A National Hero

Today Britain lost one of its best defenders (2Ki.2:12, Isa.31:1).

Radio 4 paid homage to John Stott CBE on the Today programme, but as is the way with modern media, by lunch time, he had been all but forgotten, just a page remains.

He came to our house when I was a young whipper-snapper, (yes I am name dropping) and apparently (although you understand I find this hard to believe), I incited my brother to call him "stupid head." Not the finest hour of my childhood. As you can imagine, my parents were absolutely mortified. Stott himself was, as you would guess, incredibly gracious.

SuperTED

This is clever, but it's a shame that the conclusion has been disemboweled of any moral force.



Something else to make you think:

In Other News...

...I'm generally not into nepotism or cronyism, but... my brother preached a sermon recently on Psalm 73. He's definitely much better at being concise and getting quickly to the point than I am.

20mins of time well spent here.

Holiday Reading Options

Wondering what to take along with my Bible on expedition as reading this year:

The front runners are:

Family Event: "Walk Thru the Bible" 9-10 September

If you're like me then one of the things you think about is how to communicate the great story of God that is the Old Testament to people of different ages and backgrounds who have never heard it before. What are big themes and the simple keys that unlock great swathes of text? What do I need to know so that I / we can experience the journey through the Old Testament as a voyage of discovery rather than a frustrating road to nowhere? And how do I do that without making it cheesy or condescending?

Well...

Classic Comody

I find the two Ronnies and their team of writers hard to beat when it comes clever word play and scenarios. Here are three of my favourite examples:

Government's Religious Equality Consultation Closes 15 July - Have Your Say

The government is garnering opinion here regarding religious equality and how it can be legislated for.  Consultation closes tomorrow, (15 July). Why not log on and have your say?

Below are my "shoot from the hip" responses to the questions they asked

Eyes of Fire

All of us do stupid, ill-judged and impetuous things.

Sometimes we get away with them, sometimes we don't. In certain cases, that moment of inattention, folly or impatience gets caught on camera and broadcast to millions of people all around the world:



I've had more accidents and even more close shaves in a car than I'd like to admit, so I'm willing to bet that the emotional well-being of the France Television Driver at the centre of this incident will be broken into tiny little bits, and that's before you start to consider the ruin incurred by any subsequent legal action.

South Reading Churches Funday Promo Video

This Saturday is the big South Reading Churches Funday. A free event for the local community. I'll be MCing. Should be a blast.

Wedding Address for Mr & Mrs Riches

The following is based on one of their readings: Revelation 21:1-4. For those interested it's my first ever address with a chiastic structure!

Richard Vs. Richard

No this isn't a personal take on Romans 7, but a juxtaposition of two famous Richards. First Mr Dawkins on keeping religion out of science and politics and second Mr Warren on a life of purpose. PS I haven't watched them, so don't ask me about them just yet.