Lord's Day September 15 2012

We continued to look at John 3 (verses 4 and 5 this time). I think we are benefiting from going through it at this slow pace. In the evening we restarted in Numbers with Chapter 16. We had decent congregations morning and evening despite a number still being away. There was a variety too in that we had people from several different backgrounds including regulars, less regulars, people we know but have not seen for a while and at least one person never there before. We had communion before the evening meeting. Had a good chat about atheism after the evening meeting.

Bourne Legacy

Somewhere amid the business of last week my wife and I were able to slip out to the cinema and see The Bourne Legacy. With a new actor, Jeremy Renner, this the fourth in the series, appeared to stick to the tried and tested formula of previous films and get away with it. I particularly appreciated the chase as it was set in Manila, somewhere I am actually slightly familiar with. I'm not one for action films but we saw the third some time in the cinema and caught up with the first two on DVD so we feel like we have something invested in the franchise. Good for relaxing, Anna Karenina may have been too demanding. Official site here.

Vlog 5 Henry on prayer

Lord's Day September 09 2012

I've been a bit slow getting back to the weekly reports I started doing before the holidays. I missed saying something about my first Sunday back last week when I preached on John 3:1, 2a and Romans 12:1. This last Sunday it was John 3:2bc, 3 and Galatians 6:9, 10. Both in the evening service and at an after meeting Virgie Biala from Manila spoke to us about herself and her work for CCM among needy children. It was nice to have so many there for the meetings. The picture shows Virgie and her chauffeur John T Sparrow and a few of us from Childs Hill. For more on CCM see here.

Good news from Iran

An Iranian pastor sentenced to death for apostasy has been acquitted and released, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

CSW, which supports the persecuted church, has been informed that Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has been freed from prison and is now at home with his family.

Pastor Nadarkhani made an appearance in court today during which the apostasy charges against him were dropped.

However, he was found guilty of evangelising Muslims and sentenced to three years in prison.

He was released immediately because he had already served this time in prison, after being held behind bars since the apostasy charges were first levelled against him in 2009.

Pastor Nadarkhani was arrested in his home city of Rasht after he questioned the Muslim monopoly of religious instruction for children, which he felt was unconstitutional.

He was sentenced to death for apostasy the following year. Then in 2011, the Supreme Court said the charges would be dropped if he converted to Islam, something Pastor Nadarkhani refused to do.

CSW had expected the pastor to face new charges in court today for unspecified crimes, but he was instead released.

CSW’s Chief Executive, Mervyn Thomas said he was delighted over Pastor Nadarkhani's release.

"We commend the Iranian judiciary for this step, which is a triumph for justice and the rule of law," he said.

"While we rejoice at this wonderful news, we do not forget hundreds of others who are harassed or unjustly detained on account of their faith, and CSW is committed to continue campaigning until all of Iran's religious minorities are able to enjoy religious freedom as guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is party.”

The Deebie Brothers

Listen to the music!

One of those families

We've often noticed those families that are so active they take the bikes with them. So we got one of those things and we did  it - just the once. It made me nervous thinking they might fall and the bikes didn't really get used enough I fear.

10 Years in Cranford

It was good to be present with many others this afternoon at Cranford Baptist marking the tenth anniversary of Robin Asgher coming to lead the work there. It was good to see Robin and Muno and other old friends. Chris Bennett preached well on the living, conquering, empowering and commanding Christ. The service was led by Paul Williams from Swindon and Basil Howlett from Reading spoke on behalf of the support group and trust.

Birthday month

As a boy May was the big month for birthdays with me and my dad, my nana and several cousins having birthdays then. My sister was the only one in September. By now I have a wife, two sons, a nephew, a niece plus my oldest son's wedding anniversary as well. Dewi was first on the first.

As You Like It

I got myself down to The Globe again last Tuesday to see a performance of As You Like It. I know the play well as I did it for A level, I recall. This was a bit different to other productions I have seen at The Globe in that it was a cut price production with only eight players. This involved doubling up the parts. At one point near the end a dummy stand in was necessary but they got a laugh out of it. Turning Touchstone into a woman didn't really work for me and there were other things that I missed from the bigger productions. Sometimes I thought the voices of some of the generally younger cast were a little weak and the whole thing got off to a rather chaotic and shaky start. Why they were all dressed in 19th century dress I do not know. Neither that nor the use of a camera really added to things. On the whole it was pretty good I guess but I have come to expect a very high standard I see. The music was done well by the cast themselves.

Wales lose

I was sad to hear that Wales lost 2-0 to Belgium last night, especially as two sons and two nephews were at the Cardiff City Stadium to see it. That's two defeats in a row and must affect our FIFA ranking (37th). Serbia away next Tuesday. It's not easy being a Wales soccer fan. 

Oxo Tower Exhibition

One of my sons yesterday was off to an exhibition in the Oxo Tower wharf by the Thames. The exhibition closes very shortly I'm afraid but the details are here. He was one of the contributors to his school's effort for the Rivers of the world project.

(In 2012, the Rivers of the World project—a flagship art and education initiative by the British Council and Thames Festival Trust—showcased artwork created by students from around the globe at various locations in London, including exhibitions in the vicinity of the Oxo Tower Wharf.)

New book promo

Another book, another promo

Like London Buses

Here in Childs Hill London buses often don't appear for a while and then come along two or three at a time. Well, I've just taken delivery of brand new copies of my latest book only a couple of months after the last one. This one is on the Great Ejection of 1662, which happened 350 years ago this year. I do hope it sells well and serves to make people better informed about an important subject. It is also my hope that the inspiring example of the men and women who suffered at that time. If you think winning Olympic gold is tough get your head round this stuff.

Death of Hal David

Hal David the lyricist most associated with Burt Bacharach the writer and Dionne Warwick the singer died last Saturday aged 91. This is not the only use of religious imagery in songs by David, who was Jewish.