10 Fictional Parkers

1. Parker Ruthless criminal character created by Donald E Westlake writing as Richard Stark and portrayed in more than 20 novels

2. Parker The butler in Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde

3. Aloysius Parker Butler to Lady Penelope in Thunderbirds

4. Peter Parker Alter ego of Spiderman

5. Richard Parker Name of the tiger in the novel Life of Pi

6. Charlie Parker Private detective created by John Connolly

7. Kai Parker Character played by Chris Wood in The Vampire Diaries

8. O E Parker Character in a short story by Flannery O'Connor called Parker's Back

9. Nikki and Kim Parker Main characters in an American sitcom The Parkers that ran 1999-2004

10. Phil Parker Part played by Jimmy Nail in his TV series Parents of the Band

10 People surnamed Parker

Not sure why this came to mind

1. Matthew “nosey” Parker Archbishop of Canterbury who died in 1575
2. George Safford Parker American founder of the pen company
3. “Colonel” Tom Parker Elvis Presley's manager
4. Dorothy Parker American fiction writer
5. Gloria Parker American musician and bandleader
6. Charlie Parker American Jazz saxophonist
7. Ray Parker Jr American musician
8. Alan Parker English film director
9. Graham Parker English singer songwriter
10. Sarah Jessica Parker American actress

Frost

Great to see these frost patterns this morning. Reminded me of seeing such patterns on the inside of the windows as a kid.

Yet More Christmas Reading 2017

Two other books I have read over this holiday period and that can be highly recommended are D Ralph Davis's Stump Kingdom and Sinclair Ferguson's Child in the manger.

I was given the latter as  Christmas present last year. The one snag with such gifts is that as you do not get the gift until Christmas Day there is little enthusiasm for plunging into such topics then, although I did leaf through it, of course. Well, this year I have given the little hardback a thorough read and I have really enjoyed it. Someone of the experience of a Sincalr Ferguson should not find it difficult to put together such a book. This is not simply my best 10 sermons, however, but a 10 chapters with some sort of connectivity that provide a fairly thorough examination of the subject - Matthew 1, the shepherds, the wisemen, the Isaiah prophecies and even King Herod, etc. It is very useful for devotional use or to plunder for sermon material and deserves a wide readership.

Ralph Davis's book is not a Christmas book, strictly speaking, nor does it claim to be but as it covers Isaiah 6-12 it includes those crucial prophecies regarding the virgin birth and so on so it was good to be reading it when I was. Davis often spekas about vintage yahweh. This is certainly vintage Davis - thorough scholarship, clear structure, vivid illustrations from American and European history and other sources and genuine pastoral insights, all presented in a colloquial but reverend style that holds interest. If you have read any previous offerings from Dr Davis you will need no further encouragement to get this volume.

Lord's Day and Christmas Day 24 and 25 December 2017

Grabbing a moment to write up this morning and yesterday. On Christmas Eve we looked at the wisemen again - specifically Matthew 2:2 and 2:11. That went okay although I had a long quotation from Robert Godfrey on worship in the evening that could have been cut down. We had a good attendance. Our Hungarian family was back after some weeks missing. Four Polish Catholics from Krakow with limited English appeared. At least we sang Infant holy (translated from Polish). Family visitors and others present including  a student who I had been told might come to us.

We had a good time this morning too with lots of people present. We sang three carols and I preached on John 3:16, a great Christmas text. I finished (taking a hint from Sinclair Ferguson) by saying

"We hear a lot about Santa Claus or Father Christmas at this time of the year. Now you understand how it works with Santa. If you go to see him he is only interested in one thing – Have you been good? If you've been good – okay but if not …. He has two lists – naughty and nice and if you're not on the nice list you get no presents. How does the song put it?

He's making a list and checking it twice Gonna find out who's naughty and nice

Santa Claus is comin' to town He sees you when you're sleepin'

He knows when you're a wake He knows if you've been bad or good

So be good for goodness sake Oh! You better watch out, you better not cry

Better not pout, I'm telling you why Santa Claus is comin' to town

The truth is we have all been bad and none of us deserve the presents we get but God is very gracious and he says clearly whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Believe it. It's true."

10 Instances of the Jingle Bells Motif in Popular Music

1. Joni Mitchell River (Beginning and Throughout Piano)
2. Nat King Cole Christmas Song (Close Guitar)
3. T Rex Xmas Riff (Throughout piano)
4. Kate Rusby (While shepherds watch) Cranbrook (End Brass band)
5. Beatles Another Christmas Beatles Record 1964 (Beginning Kazoo, etc)
6. Trans-Siberian Orchestra Siberian Sleighride (Beginning Guitar)
7. Bruce Springsteen Santa Claus is coming to town (End Piano)
8. Stan Freberg Green Christmas (End Medley Sung)
9. Tijuana Brass America (Beginning Trumpet)
10. Jingle Bell Rock Bobby Helms (Beginning Guitar)

Happy 71st Jan Akkerman

About this time of year I like to wish Jan Akkerman a happy birthday. He is 71 tomorrow. He is currently in the midst of a short tour of Holland. Happy birthday!

O Jesus Christ, Thy manger is

Signatur U, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

There must be hundreds of good forgotten Christmas carols. Here's one I noticed this year by the Lutheran Paul Gerhardt.

O Jesus Christ,
Thy manger is
My paradise at which my soul reclineth.
For there, O Lord,
Doth lie the Word
Made flesh for us;
Here-in Thy grace forth shineth.

He whom the sea
And wind obey
Doth come to serve the sinner in great meekness.
Thou God’s own Son,
With us are one,
Dost join us
And our children in our weakness.

Thy light and grace
Our guilt efface,
Thy heavenly riches all our loss retrieving.
Immanuel, 
Thy birth doth quell
The power of hell
And Satan’s bold deceiving.

Thou Christian heart,
Who ever thou art,
Be of good cheer and let no sorrow move thee!
For God’s own Child,
In mercy mild,
Joins thee to Him;
How greatly God must love thee!

Remember thou
What glory now
The Lord prepared thee for all earthly sadness.
The angel host
Can never boast
Of greater glory,
Greater bliss or gladness.

The world may hold
Her wealth and gold;
But thou, my heart, Keep Christ as thy true treasure.
To Him hold fast
Unitl at last
A crown be thine
And honor in full measure.

Hark, Hark!

I've really enjoyed listening to Kate Rusby's second version of this old carol over the Christmas

Hark, Hark! Hark, Hark!
What news the angels bring,
Glad tidings of a newborn King.
Born of a maid, a virgin pure,
Born without sin, born without sin.
Born without sin, from guilt secure.

Hail, hail! Mighty Prince, Eternal King,
Let heaven and earth rejoice and sing,
Angels and men, with one accord,
Break forth in song, break forth in song,
Break forth in song, to praise the Lord.

Behold, he comes and leaves the skies,
Awake ye slumbering mortals, rise,
Awake to joy and hail the morn 
A Saviour of, a Saviour of,
A Saviour of this world was born.

Hark, Hark! Hark, Hark!
What news the angels bring,
Glad tidings of a newborn King,
Born of a maid, a virgin pure,
Born without sin, born without sin.
Born without sin, from guilt secure.

Born without sin, born without sin.
Born without sin, from guilt secure.

Beatles Christmas

Funeral St Bride's Wentloog

I was at a funeral yesterday. Going back home is always a little troumatic I find. I grew up in Cwmbran and the nearest boy of my age on the street where I lived, lived three doors up. His father was older than mine (and had fought in the war) but both worked at Lucas Girling (though my father left when I was 10). Stephen and I were thrown together from babyhood. Sadly when we were 6 Stephen's mother left home and we lost touch a little not really reconnecting again until we were 9 or 10. He is the one who invited me to the church where we were both converted and baptised. I was his best man when he married Fay, still quite young, and he reciprocated some years later when i married Eleri. Unlike me, he has continued to live in the same general area. He is an accountnat.

This month his dad, Uncle Eric, died at the grand age of 95. He was buried in the graveyard of St Bridget's,.St Bride's Wentlooge near Newport, where he grew up and where my friend Stephen lived a short time. It is a distinctive low lying part of the country. It makes me think of the Kent Marshes in Dickens. We were only about 25 present at the church, where we sang Hark the herald and Abide with me with food served later at the Ashbridge in Cwmbran. I enjoyed being with my sister and talking to some old college friends and members of Stephen's family.

Uncle Eric was a distant figure for me. My main memory is of him coming to our house weekly on a Thursday night to pay my mother the rent she had paid for him. It always seemed to be during Top of the Pops. I spent a lot of time when he was out at work in his house in the summer holidays as a teenager jumping down the stairs or over the hedge (they moved immediately around the corner and we moved across the road when sisters came along but we were still only yards from each other's homes). We listened to Uncle Eric's records (Last train to San Fernando, Trains and boats and planes, Ernie, etc) adn soemtimes Stephen would try to horrify us with his dad's spare glass eye. As was said in an excellent eulogy, he was a conservative man of humour who loved to tell stories. It was right to honour him and his good deeds. Whatever age you are it is never good to lose your father.

Grudem for sale

I was in a charity shop earlier today (Noah's Ark Hospice shop on the Finchley Rd) and was surprised to see a copy of Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology going for £2. I hope they've gone on to Bavinck rather than having abandoned theology. There was no sign of the previous owner within.

Midweek Meeting, Wednesday December 20 2017

Jean-François Millet, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

We were back up to 11 on Wednesday evening, which was good, especially with so many away at present. Beforehand, several of us several of us did some carol singing beforehand in the street behind the church. We have two excellent musicians in the church at the moment and one of them brought a  piano accordion to accompany us . We sang in the street several times at different locations and then knocked doors before passing on tracts. We were only out about 45 minutes.

For the Bible study we considered our third adn final object - the star. We soent  agood time in orayer after that and most prayed.

Harry Blamires

I can be quite slow on the uptake at times but I noticed in The Times recently that Harry Blamires has died (it was actually over a month ago now). I remember hearing his book on The Christian mind being commended and buying a copy. I must admit I never did get round to reading it. His Wikipedia page here shows what an interesting fellow he was.

Some More Christmas Reading 2017

Another short volume in my Christmas collection is Stuart Burgess's The Star of Bethlehem which I read right through recently - it is not long. I had expected to get a lot of science but after a brief introduction dealing very briefly with that sort of thing it's application all the way, with 10 chapters all told. Sometimes the applications seem a little remote but it is all sound stuff and (as Peter Masters would put it) very suggestive!

I have also read this Christmas (possibly for the first time - it is so ubiquitous it is hard to be sure) Charles Dickens' inimitable Christmas Carol. Again, it is not long (under a hundred pages) but well written for the most part. It is pretty sentimental and quite man centred really but not without its lessons for all of us. It was a huge hit in 1843 when it was first published and has never looked back.