The new Affinity Theological Magazine Foundations is out. It is an online mag these days. I have an article in it on A red letter day in Bourton on the Water in August 1765.
A blog featuring whatever I fancy, often on the Christian faith but not exclusively
Foundations 85
The new Affinity Theological Magazine Foundations is out. It is an online mag these days. I have an article in it on A red letter day in Bourton on the Water in August 1765.
Ministry December 17, 20, 24 and 25
The holiday vibe has left s rather behind with things so here is a combined report on four meetings over the last ten days or so.
First, on December 17 Eddie, my assistant, preached morning and evening from Luke 1 and 2 on Mary and the Shepherds. We had typical congregations for these days although already people had started to go away. Eddie got on fine. It was a strange week beforehand for me. I am not used to not preaching on a Sunday and didn't cope well.
Midweek on December 20 just a few of us gathered. We looked at 2 Corinthians 8:9 and spent time in prayer.
December 24 we had a decent congregation in the morning (eventually) with three sons and other family members present, loads of Iranians as usual (about 13 plus two visitors from Birmingham), two African families who we have been getting confused about, a new lady and her 96 year old mother and a few others. I managed to introduce two potential new members to each other. My head deacon has gone down with covid so he and his family were absent. In the evening it was just five of us Bradys and our chuch sevretary and PA man. I preached from Matthew 2 on the wisemen and on Herod.
Then on Christmas Day we gathered not knowing quite what to expect. In the end there were seven of us family, the PA man and the pianist and her husband and daughter, the new lady from the day before, five Iranians, a lady from Pakistan, a Nigerian lady, a man from Afghanistan, a new lady I hope will join us soon, two people who live nearby who we had never seen before. I've probably missed someone, I had a message on two women, two tress and two deaths, which was appreciated.
Midweek Meeting December 13 2023
We weren't many and I didn't present my material very well. It 's like that sometimes. Everyone prayed, however.
Lord's Day December 10 2023
As the week before, I preached twice last Sunday to a large morning congregation and a much smaller evening one. I started on Chrsitmas themes looking at Matthew 1 in reverse order to Matthew's plan. There are many encouragements at present with around six thinkig about membership or membership and baptism. An older couple who have been coming a little while were there again and I am trying to help them.
10 Football Grounds Near Each Other
 |
| Anfield and Goodison Park |
- Dundee & Dundee United (Dens Park, Tannadice Park) - 200 yards
- Liverpool & Everton (Anfield, Goodison Park) - 0.8 miles
- Chelsea & Fulham (Stanford Bridge, Craven Cottage) - 1.9 miles
- Aston Villa & Birmingham City (Villa Park, St Andrew's) - 3.5 miles
- Sheffield United & Sheffield Wednesday (Bramall Lane, Hillsborough) - 3.8 miles
- Hearts & Hibernian (Tynecastle Park, Easter Road) - 3.9 miles
- Millwall & Charlton (The Den, The Valley) - 3.9 miles
- Manchester United & Manchester City (Old Trafford, Etihad Stadium) - 4.4 miles
- Arsenal & Tottenham (The Emirates Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium) - 4.5 miles
- Bristol City & Bristol Rovers (Ashton Gate, Memorial Stadium) - 5.1 miles
Westminster Conference 2023 Day 2
Our second day of conference somehow lived up to the first day though we were slightly less in number on this second day (probably due to the rail strike - we were around the hundred mark, I guess). We began with a highly theological paper from Tom Brand on the Trinity and the cry of derelction on the cross. Both the paper and the discussion that followed were very stimulating. In the afternoon Paul Wells spoke on Theodore Beza, foocussing particulalry on his understanding of assurance. The final paper, which in keeping with tradition was not followed by discussion, featured the Scots athlete and missionary, Eric Liddell. The paper was given by David Campbell. Great conference. The next one is on December 3 and 4, 2024.
Westminster Conference 2023 Day 1
We had a very good first day. We began, perhaps unexpectedly, with Thomas Aquinas. Aaron Prelock gave a very helpful paper focusing on Aquinas's understanding of the human soul as a fivefold entity. This aspect of his teaching was taken up by the Puritans and others and is still widely accepted to some extent today. We had a decent discussion on whether we need to read Aquinas, what we can learn from him and where we need to take care. In the afternoon Benedict Bird gave an excellent lecture on Matthew Poole (1624-1679) and his writings. We then discussed the use of commentaries and one or two other things. The final paper if the day was from Lewis Allan on his hero Henry Venn, the evangelical Anglican who ministered in Huddersfield and Yelling and who was the father of John Venn, chaplian to the Clapham sect. It was good to hear someone in full command of his subject as Lewis is. The main thing we went on to discuss was emotional intelligence.
Lord's Day December 3 2023
A good full day last Lord's Day. We began with 16 of us sat down to communion and then had a very full morning service, including South African friends visiting from Perth, Australia, who were then with us for lunch with others. I preached a brief pointed sermon from the end of Luke 18 on the blind man healed. In the evening preaching to a much smaller group, I went again to Proverbs 30, to verses 7-9 this time. I felt I could have done better. Good day all told, however.
Pastors Academy Christmas Reformed
Had a very nice morning at the seminary last Thursday with about 15 others in the capable hands of Garry Williams. There are various approaches to the season for churches and I have long held my own view but it was good to hear Garry tackle it theologically. The view is basically that it is perfectly appropriiate to look at the theme od the incarnation at any time of the year and that inckudes December. We were warned against infantilising the story and misunderstanding what actually happened. This was all bulked out with some solid expostion of Matthew 1, much appreciated as that is the very place I hope to preach from this Christmas.
Seventy Christmas Songs
By my reckoning there must be some seventy Christmas selections available from Kate Rusby on the six different albums.
That breaks down to about
30 carols (including 6 versions of While Shepherds and 2 each of Hark the Herald, I saw three ships and Hark, hark).
9 novelty or joke songs - Kris Kringle, Santa never brings me a banjo, some Big Brave Bill tracks, The Ivy and the Holly, Hippo for Christmas, Arrest These Merry Gentlemen and Nothin' for Christmas
7 traditional Christmas songs - Paradise, Deck the halls, Serving Girl's Holiday, A miner's dream of home, We'll sing hallelujah, Mistletoe Bough and with bawdy humour, The Christmas Goose.
6 songs are Kate's own compositions - Home, Christmas is Merry, The Holly King and Celestial Hearts, Let the bells ring and The moon shines bright
5 modern songs - Winter Wonderland, Let it snow, I am Christmas, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree and A spaceman came travelling.
4 more songs are wassailing songs plus Yorkshire Merry Christmas plus Poor old horse about a similar Christmas tradition.
2 sort of counting songs - Seven good joys and The Dilly Carol.
2 more, The Wren and Candlemas mark post-Christmas celebrations
2 others, Drive the cold winter away and When the frost is all over are weather songs
1 slightly egregious track - Holmfirth Album
New Kate Rusby Christmas Album Out Today
The sixth Christmas album by Kate Rusby is avaiable from today. Kicking off with a nice version of Brightest and best of the sons of morning (Spean) followed by one of those atmospheric winter songs we have come to love (Glorious), the eleven track set is familiar in some ways yet fresh and will be much enjoyed over the next 25 days and beyond. Inevitbly, there is yet another version of While shepherds, of course. In the end it's that voice that's key. Wonderful.
Hoping to see her on December 11.
Day Off Week 48 2023
In week 47 we were down in South Wales for two days with the family but this week it was back to the more normal arrangement. Dale Ralph Davis's latest book on the Psalms (38-51) is now out and is well up to scratch. I am enjoying it immensely and finding it very helpful. There has been a lot of publicity about Ridley Scott's film Napooleon so I decided to go see it at our nearby Imax cinema. It does merit such a viewing and kept me gripped throughout. How accurate it is is debatable and we could have done without some of the material included that make ita 15. Nevertheless, you get an idea of the impact Napoleon made in his time at least. In the evning I watched a further episode of the current Shetland which seems t be thriving despite losing its main character (actually the main character is Shetland itself).
Lord's Day November 26 2023
It was good to be preaching last Lord's Day both morning and evening. Another interesting day with many missing but some recent visitors returning and yet more new people coming. In the morning a new Nigerian lady and an Iranian man were there for the first time on a Sunday and then in the evening a lovely Zimbabwean family.
Family Time
Just wanted to note that we had a busy week last week with a friend staying for a week and another friend staying over. Then at the end of last week we were in South Wales seeing most of the family in Cardiff. The main reason for heading that way was that my youngest grand daughter, Daisy, was celebrating her first birthday which is aroundthis time. Nice time.
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