10 Well known Rockstars and their lesser known musical brothers

1. Pete and Simon Townshend
2. Mick and Chris Jagger
3. Paul and Mike McCartney
4. Eddie and Paul Simon
5. Carmine and Vinny Appice
6. Steve and Muff Winwood
7. Ray and Dave Davies
8. Roy and Grady Lee Orbison
9. Paul and Joe Rodgers
10. David and Mark Knopfler

(Also, Frank, Maarten and Thijs van Leer and Jan and Cocky Akkerman)

10 European countries that still have a king

1. Andorra
2. Belgium
3. Denmark
4. Liechtenstein
5. Luxembourg
6. Monaco
7. The Netherlands
8. Norway
9. Spain
10. Sweden

Westminster Conference Papers 2023 Now Available

The published papers for the Westmminster Conference have now been published (through Ettrick Press). The collection includes six papers - Aaron Prelock on Aquinas, Benedict Bird on Matthew Poole, Lewis Allen on Henry Venn, Thomas Brand on The cry of dereliction, Paul Wells on Beza and David CAmpbell on Eric Liddell. Do get hold of it.

Lord's Day July 28 2024

It was good to be back in Chidls Hill yesterday. Most were there in the morning but some missing. Some visitors too. Nice to meet two new people who've started coming recently (an Iranian man and a Nigerian woman). Small even congregation but one visitor from Wales. Preached on the next part of the Sermon on the Mount in the morning and a one off from Revelation 22:16 in the evening.

Midweek Meeting July 24 2024

Eight of us were present plus two or three online last Wednesday for the midweek meeting. I did a one off Bible study on Proverbs 16:17 and then a time of prayer - two superb prayers to kick us off.

10 Tans (and a feather)

1. Farmer's tan
2. Driver's tan
3. Biker's tan
4. Golfer's tan
5. Footballer's tan
6. Sandal tan
7. Goggle tan
8. Bikini tan
9. Spray tan
10. Sunless tan

Lord's Day July 21 2024

I was again away from Childs Hill last Sunday. We spent a lovely weekend with friends in Pembrokeshire. On the Sunday, I preached in Penuel Baptist Chapel, Roch, where they are members. I've only preached there once before. On this occasion I preached in the morning on Zechariah 3:2 and then in the afternoon we looked together at Proverbs 24:15, 16. The small but changing congregation was joined by a few visitors. We also visited family on the way there and back.

10 Roman and Greek gods

1. Jupiter - Father of the sky and king of the gods
2. Neptune - freshwater and the sea
3. Pluto -ruler of the underworld
4. Mars - god of war
5. Venus - goddess of love
6. Diana - goddess of the hunt and of fertility
7. Vulcan - god of fire and the forge
8. Mercury - the messenger of the gods
9. Ceres - godess of agriculture, grain crops and fertility
10. Saturn - god of time, regeneration, etc

1. Zeus - Father of the sky and king of the gods
2. Poseidon - freshwater and the sea
3. Hades - ruler of the underworld
4. Ares - god of war
5. Aphrodite - goddess of love
6. Artemis - goddess of the hunt and of fertility
7. Hephaestos - god of fire and the forge
8. Hermes - the messenger of the gods
9. Demeter - godess of agriculture, grain crops and fertility
10. Kronos - god of time, regeneration, etc

Midweek Meeting July 17 2024

Interesting evening last Wednesday. Our little group gathered for prayer and Bible Study in the back room as we do. As I read the Scripture a young man joined us. Romans 5:12-21 is not easy to expound and I was not sure how much English he had but I ploughed on. He turned out to have decent English. He is an Israeli with an interest in Christianity (and Buddhism) visiting the area. He even took his turn to lead us in prayer, a prayer we coud say amen to. We recommended a church to him back in Israel. I hope we hear more from him.

Westminster Conference 2024

The brochure for this year's Westminster Conference is now available.

(You'll probably need to double click the above sheets to read them)

10 Norse Gods

1. Aegir – God of the sea.
2. Balder – Son of Odin and Frigg. Known as a gentle and wise god. Killed accidentally by his brother Hod.
3. Freyja – Main goddess of the Vanir (fertility gods). Daughter of Njord and sister of Freyr.
4. Freyr – Important god of the Vanir. Son of Njord and brother of Freyja.
5. Frigga – Main goddess. Wife of Odin and mother of Balder.
6. Heimdall – Watchman of the Norse gods and owner of the horn Gjall. Son of nine mothers. Often identified with Rig, the creator of three races of men.
7. Hod – Son of Odin. A blind god who accidentally killed his brother Balder.
8. Loki – The sly, trickster of the Norse gods. Son of two giants. Also known as the Sly One, the Trickster, the Shape Changer and the Sky Traveller. Becomes increasingly more evil. He is responsible for the death of Balder.
9. Odin – King of the Norse Gods, God of poetry, battle and death. Chief god of the Aesir. Also known as the “all-father”, the “terrible one”, “one-eyed” and “father of battle”.
10. Thor – God of Sky, thunder and fertility. Associated with law and order in Asgard and guardian of the Norse gods. Son of Odin and Earth and husband of Sif. Also known as the “thunder god” and “charioteer”.

The Rest is History by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook

I don't really listen to podcasts and so I was unaware of The Rest is History a podcast issued by the historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook. This volume, which I have just finished reading, is a very easy to read breeze through various historical materials and is most enjoyable. In his book Unruly David Mitchell recommends moving on from there to a detective novel or something of that ilk. Though both books could be described as "Horrible histories for grown ups" it has not been a problem reading them virtually back to back. This current volume is very random and covers all sorts of subjects. I found it quite stimulating. One tiny snag is that references to topical news mean that even just a year or two later the book can sound unnecessarily dated.

The Child is Father to the Man by Tom Nettles

On reflection, this 2021 book about Spurgeon by Tom Nettles could be better titled. The reason it has the title it has is because Dr Nettles works through ten themes or keynotes that were part and parcel of Spurgeon's life from his youth onwards (Calvinism, being a Baptist, preaching, evangelism, poor physical and mental health, a helpful self-centredness, contending for the faith, being slandered, the Bible). It is intended to be a companion to the much larger biography Nettles produced in 2013. To be frank, that work rather collapsed under its own weiht and so this companion volume is worth doing and most will be wisest to begin here.

Lord's Day July 14 2024

On the Lord's Day I was across town in Poplar Baptist, East London. I preached on Ephesians 2:8, 9 and Philippians 4:8. Poplar and ourselves have had a sot of parallel existence over many years. Founded around the same time both have remained fairly evangelical and have felt compelled to leave the compromised Baptist Union and LBA. Both Henry Dixon and I began our pastorates as young men in the eighties (1983, 1984) and have remained in one multi-ethnic church since. Both churches have a decent morning attendance but struggle in the evening. There are differences - Poplar was bombed in the war and rebuilt and unlike us has joined the Grace Baptist Association. Henry has more than twice as many (grown) children as we do! It was a good day.

Midweek Meeting July 10 2024

Seven of us met last night (with one or two online as well) to ray and to look at Romans 5:3-11. Everyone took a turn to lead in prayer.

Day Off Week 28 2024

Some of the usuals this last Tuesday - reading, chipotle lunch, coffee, painting, cheese buying (Mayfield - very nice), TV in the evening.

Lord's Day July 7 2024

We began last Lord's day with communion and welcoming in two new Iranian members. I preached later on the end of Matthew 6 on not worrying. Good number there. A small congregation in the evening heard the final famous text message - on Romans 3:23.

10 Land Purchases that expanded the USA

1. (Allegedly) Manhattan Island from Native Americans 1626 $24
2. The Louisiana purchase 9Louisiana and 14 other states) from France 1803 $15M
3. Florida purchased from Spain 1819 $5M
4. Mexican Cession from Mexico 1848 $15M
5. The Gadsden purchase from Mexico 1854 $10M
6. The Alaska purchase from Russia 1867 $7M200k
7. The Philippines purchased from Spain 1898 $20M
8. The Panama Canal zone from Panama 1903 $10k plus $250k annually
9. The Danish Virgin Islands purchased from Denmark 1917 $25M
10. Water Island, purchase from the East Asiatic Company (a private shipping company based in Denmark, at the time under German occupation) 1944 $19k

10 Common Pests

1. Ants (The commonest species that invades houses is the Black Garden Ant, which is actually very dark brown)
2. Bed bugs (This common pest once associated with unhygienic surroundings is prevalent due to a number of reasons, including increased travel, the use of second-hand furniture, and suspected tolerance to some pesticides. These bugs still occur with regularity, particularly in multi-occupancy buildings with rapid resident turnover, for example, hostels, hotels, holiday camps and blocks of flats.)
3. Cockroaches (Cockroaches are distinguished by their very long whip-like antennae, flat oval bodies and rapid, jerky walk.)
4. Deathwatch Beetle (A wood-boring beetle whose grubs eat old hardwood structural timbers. Practically common in stately homes in which the beetle family has probably lived since they were built.)
5. Fleas (The most common species of Flea is the Cat Flea, known for readily biting humans. The Bird Flea is next in importance, followed by the rare Dog Flea, although other species may become temporarily attached to dogs. Finally, there are Human Fleas which are extremely rare.)
6. Lice (Small, flat, wingless, grey parasites about 2mm long with strong claw legs and which feed on human blood. There are two distinct forms of this sort of louse - the head louse and the body louse, but they are similar in appearance.)
7. Mice (Hear the pitter-patter of tiny footsteps behind the skirting. Dos your cat bring mice in from the garden? Mice are a part of British wildlife - but when they take up residence with you, they can be a cause for concern.
8. Rats (There are two species of rat in Britain, Rattus Norvegicus which is commonly known as the Brown Rat or Common Rat. The Rattus Rattus, referred to as the Black Rat or Ship Rat is now rarely found in the UK.)
9. Ticks (Closely related to the mites, but much larger and reliant on vertebrate blood. They are occasionally brought into the house on domestic animals and can be picked up by humans after walking through long grass in an infested area. Ticks are implicated in the transmission of Lyme disease, and medical advice should be sought if a rash appears at the site of a bite. Remove them with a twist to avoid leaving the mouthparts in the skin.)
10. Wasps (Wasps are classified under the order Hymenoptera, which means membraneous wings. All the stinging insects belong to this group. Some Wasps live in Wasps nests in the UK.)

New Album from Focus

A new Focus album is officially released today. Like other recent albums its cover is graced with a pleasing piece of Roger Dean artwork. The opening two tracks - the tongue in cheek titled Fjord Focus and Focus 13 (yes 13, not 12) have been out for a while. These are the first two of a total of ten tracks, all written by our lead man Thijs van Leer, except for tracks 4-6 by the other members of the band. In reverse order - Born to be you is by Menno Gootjes, All Aboard is by Udo Pannekeet and Meta Indefinata is credited to drummer Pierre van der Linden, though it is not a drum track. As with any Focus album, it takes a while to get into what is going on but initial impressions are positive. All the tracks, as one might expect, are instrumental, although to have no vocals or voices at all is unusual if not unique. Acoustic guitar and flute are heard and plenty of piano and even may be some synthesisers appear. Uniquely, Bowie is a solo piano piece from van Leer. Born to be you is piano heavy too with no drums or bass as is the opening of Bela. One of the tracks was apparently completely improvised in the studio.

Gwion and Lydia Bonus Shot

 

Unruly by David Mtchell

As noted, this is another birthday book and I finished it today. It works through the monarchs of England from the beginning as far as Elizabeth I. The style is jocular but presumably accurate. The swearing and crudity is meant to be funny but I'm not sure it is and reminded me of the way some of my undergraduate lecturers would add a swear word to be in with the kids. It never worked. An enjoyable read and worth his doing I guess. His approach to the providence of God is interesting. He is very dismissive of those who see God's hand in events but offers no real alternative approach. The book filled me in on the bits of history I've missed over the years.

Pilgrim's Progress

Just over a year ago I was at the Art of Shepherding Conference in Islington and they were selling copies of the attractive Banner edition of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress at a good price and so I bought a copy. Not much happened for a while but then I adopted the current policy of trying to read through the classics bit by bit and so this morning I finished the second part. I have read this second part at least once before and it is very good though not as good as Part 1 which I have read several times. It is the sort of book worth reading several times in a lifetime. If not every year, every ten years at least. At present I am also reading The Holy War and one or two other things.

Midweek Meeting June 3 2024

Nine of us gathered on Wednesday to pray and to look at Romans 5:1, 2.  I had expected fewer. It would have been good if more had prayed. We were not together for long.

Day Off Week 27 2024

I managed to have a traditional day off this week. That is to say I did some reading (a small paperback - a biography of Leslie Land by Ian Shaw and a large hardbck - Unruly by David Mitchell). I also wnt out for a coffee. There wa s also time to further one or two projects I am working on. I enjoyed the day.

10 Uniquely Nicknamed Parliaments

1. Model Parliament 1295 (a model for later parliaments)
2. Good Parliament 1376 (due to the sincere efforts by its members to reform the government)
3. Bad Parliament 1377 (because it undid the work of the Good Parliament)
4. Blessed Parliament 1604-1610 (the view of Londoners at least)
5. Addled Parliament 1614 (it passed no bills)
6. Useless Parliament 1625 (it transacted no significant business)
7. Short Parliament Apr 1640 (it lasted only three weeks)
8. Barebone's (Little or Saints') Parliament 1653 (Praise-God Barebone, MP for the City of London)
9. Cavalier (Pensioner) Parliament 1661-1679 (overwhelmingly royalist and the longest ever)
10. Loyal Parliament 1685 (at the outset most MPs were loyal to the new king, James II)

(The terms Convention, Long, Oxford and Rump are used for more than one Parliament. Also note the Mad Parliament 1258, Montfort's Parliament 1264, Parliament of Whitebands 1321, the Wonderful Parliament 1386, the Merciless Parliament 1388, the Unlearned or Dnces Parliament 1404, the Fire and Faggot Parliament 1414, the Black Parliament 1523)

Lord's Day June 30 2024

It was a joy to be in Alfred Place Baptist Church, Aberystwyth, morning and evening to hear my son Rhodri  preach two fine sermons on living in the light of the Second Coming and from Romans 6. Good to see so many out in the evening. The meetings were lead by a deacon and an elder.

Gwïon marries Lydia

It was a great joy to be with Gwïon and Lydia and everyone else for the wedding just outside Aberystwyth last Saturday. A really great day.

Sage advice from Dr Lloyd-Jones

This is from a letter written by Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones that appears in a new biography of Leslie Land by Ian Shaw. He is telling Land how to deal with his depression. Much of it is counter-intuitive but is correct I am sure and can be a help to anyone in a similar conditon.

1. Your present trouble is only temporary. It is quite a common happening at your age and it will in no way affect you permanently. It is quite a common experience and one from which the patient invariably makes a full recovery. Do not analyse your symptoms. Still less be worried about them. Our nervous system can play all sorts of tricks with us and if we begin to consider each symptom we can become very worried. Avoid that. Just relax completely and give nature a chance.

2. Don't be in too much of a hurry. Reconcile yourself to the fact that for the time being you must do just nothing. That is the way to prepare for the future.

3. Do not think at all about the work at Leicester (Land was pastor of Melbourne Hall). It is God's, not yours, and he will care for it.

4. You will find that this experience will be most rewarding spiritually. It will bring you as it has brought me to rest more in the love and perfect wisdom of God. I am sure that He has something special for you in all this for which you will thank Him all your life. It will enrich your ministry.

Rest in him and abandon yourself entirely to him.

Carey 2025

The Carey Conference 2023 will be on January 7-9. There is a new venue - King's Park, Northampton. Speakers include Brooks Buser from America and Austin Walker.