A blog featuring whatever I fancy, often on the Christian faith but not exclusively
Midweek Meeting December 9 2020
Day Off Week 50
There has been a little gap as we were in Cardiff one week helping our son and family to move house - I was in charge of putting books on shelves and it was nice to round up a few of my strays (!). Then the next week we went to Aber to be with our oldest son and his family as it would have been on that week that the baby girl they were expecting, Angharad, would probably have been born. This week it was the more usual being at home and reading and what not. I enjoyed reading some of the shirt stories on one of my Christmas books that I have on kindle, a book of short stories. I also spent a little time in the eighteenth century working on different projects. In the evening we watched an episode of the Crown.
Systematic Theology 2
I saw my esteemed father-in-law recently and he had a nice Christmas present for me - Volume 2 of the new Systematic Theology by Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley. There was one for him and one for me, as you can see. I have only read the first 800 pages of Volume 1 so I need to get going. Volume 3 looms. It is brilliant - from the very paper itis printed on to the questions posed at the end of each chapter.
10 People with reduplicated names
- Bev Bevan, English drummer with The Move, ELO
- Magnus Magnusson, Icelandic journalist and TV presenter
- Kris Kristofferson, American country singer and composer
- Boutros Boutros Ghali, Egyptian former UN head
- M(arj)o(rie) Mowlam, English politician
- Jo(seph) Johnson, English politician and brother of the PM
- William Williams, Welsh hymn writer and preacher
- Jerome K Jerome, English novelist
- Ford Maddox Ford, English novelist
- Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer
Lord's Day December 6 2020
So it was back to the chapel again last Lord's Day morning. We began with communion. Only eight of us. We welcomed a new member with the right elbow of fellowship. I wish we could have been more. Unable to persuade people that we should sing, we had two recordings of carols from YouTube. That was okay although the second hymn had different words to what was in our books. There were other technical difficulties I was told. In the evening it was just zoom. I carried on with Luke 1 at both services, verses 5-25 then verses 26-38. It's great to look at these verses again.
Midweek Meeting December 2 2020
We were on zoom last Wednesday again and looking at 1 Chronicles 15. We also meet for prayer which we are getting used to. One of our best pray-ers was not there but others stepped up to the mark. Prayers were slightly longer than usual I thought. Good time.
Mozart's Requiem ENO
If you have an hour to spare check BBC Iplayer and the ENO performance of Mozart's Requiem. Well worth a listen. Skip to 7:38 if you only want the music. Link here.
Lord's Day November 29 2020
Hopefully for the last time, it was all zoom last Lord's Day. I went to the chapel in the morning to broadcast We looked at the final chapter of 2 Corinthians - Chapter 13. By taking the whole chapter I ended up with a bit of a ragbag and was a little dissatisfied with the result. In the evening I broadcast from home. We looked at the opening verses of Luke's Gospel. I plan to work my way through Luke's Gospel for a second time over the coming months (and more probably). We had a good attendance and there is a good loving spirit in these difficult times. I am still conscious, however, of some few missing out.
365 Albums 316-330
- Life in Slow Motion David Gray 2005
- Thief Soundtrack Tangerine Dream 1981
- Heaven's Open Mike Oldfield 1991
- I'm in the Mood Live Recorded Selections 2002/2003 Jan Akkerman 2003
- Sorcerer Soundtrack Tangerine Dream 1977
- Charisma Joachim Kuhn 1977
- L'Apocalypse Des Animaux Vangelis 1973
- Parallel Lines Blondie 1978
- The City Vangelis 1990
- Whirlwind Spin 1977
- Forcefield III To Oz and Back 1989
- Wild Connections Jack Lancaster & Rick van der Linden 2007
- Gabrielle Gabrielle 1996
- QE2 Mike Oldfield 1980
- Incantations Mike Oldfield 1978
Midweek Meeting November 25 2020
On zoom again last Wednesday for another chapter of 1 Chronicles - Chapter 14. We then nearly got sidetracked on the matter of the vaccine and what to make of it as we gathered up matters for prayer but got going in prayer in due time and a good time it was.
Westminster Conference 2020
CAPTIVE TO GOD’S WORD
You may be aware that the Westminster Conference this year has not been possible but there is a short online version next week. The two sessions will be
Tuesday 1st December 2020
2.00pm ~ LUTHER AND AUTHORITY
DAVID MCKAY ~ Pastor of Shaftesbury Square RPC, Belfast
Luther stands astride the history of the Reformation like a colossus. We all know, or think we know, his famous, “Here I stand …” But what governed his life and bound his heart? Who or what directed Luther’s steps? In some respects, he could be seen as a flamboyant rebel with a stiff neck. In others, he appears a humble subject with a bent knee. We need to see him in a milieu in which authority was very differently understood in comparison to our own day, and to learn how he wrestled with and submitted to authority, whether God’s or man’s.
3.15pm ~ BELLARMINE AGAINST THE REFORMERS
LEONARD O DE CHIRICO ~ Pastor of Breccia di Roma
If you read much Protestant and Reformed theology from the 16th and 17th centuries, especially of a more polemical kind, you are likely to come up against the name of Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621). Who was this man, and why was he such a significant interlocutor with the Reformers and their successors? Leonardo De Chirico will introduce the man, survey his works and his thought, and help us to understand how and why he became one of the most prominent and even respected opponents of the Protestant Reformation.
The conference will be on more than one platform. The Youtube link is
Westminster Conference 2020 on YouTube
Westminster Conference 2020 on Facebook
So, God willing, the conference will run from 2pm until 5pm on Tuesday 1st December 2020. Two of our original speakers will be joining us to deliver two papers, followed by a round table discussion.
At 2pm, David McKay, pastor of Shaftesbury Square RPC, Belfast, will speak on Luther and Authority. After a short break, at 3.15pm Leonardo De Chirico, pastor of Breccia di Roma, will address us on Bellarmine against the Reformers. Immediately following this paper, our two speakers will participate
in a moderated round table discussion. We expect to conclude by about 5pm.
Anyone is welcome to join us. We hope that this may be an opportunity for many who do not normally attend the conference in person to get a taste of the theology and history which we love to study and from which we delight to learn. Some eighty have registered so far.
As we are not holding a full conference this year, there will be no printed publication for 2020
Lord's Day November 22 2020
Another zoom Sunday then. In the chapel in the morning preaching on the second half of 2 Corinthians 12. Not an easy passage but I think I had hold of it. I hope so. Only one more to go now like that. In the evening it was zoom again, but from home - Joshua 18, once again not easy but there was plenty to chew on. Rather alliterative today for some reason. Good to see everybody, even though not in the flesh.
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