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We are an interconnected world - news travels faster than we can, as it shoots through the airwaves or down through the web. Today's Psalm reminds us that we don't worship a family god, or one of the parish. He isn't limited to the west, but is worship by people all over the world. Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord

What image comes into your mind when you hear the word righteousness? Are they positive or negative? For many it could be images of pride at being right; or of someone who is perfect and very tight - unable to let go and have fun. That's not the bibles image. And today's Psalm corrects our image. The word righteous is mentioned 3 times in our reading. Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make

When was the last time you stood in wonder? What was it that caught your eye? What grabbed your attention? What is it that grabs the Psalmists attention? Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name.” Come and see what God has done, his aw

I must admit, when I shout it isn't often for a good reason. Often I raise my voice to command attention or to issue instruction. Sometimes I raise my voice to vent my anger or frustration. Rarely do I raise my voice to tell of something good. I need to repent, and learn to shout with joy. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of

Over the next 11 days, we are spending time in the Psalms. Many of the readings will be familiar to us, all of them in the proverbial 'Top 40'. Perhaps today's would even make no 1. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and

Jonah obeyed, but God wasn't finished with him! That's why we have chapter 4 - the strange story of a big leafy plant, a little worm and an angry prophet! Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun

2nd chances are sometimes hard to come by, and often have many strings attached. That isn't how God works! Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown

Jonah finally came to his senses. It happened as he was sitting in the belly of the great fish. And there in that dark, stinking place - he raised a cry to God. God heard, and God saved. When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salva

I am not a great swimmer, so whenever I am on a boat, I like to stay well away from the edge. The thought of falling, letting alone jumping into choppy waters fills me with fear. I don't know if Jonah could swim, but in the middle of a wild storm, Jonah says throw me in! The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know t

There are many good reasons to run. Running is a great way to get fit. Running can help you get away from dangerous situations fast. And often kids run just because it is fun or they are feeling excited. When Jonah ran, it wasn't for any of these reasons. The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish . He went

We all have the same amount of time in a day - it's how we use those 24 hours which makes us different. Some move quickly, and pack their days full. Others, enjoy a more leisurely pace, and never seem to get around to doing that thing. People on these opposite ends of the scale can infuriate each other. And we can even get pretty angry with God, when it seems like he isn't moving at all. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand

Have you ever been in a crowd and think - I don't really belong here? Everyone else seems like they belong, and you wonder, how on earth did I end up here? When you feel like that, you stand on the edge, you don't fully commit or get wholly involved. Today's reading, encourages us to be confident and fully committed. Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the

Yesterday, we discovered the radical transformation which takes place in someones life when they become a Christian. We live under a new law, free from the law of sin and death. Today, we discover our new purpose in life. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself i

Our lives are bound by rules. Some, like the law of gravity, we just can't escape. Others, vary by what age we are, or where we live. With laws like that a certain birthday, or moving house will be life changing as you step into a realm of new possibilities. Our reading today has the sense of stepping into a new realm, one in which you are governed by a different law. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the

It seems like we are hardwired to contribute to anything we are given. We accept wages, they are our due for work given. If someone offers us something they are giving away, we feel we need to pay them or give a donation in return. When someone does us a good turn, we are in their debt - we owe them a favour. And even when it comes to presents at birthday and Christmas, we give, expecting to receive! Such is the logic of our heart, and it is far from the way of God's grac

The tyranny of the urgent causes us to move from one thing to the next. When meetings and deadlines loom, we don't get the chance to step back and take in the bigger picture. Right now, we do! And having seen the bigger picture, we need to keep it before our eyes! That need is not new. That's why when Paul wrote to Titus, he gave a big picture view and then said - stress these things. Keep them in view. Remember them. Let them drive you forward. Here's what he said, gi

A couple of weeks ago I said 'Alexa, ask the bible to read the book of Revelation.' Around 1hr 20mins later, David Suchet had finished reading aloud the book of Revelation. It was wonderful to listen too, something which I would encourage everyone to do. In order to persuade you to listen to this book, I want to share some of the impressions and impact my listening had on me. These are difficult, unprecedented days. We don't really need to say that, as we all are living

One of the advantages of lockdown is we get to do things that we have put off for a long time (assuming you have all the resource to do it at hand!) Often we say, I will do... and yet it takes us a long time to get round to doing it at all. When God says he will do something, he will. For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleans

No-one likes a show off, but if we are honest we all like to show off a little! Men especially are very competitive - they like to the be fastest or strongest or smartest. If they can't be that, they love to have the best car or house or holiday. How do you show your greatness? God doesn't show how great he is, through a display of strength or by exhibiting his collection of stuff. He shows his greatness through mercy. "Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your

When we wrong someone it is right to ask for forgiveness. When we sin, it is right to ask for God's forgiveness. To seek his mercy, as every sin, no matter how much pain and wreckage it causes to people is first a sin against him. King David eventually got that, and we are thankful for the example he leaves us in today's reading. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity