More examples of Pareidolia 2

 This one is on the bottom of the door of our downstairs loo.

Lord's Day November 21 2021

Yesterday, having finished my morning series on the Ten Commandments, I preached first on 1 Timothy 1:8 going through wrong ways to use the Law and the three legitimate uses spoken of by Calvin. In the evening we had communion and I preached on Hebrews 12:18-29 about our having come as believers to Mount Zion not Mount Sinai. Numbers were down rather in the morning but a lady came who we haven't seen for a long while, with her two young children who were very patient before Sunday School (where we potentially have ten at the moment).

More examples of Pareidolia 1

We did mention pareidolia some time ago. Recently I recently snapped three example from home that I have lived with for years. This first is on my wardrobe.

Wales beat Austraiia

I know there's been no comment on the recent Welsh internationals. That's partly because they lost the first two although they did finally win against Fiji but that was on the Lord's Day so I didn't watch. Great game today that Wales finally snuck in the final minute 29-28. Australia were again ill-disciplined and played most of the game one man short. Man of the match was Taine Basham. Nice to see a Gwent boy doing well.

Midweek Meeting November 17 2021

Back to 1 Chronicles tonight and the penultimate chapter, Chapter 28. I felt I was able to do that quite well. We had a good time of prayer. It is difficult to see how we will get out of the zoom zone. Perhaps we need to start a once a month in person meeting. Anyway, a good meeting otherwise.

Two Days Off Week 46 2021

I had another one of my double days off this week. I had to complete the current In Writing magazine before I could do anything else and I spent most of my time in getting my Benjamin Beddome talk ready for the Westminster Conference. I also read another two of those art books - one on Hieronymous Bosch and one on William Turner. In both cases there were quite a few things I hadn't understood or didn't know so it was good to become better informed. I also watched some TV in the evenings including University Challenge on the Monday.

Lord's Day November 14 2021

We had another very full morning meeting and a good number in the evening too. I preached on the last of the commandments in the morning and in the evening from Revelation 22:8, 9. It's been good to look at the commandments again. This latter text is the last of the hundred texts of the Irish Church Missions that  have slowly been working through down the years. It's a slightly odd text to look at in some ways but I'm glad we did. In the evening someone we haven't seen for years joined us as they are back in the area. We began in the morning with the two minutes silence. The services were on zoom too again.

Midweek Meeting November 10 2021

It was a little bit different this week in that we had Gayle Pennant showing a short presentation and speaking to us about the work of Caring for Life. We have endeavoured to support the work in Leeds for many years. Leeds is far away and we struggle a little to keep up but it was good to have someone speaking about the work again on zoom. We were also able to have a short time of prayer afterwards as well. The last year or two has been tough for all of us and it has clearly been a hard time for C4L but they seem to be quite encouraged on the whole.

Day Off Week 45 2021

This week I stuck to my new policy of reading one of these art books I have collected each day off. I chose the one on Dali which was very interesting. Dali was at his most prolific in the thirties but those paintings still seem very modern. I also read two of the three new Day One Books on Welsh heroes. I read  the one on Thomas Coke by John Aaron first as I knew least about him. Then I read Nathan Munday's one on William Morgan which is fine although there is not much to say. I know about Thomas Charles and look forward to reading Jonathan Thomas's take on him. Each book is around 70 pages and I guess has young people in mind. Looking forward to seeing more. I was also reading some books I have agreed to review for Foundations and watched some TV in the evening. I also spent time movinga  desk out ot the bedroom and replacing it with a bookcase.

Lord's Day November 7 2021

A new month so we began with communion. We were very few but things picked up and we were again a good number morning and evening. In the morning I preached on the ninth commandment and in the evening on bread (which didn't go as well as honey and salt had). As ever a quite varied congregation with all sorts of people there (people originally from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ghana, Greece, Iran, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nigeria, The Philippines, South Korea, The West Indies). A new Iranian family in the morning. One of my sons was passing through in the evening so that was nice.

Midweek Meeting November 3 2021

We went back on Wednesday to 1 Chronicles - to Chapter 27 (only two chapters to go). We had a good turn out, with at least 13 present and a good time of prayer. We are aware of some real needs at present and that gave an edge to our praying.

Fraternal Week

I was going to put a post called Fraternal week last month but there didn't seem to be time. The way things work for me is that the first Monday and the first Wednesday of each month are fraternal days and so the first week of the month tends to be busy. On the Monday I go to a traditional fraternal, the Westminster Fellowship which now meets in Westminster Baptist Church. Then on the Wednesday a number of us go for a walk on Hampstead Heath. We meet at a station, walk to a coffee place then on to another station. So there is no formality, we just talk about what we wish with whom we wish. It works well though. As for the Westminster Fellowship, last month we had Andy Young speaking very helpfully on evangelism and this month Dr Philip Sampson speaking on the very topical subject of creation care. Dr Sampson works at the Animal Ethics Centre in Oxford and is a Schaefferite. He gave a very interesting presentation on caring for creation, backed up by a range of excellent quotations from all the good guys (Calvin, the Puritans, Spurgeon, etc).

Day Off Week 44 2021

The week before it was half term and three grand children were here so there was no formal day off (though I got to play crazy golf and watched the film Ron's gone wrong). Last Tuesday we were back to a more regular day off. I spent most of it studying Benjamin Beddome, one of my passions (see here). I also read a fascinating little book on the artist M C Escher.

10 Musicals With One Word Titles

I'm not really a fan of musicals but I like the idea of this list.

1. Oklahoma! 1943
2. Grease 1972
3. Chicago 1975
4. Annie 1977
5. Evita 1978
6. Cats 1981
7. Wicked 2003
8. Matilda 2011
9. Hamilton 2015
10. Frozen 2017

(Many others come to mind such as Oliver!, Hair, Rent, Dames, etc) 

Lord's Day October 31 2021

It was very encouraging yesterday, especially with regard to numbers. In the morning we were around 40 and in the evening, though we were only 12, it was twice what it was last week. (Others joined us on zoom am and pm). The morning congregation was swollen by five brand new comers, one of whom also came in the evening; a returning family of three and a couple visiting members. We also had people back from half term. Having said that there were still ten others who might have been there but weren't for some reason. I preached on the eighth commandment in the morning on Matthew 5:13 in the evening. I hope our newcomers return soon. Enjoyed singing Wesley's O Jesus, full of truth and grace. What a wonderful hymn!