The similar phrase 'Worldly Christianity' is one used by Bonhoeffer. It's J Gresham Machen that I want to line up most closely with. See his Christianity and culture here. Having done commentaries on Proverbs (Heavenly Wisdom) and Song of Songs (Heavenly Love), a matching title for Ecclesiastes would be Heavenly Worldliness. For my stance on worldliness, see 3 posts here.

Lord's Day March 17 2024


A packed morning congregation once again. That included some visiting family members, a recently retired local pastor and his wife and the brother of a regular attender plus all the usual crowd. Some of the Iranians have just gained asylum but others still wait. It's tough. As we are working through the Sermon on the Mount the subject was divorce Not an easy subject but it seems to have been appreciated. In the evening we had communion then looked at another famos verse  - Philippians 4:13.

Wooden Spoon

 

Mason Grady scores Wales' third try

Sadly, after a fifth and final loss today Wales are defnites for the wooden spoon, Worst for twenty years.

Midweek Meeting March 13 2024


Eight of us were present and all prayed after a message from Eddie on prayer from 1 Thessalonians that included disussion and that made us want to pray.

Carey Conference 2025


A new venue has been amounced for the next Carey Conference. This time it will not be in Swanwick but in King’s Park Conference Centre, Northampton. No reason is given for the move but Carey has often been quite peripatetic and I have attended conferences in Liverpool, Ripon and Swanwick. Earlier conferences were in Cardiff and other places, I believe.
The dates for this coming conference are Tuesday 7th - Thursday 9th January 2025. The main speaker will be Brooks Buser, who served at one time church planting in Papua New Guinea among the Yembiyembi people. He is now President of Radius International, which trains cross-cultural workers for missionary service among unreached people groups.

Day Off Week 11 2024



Another day of reading and working on some of my blogs with TV in the evening after the regular Bible Study up the road.

Lord's Day March 10 2024



We were a decent number Sunday morning but I've just been counting up who was missing and it reaches double figures. We have lost four Iranian refugees who have had to move hotel. There were another 16 at least away for various reasons. It is hard to keep up. I preached the next section in the Sermon on the Mount and in the evening I started a series on famous texts, beginning with John 3:16. I'd hoped to entice sime people oout who don't aready come but it was a wet old day.

Midweek Meeting March 6 2024


About eight of us this last Wednesday (plus one online), looking at Romans 1:18-32 and spending time in prayer. Good time.

Day Off Week 10 2024


Typical day off mainly reading. I didn't quite finish the book on naive art, which I have read before. The day before Eleri had been at the London Welsh Centre and she brought me a signed copy of  book on the Welsh marches by Mike Parker. I started reading it and got through a good chunk of this interesting and well written book. In the evening I held my regular Bible study with an Iranian couple. Backhere there was time for a bit of TV.

The Times They were Achanging


I was reading a book yesterday that referred to a famous picture of Bob Dylan at the old Aust Ferry terminal in 1966. I don't remember seeing the picture but it is of interest as if you look, in the distance you can see the almost complete first Severn Bridge (it's just above the car). Before that, of course, the ancient ferry was the only way to avoid making a long roundabout journey to get from Somerset to South Wales.

Lord's Day March 3 2024

We were back to pre-half term numbers last Sunday morning, which was good. In the eening we were our usual small number, just into double figures. We started the day with communion, thinking about Passover. In the main morning meeting we carried on in the Sermon on the Mount and in the evening I gave my final message on Job. It has been good to go through the book once again.

The late Chris Nicholl and his amazing feat


I notice that the footballer Chris Nicholl has died. I didn't know the name but I was interested to read of a game he was in that features in Football's Strangest Matches by Andrew Ward, a book we have somewhere in the house. The game was between Leicester City and Aston Villa at Filbert Street, in March 1976. Chris Nicholl, a Northern Ireland international, who in his career played 648 league games for a number of different clubs, managed to score all four goals. A tall central defender for Villa, he clearly appreciated the symmetry of the game and managed on the occasion to alternate own goals with his "proper" ones for Villa, all spread nicely across the ninety minutes. The first, an own goal, came in the 15th minute, from a shot by a Leicester player which deflected off Nicholl's head. He was able to equalise before the break in the 40th minute, shooting from close range after a scramble in the penalty area. In the second half, he managed, in the 53rd minute, to score a second own goal (his hat trick, you might say, but own goals don't usually count for that honour). He had again headeded past his own keeper. With four minutes to go he was remarkably able to once again cancel out his own effort, this time scoring from a Villa corner.

Exodus 35:18


Exodus 35:18 ... the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, and their ropes; ...

This verse has to have the potential for being one of the least striking verses in the Bible. It is part of a list in connection with the building of the Tabernacle in the wilderness and it is simply saying that someone in Israel made the tent pegs for the Tabernacle itself and for the Courtyard - and also the ropes. Some forgotten character or characters made the tent pegs and ropes. It seems so insignificant a work and yet, of course, without it the Tabernacle never would have stood. If the work had been defective, it would not have stood long. So today all sorts of hidden and seemingly insignificant work goes on in the Kingdom - and must go on. If the tent peg makers and rope makers, the listeners and tea makers and fall down on their job, the whole enterprise is in jeapordy.

Happy St David's Day

 


Most of my grandchildren celebrating today in Wales

Midweek Meeting February 28 2024


Seven of us gathered (plus three online) for our Bible study and prayer meeting. We began a new series on Romans with Romans 1:1-17. I tried to be interactive. Good prayer time too.

Day Off Week 9 2024


Typical day, mostly spent reading and catching up on one or two blogs. From what I can see Post-impressionism is not really a thing just a way of noting how artists took in what impressionism had to say then moved on. Started the Banner biography of Beza. In the evening I did go out for a Bible Study with some friends, postponed from last night when we were seeing my nephew off. In the evening we began watching this futuristic Welsh drama about Port Talbot. Interesting.