Some new "all age" Christmas Songs

My colleague and hymn writer Brenton Prigge, visit him at NewHymn, has written 2 lovely Christmas songs which will work well for All-Age worship or any intergenerational setting.

Ring the bells, Sing and tell

Words by Brenton Prigge © 2015

May be sung to Jingle Bells

Patients put at risk over Botox jabs

Doctors are breaching medical guidance by writing Botox prescriptions without having face-to-face consultations with patients.

Ministers and regulators promised a clampdown on the “wild west” cosmetics industry two years ago, including a requirement for medical professionals to prescribe Botox only after seeing patients in person.

Advent 4: Peace that passes all understanding

Isaiah 9:1-7  John 14:1-6 & 27

Advent reaches its completion in gathered worship today. Here at Meadow Way our Advent journey has taken us through the candles, the Light, of hope, then love, last week joy and finally this week, Peace. And I hope that the light of hope, love, joy and peace is shining a little brighter (or much brighter) onto and into the darkness of your and my areas of hopelessness, lovelessness, joylessness and unpeace. You see, the repeated celebration of Christmas only really makes sense and takes on meaning if you and I realise, recognise, confess, that we are the people walking in darkness who have seen a great light, we are the ones living in a land of deep darkness on whom a light has dawned.

Original "Hark the Herald Angels" from the Wesley Brothers

Hark, how all the welkin rings,

"Glory to the King of kings;

peace on earth, and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled!"

Advent 4: Peace

This Sunday at Meadow Way we will relight the candles of HOPE, LOVE and JOY ... then we will light our final candle of Advent, the candle of PEACE.

As we prepare for the coming of Jesus, we remember that Jesus is our hope, our love, our joy and our peace.

Advent 3:Prayers and Teaching for Joy Sunday

Prayer for Third Sunday in Advent:
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
Prayer for Sundays:
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

My Sermon for this Sunday

Zephaniah 3:14-20   Isaiah 12:2-6   Philippians 4:4-7

We are in the season of Advent, the first season of the Christian year. The season of Advent is followed by the season of Christmas, then Epiphany, then Lent, Holy Week, then Easter which is followed by the longest season of the year, Pentecost. Advent is a time of remembering the coming of Christ. It is not about one coming, but rather about three comings: the first coming is the

Advent 2

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Farewell Service at AMC

Sunday 18 October at AMC was my farewell service, combined with our Harvest and Thanksgiving Service for 2015. It was also the last in our series: Rugby World Cup: David and Jesus.

Elvis Poolesly

My farewell to our Young at Hearts group at Alberton Methodist Church

My Farewell Service: Harvest, Thanksgiving & Rugby World Cup

Image source

This Sunday at AMC is our Harvest and Thanksgiving Service, the last in our series based on the Rugby World Cup: David and Jesus, as well as being my Farewell Service as I take leave of AMC for MWC in Norwich.

Bible untouched in church for 400 years

From The Weekly Telegraph October 14-20
Is it just me who cringes at this sentence: "The vicar believes the bible has remained untouched at St Giles parish church for 400 years"   !!!!!!!
Must work this into my sermon on Sunday :-)

Vicar finds original copy of King James Bible in cupboard

An original copy of the King James Bible has been found in a cupboard in a Welsh church.

The Rev Dr Jason Bray, 61, was taking stock of his books when he found the 1611 volume, which is believed to be one of fewer than 200 that survive.

The vicar believes the Bible has remained untouched at St Giles parish church, in Wrexham, for 400 years.  The book is missing its frontispiece and several pages from the Old Testament but is otherwise in good condition.

Dr Bray said: “We basically found it when we were going through the cupboards.  I couldn’t believe it.  It has been authenticated, and as far as we know, has always been here.”

The King James Bible was the third translation of the Bible into English more than 100 years after the Tyndale Bible became the first English version to appear in print.

A first edition of the King James Bible found in Great St Mary’s church, Cambridge University, in 2011 was valued at about 3,000 pounds.

Poole's Pilgrimage

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens (Ecc 3:1)

Blessed are those whose hearts are set on pilgrimage (Ps 84:5)

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Lk 18:29-30)

The peace which Christ gives you is to guide you in the decisions you make (Col3:15)

Well, the latest part of Poole's Pilgrimage is now getting quite close as we leave for Norwich in England on 2 November to take up our LORD's call to ministry at Meadow Way Chapel.

Tongue: Redeemed or Weapon of Mass Destruction

James 3:1-12 & Mark 8:27-38

We continue our journey through James and come to perhaps the best-known part of James letter: the part where he talks about the tongue. If there is one thing about James and his theology that we should have learned by now, it is surely this: salvation faith must be matched by actions.

On Biko and Homo Naledi

Picture Credit

I am so pleased that the initial "unveiling" of Homo Naledi has come at the same time as the remembrance and anniversary of Steve Biko's death. Steve Biko died on the floor of an empty cell in Pretoria Central Prison on the 12th of September 1977. I was 17 at the time and thus part of that generation of South African youth whose lives couldn't help but be influenced by him. My own personal tribute to this great man, once accused by the African National Congress of being a CIA spy, was my masters thesis Does Steve Biko have more to offer medical ethics than his death for which I received a distinction from Wits and have been asked to prepare for publication in the Journal of Developing World Bioethics and/or the South African Medical Journal.

One of my examiners summed up my work better than I could: 

James and the Tongue

This week the lectionary has us looking at Mark 8:27-38 and James 3:1-12
While the lectionary readings aren't meant to be connected to each other, I am using Jesus harsh words to Peter as an example of what I will call "redemptive" use of the tongue and contrast that with James examples of "unredemptive" use of the tongue. Here are the readings:

The Type of Witness You and I are Called to be

As I prepare for answering the call of our Lord to leave the land of my birth and the country that God in His grace has used to be a blessing in my life (South Africa), I am reading up on the history of Christianity in Britain. It is very interesting ... introduced during Roman rule and then spread to Ireland. With the decline in Roman rule, a subsequent rise once again in paganism ... then Irish missionaries, who with little influence from far away Rome had introduced Celtic spirituality into the new religion, going to the picts of the West of Scotland and from there to Lindisfarne and Northhumbria on the North West of England.

Here one meets Aidan of Lindisfarne (died 31 August 651), an Irish monk and missionary credited with restoring Christianity to Northumbria. He founded a monastic cathedral on the island of Lindisfarne, served as its first bishop, and travelled ceaselessly throughout the countryside, spreading the gospel to both the Anglo-Saxon nobility and to the socially disenfranchised (including children and slaves). He is known as the Apostle of Northumbria and is recognised as a saint by the Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and others.

Below are some extracts from my previously reviewed Celtic Daily Prayer, which look at Aidan through the eyes of those who met him and knew him directly. In him we see the type of person described by James, namely one whose faith is shown by his actions.  As we are working through James' Epistle at the moment (read my introduction here) I include these here because they are wonderful reminders, particularly for preachers of the gospel, of the type of witnesses we long to be.


KING OSWALD

I am Oswald, King of Northumbria.  I already knew Aidan before he came here; he was a young monk when I was a boy in exile on Iona.  I had been bitterly disappointed when Corman went home,  So, when Aidan and his monks arrived, I said, “Thank God you’ve come.  I’ll give you any bit of land you choose for your monastery.  I’ll help you in any way I can.  Just call on me.”

And so he did.  I even taught him the English language – me, who never taught anyone anything except how to hold a sword!  But Aidan supported me too.  He helped me to see how to be a practical Christian and turn my faith into action.  I’ll never forget the look on my hungry warriors’ faces when I gave our Easter dinner away to the poor!  But Aidan was thrilled.  He’s genuine through and through, is Aidan.  There’s no difference between what he teaches and what he is.

THE FIRST TRAVELLER

I am a British Christian.  My family were Christians when Ireland was still in pagan darkness.  I belong to the ancient church of this land.  I didn’t like the thought of this Irish missionary upstart.  I thought he was a puppet of the English king, whom I hate.

When I saw him coming down the lane I would have passed by in silence.  But something about him, something about the way he looked at me, made me stop.  “Are you a Christian?” he asked, gently.

“Of course,” I said, huffily.

“That’s good to hear,” he said. “Now will you try be a better one?”

I don’t know why I didn’t explode with anger, but I didn’t.  Suddenly I actually wanted to be a better Christian.  And suddenly I wanted to know Aidan better and hear what he had to say.

THE SECOND TRAVELLER

I am English; and I used to be pagan.  When I saw Aidan coming down the road I thought, “Here comes that foreigner the king thinks so highly of, with his strange religion.  But I don’t want any new-fangled ways.  The old gods are good enough for me.”

But Aidan stopped when he got to me and said, “Are you a Christian?”

“No,” I said, “and I don’t want to be either.”

Then he said, “Will you tell me what you do believe?”

And for some reason I wanted to talk to him; and we talked.  All that he said was new to me – about Jesus, who came to show us what God is like.  Then he said, “Would you like to hear more?  Would you go to a meeting n your village if I arranged one?”

I said, ”Yes.”  So I went, and what I heard convinced me.  Aidan’s monks convinced me too, by the sort of people they were.  They didn’t ask me for anything; they just wanted me to know the truth.  Now I am a Christian.

Midlife Appraisal

Mid-Life Appraisal

Picture Credit

At the start of 2014, roaming through my favourite bookshop in all the world, Hatchards in Piccadilly Street, London, I came across the book Celtic Daily Prayer (buy it here), which has turned out to be one of the best daily devotional books I have come across. It contains a great deal more than just two years worth of daily devotional material. One of its sections is entitled Mid-Life Appraisal and, in retrospect, I realise it was placed before me by our Lord to gently ease me toward one of the biggest decisions of Chris and my life together, namely to move from South Africa to the United Kingdom ... see my recent From the Pastor's Desk for more on that.

Remember your Baptism and what it means in your growth in personal holiness.

The Sacrament of Baptism

This sermon will be preached from the baptismal pool this Sunday based on Romans 6:3-11, highlighting that going under the water signifies our death and burial with Christ and thus reminding us of our (often little seen) death to sin; our rising from the baptismal waters signifies our resurrection with and in Christ, which shows itself in a life of personal holiness to the glory of God. Can I suggest that those being baptised and  those attending the service Remember your Baptism and what it means in your growth in personal holiness.

A Spiritual Check-Up from the "Epistle of Straw"

  James 1:17-27 

Picture credit

Two great theologians, Luther and Wesley, walk into a pub. The one says to the other: "Let's talk about James" ... as some of you might know, this joke doesn't have a funny ending! For Luther, brilliant reformation theologian, James is nothing more than an epistle of straw which he didn't believe even belongs in the Bible, for Wesley, brilliant revivalist theologian, this epistle "reproves that antinomian (we don't have to keep the law anymore) spirit, which had even then infected many, who had perverted the glorious doctrine of justification by faith into an occasion of licentiousness (ie lacking moral or legal restraint)."

Intimacy with God

This week's lectionary readings include Psalm 84. A few week's ago I was asked to preach at Meadow Way Chapel in Norwich and they asked me to use Psalm 84 as my text and to preach on Intimacy with God. I am thus preaching the same sermon this Sunday at AMC.