irving book that I picked up recently and have now finished. The book contains the most beautiful writing in a most beautifully illustrated book. American Irving simply describes a few days in England at Christmas, staying at an old house whose lord is a great lover of the old traditions, especially at Christmas. The book is charming and also provides a limited amount of information on the background, particlalrly in a series of footnotes at the end of the book. Undoubtedly, the Puritans took a wrong turn when they banned Christmas. They certainly meant well and it would be a mistake to suppose that an Irving Christmas is typical of pagan celebrations but the idea of enjoying yourself in winter is not something any Christian should have too many qualms about.

A fourth Christmas Book

Read this book made on StoryJumper