Incredible Heroes

I will be speaking this Sunday as part of our ‘movie-themed’ month on ‘The Incredibles’ – Incredible Heroes...

What camp are you in? Tina Turner - ‘We don’t need another HERO’ or is it Bonnie Tyler - ‘I need a HERO’.

Our world needs HEROES.



Why do we long for Heroes?

The Incredibles reflects this anxiety and fosters our hope that hidden in each of us is the super power to stand out, to be special, to be admired and respected, to be loved. We can't believe that someone could love us before we produce anything of note.

The gospel of Jesus Christ offers a far different message.

"Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought..." Romans 8:26.

It is not the super who get God's love in Christ. It is God's love through Christ that makes us super!

It is not on the basis of our strength that we live such lives. It is on the basis of the love, grace, mercy and hope we receive in Christ every day.

We do need a hero in these times. His name is Jesus Christ – and through Him we also can be HEROES.

God’s Power in us – Right for every situation...

Ephesians 1:18-20 - I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realise what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people. I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honour at God's right hand in the heavenly realms.

It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you’ve done in your life up to this point, all that matters is that at some point in your life you stop and recognise the biggest hero of them all - Jesus.

It was His sacrifice that gives you freedom from your old life and gives you the power and strength it takes for you to be a hero for someone else!

Learning to Play

My eldest son Daniel (11) is learning to play the guitar. Just as I did when I was about his age - he’s just picked up the guitar and learnt some chord structures and started playing along to CD’s (although I think it was tapes/vinyl records when I did it!)

He’s doing really well and can now play through an entire song – one from the new Hillsong album 'God He Reigns' (Let Creation Sing – Reuben Morgan)

Keep it up Dan!

Moving On

Jeannie Benger spoke an inspiring message in church last night. Here are my notes...

Deuteronomy 1:6 When we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough’.

We’ve been living here for long enough. It is now time to move into new ground, move into a new era.

God has great plans for us as individuals and as a church. We need to position ourselves for growth. Leave certain things behind. Not settle for the mediocre – look for the breakthrough. Move with confidence into the things God has for us.

Step away from the mountain!

John 4:35 Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for the harvest. - The harvest is ready – today. A time to reap.

Mark 4:20 But the good soil represents those who hear and accept God's message and produce a huge harvest--thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted.

Seeds have been sown in this town – 25% of the seed has fallen on good ground, now ready for us to harvest. Don’t focus on the seed that has fallen away, focus on the seed that has fallen on good ground.

Deuteronomy 6:10-11 (10) The LORD your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land filled with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. (11) The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land.

God will give to us even what we haven’t planted. His favour is upon us!

Ways for us to move away from this mountain and into a new era:

By having confidence
Believe in ourselves, believe in God. We are children of the Living God. Realise who you are.
Step out. When we step out He kicks in!

By living lives that reflect God
We can’t love God and live our lives how we want to. Live a life that reflects God.

By living thankful lives
Living out of thankfulness. So much to be thankful for – all that God has done for us. Give back to God – generously.

By having good attitudes
Check your attitudes. Good or bad? How do we treat people, what are our thoughts towards them? Envious, jealousy – guard against these things. Sow friendliness – reap friendship.

Faith

I read this today…

A popular definition of faith might be something like ‘an irrational belief with no supporting evidence.’ That’s like asking a skydiver to jump without a parachute and still ‘have faith’ that he won’t die.

The Bible has a better definition: 'Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see' (Hebrews 11:1, NLT).

Notice the words ‘confidence’ and ‘assurance’. God wants you to trust him with your life, but he also wants you to know that he is trustworthy.

Lessons from Geese

Mark Wilkins spoke a great message in church on Sunday night, taken from Ephesians 4:1-16.

He shared four vital truths regarding the church and her purposes in Christ by comparing us with geese (yes, geese!).

Geese know they are geese!
(Vs1-8) Know who we are in Christ. Jesus dealt with everything at the cross – full and total forgiveness. God has chosen us (for His ‘dream team’) not because of what we’ve done but because of what He can do with us!

Geese know where they are going
A church united in Christ – sharing the vision. (Not playing for ourselves). We’re called to local church. Our vision unites us.

Geese share the workload
The lead goose changes places with the other geese – they share the load. We share the burden of the vision of the church. We are all carriers - not just the leaders.
(Vs 7) - However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ.
We all contribute. What can I give? Our contribution is not insignificant but vital to the success of the church. E.g. the recent Ashes series – Gary Pratt ‘ran-out’ the Australian cricket captain. A great and vital contribution, although seemingly small and insignificant!

Honk! Honk!
Geese encourage each other. We need an 'encouragement culture' in the church.

Great stuff Mark!

20 Miles

I reached another milestone in my running this morning by completing, for the first time, 20 miles.

I did it with my running mate (Rob) who is running in the Cardiff Marathon in a couple of weeks time.

We ran it in 2 hrs 53 mins, which isn’t too bad – around the 3 hrs 45 min pace for a full marathon (26.2 miles).

Humour for the Weekend

Katrina and now Rita

As I read this it’s hard to believe that within the space of just a few weeks the Gulf coast is about to receive a second category 5 hurricane.

They are now saying Rita could be the third strongest ever recorded 'Atlantic' hurricane.



I trust everyone has evacuated in time or better still that Rita will quickly begin to dissipate before any serious damage is done.

What’s in a name?

You wonder how these names, Katrina and Rita, will be remembered in time...

Uplift 2

Taken from part 2 of Paul Benger’s ‘up-lifting’ message in church on Sunday night (to be discussed in our Connect group tonight).

Being a Christian is not all about me…it’s all about lifting the lives of others!

Vision statement on CLC website: Our vision is to be a large local church that is: faith filled, upbeat, committed to Word and Spirit, relational, growing, connected to people, influential, loyal, positive, fun to be in, fully devoted to Christ, contemporary, influential & effective in our community

We have to be what God has called us to be! Uplift is the currency of God’s Kingdom. 3 things about uplift:

You can only uplift that which you value
With regards to the people from the town where Jesus came from - they could not honour him because they did not value him.

Uplift must be from the heart and not just the lips
What comes from us is important because it reveals our heart. Always remember – God looks at the heart.

Mark 4:24-25 – "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."

Value God’s word: 1 Thess 2:13 – And we will never stop thanking God that when we preached his message to you, you didn't think of the words we spoke as being just our own. You accepted what we said as the very word of God-which, of course, it was. And this word continues to work in you who believe.

Uplift is not achieved by the putting down of self
Jesus said ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. Being able to love yourself is so important in the lifting up of others. Letting go of the things in our past – forgiving ourselves and moving on.

With regards to Honour...

True honour is not taken it is given
We cannot demand honour

We cannot be passive
Uplift must be expressed…visibly/vocally honour people.

The focus of honour is not the putting down of self
Get away from the ‘put-downs’ (of others, of yourself) - focus on the ‘up-lifts’!

Welcome Back

Helen and Steve, our sister and brother in law from Perth, Western Australia are in England for several months.

We greeted them at Gatwick yesterday morning and then spent the day with them.

They had unfortunately missed the recent Ashes series as they were travelling in Canada and USA at the time. We quickly got them up to speed with the events of the summer as we watched a 2 hour 'Ashes Fever' programme broadcast by Channel 4 going over the agonies of each Test match.

I reminded Steve that Australia are still good at 'Swimming'. He's got a good sense of humour (I think!)

Who's a Bonny Lad?

Daniel starts his new school!

It's a bit scary when your eldest starts secondary school...he'll soon be a teenager. Aghhhh!

Church Marketing

A recent BBC article on church marketing.

What a lot of fuss about nothing. Whether we like it or not the church is in the media spotlight a lot of the time...and much of it is bad press.

We need a marketing strategy to communicate how much church means to us and how relevant church is in the 21st Century.

Our current local ad campaign...

‘Think church is outdated and boring...so did WE’

Yes!

KP KO's Aussies...

Day of Reckoning

Who would have thought it would come down to the last day of the last test? It may even come down to the last session. Hopefully not, I don’t think my nerves will hold out!

Come on England...one final push for glory! Bring em home.

Uplift

Paul Benger brought a great message in church last night...

Mark 6:1-6

Uplift - What you do for others God will do for you.

We often look for uplift in our lives. An important key to this is uplifting the lives of others. Honouring is an essential ingredient in our lives and in the life of the church.

6 enemies of uplift:

Ignorance
Never been taught properly with regards to ‘uplift’
Humility = knowing your place
Honour = giving others theirs

History
Honouring people now (not when they’re dead!)
Our history can hinder us, stops us honouring people. To lift someone up can sometimes be viewed as pride. When someone does well we should celebrate with them.

Culture
No honour please we’re British!
‘it’s my culture’ – a poor excuse. Honouring is a ‘Kingdom culture’.

Equality
We are all equal…but are we all the same? In God we are equal but we have different purposes. Teachers and pupils etc.

Pride
(Proverbs 19:23) – ‘A mans pride brings him low but a man of lowly spirit gains honour’. Pride is mean, selfish and stingy.

Familiarity
‘It’s only Mary’s son…we know him’ – (Mark 6:3)
Never let familiarity get in the way of honouring people.

So Long Richie

Best wishes go to Richie Benaud the voice of cricket. He leaves the English game this weekend.

Who’ll ever forget that dulcet tone, "Morning everyone", which has been a comforting greeting for any fan of the game.

Barmy Army

England’s 12th man will be in fine song today!

Barmy Army Latest CD...



Barmy Army Latest T-Shirt ...


The Usual Suspects - "Eleven criminals, one line-up, no coincidence"

I’ve been trying to find a pictue of the full line-up...without success. Still a nice shot of Ponting, Dizzy, Gilchrist and Warney!

Up for Grabs

The current and original Ashes trophies...bring it home boys!

Series of the Century

The highs and lows...

What will the final Test bring? Come on England...one last effort.

Comparing Scars

I will be speaking in church tonight...

Remember the scene from Jaws? The one on the boat when they’re comparing their scars.

Most of us know nothing about physical abuse as a result of our faith and our witness for Jesus. That was not true in the life of many Christians through the centuries.

If the Apostle Paul were here tonight and if he were take his shirt off we would gasp in horror.

He was stoned in Listra
He was beaten in Phillipi

While it is true that none of us has had to suffer the abuse that the Apostle Paul suffered physically - I believe that we need to bear in our bodies the marks of Jesus.

Galatians 6

Let me suggest 5 Marks (from Galatians 6) that should be on our body (and in this Body, the church) – so that we can say ‘I bear in my body the marks of Jesus’. (Galatians 6:17)

The Mark of Love (vs 2)
The Mark of Compassion (vs 1)
The Mark of Humility (vs 3-4,14)
The Mark of Generosity (vs 6-10)
The Mark of Loyalty (vs 10)

2-1

Delirious! Excruciating watching though. They think it's all over....

Grapevine

We were at Grapevine 2005 yesterday. It was great to see Delirious leading worship last night one year on from the terrible accident when the seating in the big top collapsed.

They led us in the song ‘We’re gonna dance in the river’ (This is the song we were singing at the time when it all happened) - Martin Smith declared ‘let us finish what we started last year!’ Great stuff.

Go Freddie!

A great first century against the Aussies.

I'm Back...

...after being on holiday and then being struck down with a bad dose of tonsillitis. All I could eat was well cooked spaghetti mixed with grated cheese, butter and a touch of basil! Not bad really.

The crickets back also. The Ashes 4th Test and England are making steady progress despite the rain interruptions yesterday.

Hopefully they’ll see off Australia today by posting a good first innings. Looks like Freddies winding up for a big one!

Ashes 3rd Test

On holiday this week so not much blogging.

But I had to mentionn the cricket. Wow, boo-hoo and all that. What an emotional roller-coaster this Series is becoming.

This will no doubt go down as an all-time classic...one they'll remember for many years to come.

Vaughan Again...at Last!

Well done Michael. A great knock of 166.

What will today bring, hopefully a final tally of around 500 should see off this test match. Also...

600 not out!

Finally, I've got to mention the effervescent Shane Warne who reached the incredible milestone of 600 test wickets.

Lost

The popular American TV series ‘Lost’ starts here tonight on Channel 4. I will watch with eager anticipation.

"Cinematic, lavish, shock-and-awe television"
"Big-budget, massive cast, great special effects, nail biting cliff-hangers"

Synopsis: ‘After a somewhat mysterious sequence of events, an oceanic flight from Sydney to LA crashes on what appears to be a deserted island. The chance of being found and rescued are fairly small, so the survivors have to cope with a set of challenges. They have to learn to survive on the island, a mysterious place with enough dangers on it's own. Also, they have to learn to live with each other if any success is to be expected. And finally, they have to live with themselves and their pasts. Interwoven with the events on the islands are flashbacks to the pasts of some 10 main characters. Step by step, we learn a little more about their diverse and unexpected pasts as the group's quest to survive takes shape.

A horrific plane crash leaves 48 passengers alive, and stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific. The survivors include doctor Jack, now freed prisoner Kate, one hit wonder rock star Charlie, Iraqi military vet Sayid, and a mysterious man named Locke. For a while their goal is simple survival, but they soon realise that it was far more than mere chance that brought them together, and each of them has a purpose that will help them unlock the island's secrets.’

Ashes 2nd Test Report

Great stuff from Derek 'Robbo' Robson (The Tees Mouth) courtesy of the BBC.

‘Warne treads on his stumps, and you're thinking he's a great bowler but you wouldn't want him as a dance partner.’

WANTED: Aussie Bowler

Nice hot bath too ease the bruising.

Another one out? Brett Lee is doubtful for the 3rd Test at Old Trafford. He's suffering from a knee infection which apparently has nothing to do with Freddy's exocets at the weekend.

Hope you get better soon Brett!

Living Life Well

Jeannie Benger spoke an encouraging message in church last night on the keys to ‘living life well’. We will talk about these things in our Connect Group tomorrow night.

God is a Father - encouraging his kids, cheering us on. When we fall off - 'get back on...have another go!'

God wants us to live a full life – to squeeze every last drop out of life! Run the race well.

Keys:
Having a generous spirit
Sow generously. Practice good ‘customer service’ – not just a shopping thing but a life thing!
Proverbs 11:25 - The generous prosper and are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
Live lives full of generosity.

Having a great attitude
In every area of our lives. Home life, work life etc.
Enjoy work! (When you go into work and you ask someone are they ok, how many respond - ‘I’ll be all right at 5 o’clock’?)

Get planted in the House of God
Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.
Christ loves the church. We also need to love church. Be positive about church...not looking to pull it down, critical etc. Support the leaders and the vision of the church.

God is for us…He wants us to win! To live life to the full.

Q’s
How important are our attitudes in life? Where can we see the positive/negative effects of the right/wrong attitudes?
Sowing and reaping in life...it’s not just about money. What other examples of the kinds of good sowing and also bad sowing can we think of?

Greatest Ever Test Match?

I’ve just witnessed an incredible finish to a great Ashes Test match. A real nail-biter!

What seemed like a formality this morning with Australia chasing 107 to win with only 2 wickets in hand, turned into a frenetic finish

The tail in Warne, Lee and Kasprowicz fought brilliantly and were just denied at the end only 3 runs short of the win. You've got to feel for the lads.

1-1 in the Series...game on!

Slipped on a Cricket Ball?!

McGrath out of Second Test!



See previous post. I was only joking - honest!

McGrath and Warne

How to play these two? 1097 test wickets between them.

I think something slipped into their meals tonight might do the trick!

Blog Birthday

One year old today!

Vaughan Again

Just one of the headlines I’d love to see over the coming weekend.

He’s gone from being rated number one in the world to number 28. His test average has dropped from 50.98 before he was captain to just 36.55.



BBC link

Dead or Alive? Part 3

Paul Benger finished off our Dead or Alive series last night in church. It’s been a great three weeks.

Ephesians 2:11-22

Paul deals with 3 issues concerning the Ephesians church (Vs 11-12)

They still thought they were ‘outsiders’
Thinking they were not good enough. But now all one in Christ.

The Jewish pride
Galatians 3:28 – in Christ there is neither Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female – you are all one in Christ!

The concept of ‘circumcision’
Not a human activity but a Holy Spirit activity at work in our lives – making us more like Christ.

This is what Christ has done, a fundamental change has taken place to our condition:
(Vs 13) We now belong to God – brought near, no longer far away.
(V3 14) Jesus has broken down the wall of hostility – made us one, not only with God but with other people. Unity – one in Christ.
(Vs 15) Jewish law has ended – a new way of being right with God, through Christ and all he has done.
(Vs 19) The new temple has been constructed – a place where God dwells, in the hearts of people. The church is people. Flourishing when planted in the House of God.

Finally...
(Vs 12) The church is a place of HOPE. Hope is the true spirit of the Christian. To have faith we need hope. Hebrews 11:1 - What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see

Psalm 42:11 - Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again - my Saviour and my God!
Proverbs 17:22 - A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.
Proverbs 18:14 - The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear it if the spirit is crushed?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Went to see this yesterday with the kids. Great fun!

Much more in keeping with the book. I think they just about got the Oompa Loompas right this time. Not easy to interpret Roald Dahl’s vision of the little singing dancing men.

Johnny Depp is a very creepy Willy Wonka...wonder who they based him on?!

Deferred Success

A retired teacher will call on the Professional Association of Teacher’s annual gathering in Buxton, Derbyshire next week, to delete the word 'fail' from the educational vocabulary to be replaced with the concept of 'deferred success'.

She argues that repeated failure, such as in exams, can damage pupils' interest in learning.

Political correctness gone mad? (The Art of Failure)

So what of England’s ‘deferred success’ against the Aussies?

Dead or Alive? Part 2

Paul Benger carried on last night in church with our Dead or Alive series taken from Ephesians chapter 2. A great message!

Ephesians 2:4-10

2 great phrases from these verses - ‘But God’ and ‘God’s Masterpiece’

BUT GOD
Paul writes this is where we were - dead in our sins! BUT GOD, rich in mercy and loved us so much, that even while we were dead, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. There’s a big BUT in all of us!

Three things about this truth:

God initiates
We were dead, but God started the process of bringing about change. By sending his Son.

God invests
God was willing to invest all that He had to save the world. Not a little of his love, his grace – but God being rich in mercy and love…invested liberally!

God imagines
God is a visionary. He sees our world differently to how we see it. We need to see what he sees, imagine what he imagines.

GOD’S MASTERPIECE
(Vs 10) For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

God is an artist, a potter at work...we are his masterpiece (workmanship). He’s not finished with us yet!

Three things about this truth:

Don’t get religion get Jesus
Religion changes nothing. Only Jesus in our lives can do this.

We were created to do good things
Not works. Bearing good fruit when we are connected to Jesus – the Vine.

God has planned good things for your life
Seated us in heavenly places (vs 6). He is the ‘lifter of our heads’. We may have failed in the past but God doesn’t see us as ‘failures’.

First Test - A Bridge too Far

There have been improvements since the last Ashes but there is still a gulf between the two sides.

Lessons Learnt

1. Must do better in the field
2. Batsmen must get in and stay in

"We didn't bat well enough and didn't catch well enough" Michael Vaughn

Positives

1. Pietersen
2. We can bowl out Australia...twice
3. Pietersen

On to Edgbaston and hopefully a more competitive performance!

Bouncers or Beamers Brett?

Brett Lee plans to test England's batsmen with short-pitched bowling and has predicted "fireworks" in the first Ashes Test at Lord's.

"It's Test match cricket and the reason why is because it's a test, a test of character, a test of commitment and a test of courage." Brett Lee

Let’s hope it’s the bouncers and not the beamers that our boys will have to contend with...eh Brett?

Dead or Alive?

Last night in church Paul Benger began a series from Ephesians Chapter 2. He opened with a great message and a number of people responded to God’s word. Great stuff! Thanks Paul.

The fact that through Jesus Christ we have been transferred from a dead world into a living world.

There are 7 things from the first 3 verses of Ephesians 2 that we have to die to...

We have to die to a dead world and connect to a living world (vs 1)
We have to die to a life of missing the mark and connect to a life of hitting the mark (vs 1)
We have to die to former things and connect to present and future things (vs 2)
We have to die to Satan and connect to God (vs 2)
We have to die to a disobedient life and connect to a life of obedience to God (vs 2)
We have to die to a sinful life and connect to a spirit-filled life (vs 3)
We have to die to the concept of an angry God and connect to a loving Father (vs 3)

Winning Team?

Michael Vaughn (Captain)

Marcus Trescothick

Andrew Strauss

Ian Bell

Kevin Pietersen

Andrew Flintoff

Geraint Jones

Ashley Giles

Matthew Hoggard

Simon Jones

Steve Harmison

Chris Tremlett

Just 3 days to go!

Pietersen Gets the Nod

Kevin Pietersen has been chosen ahead of Graham Thorpe for next weeks Ashes Test opener at Lords.

Thorpe had been suffering with injury worries and a dip in form.

I think I agree with the selection...just!

Running the Gauntlet

x 2
As all you runners will appreciate one of the dangers of running is coming across those dogs out for their early morning stroll.

Last Sunday was a lovely hot summer’s day and me and my running partner were out in the Derbyshire countryside when we suddenly came upon two rottweilers (that’s two!) - absent owner (I guess). They were near the road where we were running, just coming out of a wooded area.

They begin barking in an aggressive manner and one of them came for me. Fortunately as soon as he came to the edge of the road, where I was running, he stopped. Trained not to stray onto the road perhaps? Or attack unsuspecting runners maybe?

Lucky escape or the grace of God? Anyway it’s a good job I'd bought those extra running shorts recently!

Aussies in Gear

Looking a little ominous eh?....Australia claimed the third and deciding NatWest Challenge match. Which included an awesome century from Gilchrist.

Still test matches are a whole different ball game. Come on England!

Legend or Loser?

Interesting article on the BBC sports pages today. How will history judge Sir Clive Woodward?

Having read his book ‘Winning’ I loved much of what he had done with the England set-up.

Was his supposed failure with the Lions tour a matter of him simply trying to apply too many of his ideas into too short a time frame?

And now he’s moving onto his true love - football!

Team Works

Sharing this Sunday in church...

‘It was genuinely a team effort and Seb Coe and the team were just awesome throughout. For me it was easy coming in with the way that Seb and his team worked. They were focused and clever in every single aspect. It really shows what you can achieve if you work together.’ - Tony Blair

(1 Corinthians 12:12-31) - Many Parts....One Body

Paul deals with 4 areas of attention when it comes to Team, and the Body functioning effectively.

Some feel Inferior
(15) If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. (16) And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. (17) If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? (18) But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

Some feel Superior
(19) If they were all one part, where would the body be? (20) As it is, there are many parts, but one body. (21) The eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you! And the head cannot say to the feet, I don't need you!

Some feel Inconspicuous
(22) On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, (23) and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour (24) while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it.

ALL are Important
(25) so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. (26) If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it. (27) Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Let’s make ‘Team’ work!

London 2005

You hoped and prayed it would never happen. Our hopes and prayers are now with victims and their families - for those in mourning today, for those fighting for their lives and for those who are now on the long road to recovery.

Miracles in the midst of tragedy (Taken from Adrian Warnock’s blog)

'Two remarkable coincidences which seem likely to have contributed to the survival of victims because these circumstances facilitated medical care getting to the victims quicker: Firstly, the bomb on a bus went off outside the headquarters of the British Medical Association where doctors were attending meetings and were able to attend victims immediately. Secondly, a meeting of trauma doctors just happened to be occurring at the Royal London Hospital which meant that 18 top trauma doctors could quickly be airlifted to the scenes of these disasters to treat patients who remained trapped'

War of the Worlds

Saw War of the Worlds yesterday. Some of the things that struck me:

• No heroes
• A real sense of hopelessness
• Genuine terror

This is no feel-good movie. I was gripped with fear a number times.

It’s one of those films that you think you’ve enjoyed it but you’re not quite sure why. Even the effects, which were outstanding, do not seem to be enough of a reason for it being an enjoyable film. Not sure...perhaps I’ll have to see it again.

London 2012

Well done London!

No one dared believe this could actually happen....but it has! I'm really hoping this will melt away the cynicism that often grips this country.

God He Reigns

The new Hillsong album is just out. I’ve ordered a copy along with the music book in CD format, which I look forward to with interest.

I notice the Hillsong Conference starts today....would have loved to have been there again! Maybe one day!

Still there's always Hillsong London in September 2006!

Rome wasn't Built in a Day

Spare a thought for my good friends Paul and Jennie Benger (typo - Jeannie). Read on.

They deserve better....I do hope they get there one day!