The church was full (for once). The visiting preacher had drawn a big congregation. Children played in the far corner. We sat, ready to hear the preacher’s message about the importance of inclusivity. “Children shouldn’t be allowed in church” said the voice of someone behind me. “What are those parents Read more…
With all the story tellers in this book, we can only wonder about what else they could tell us and John is no different. Please read John 20:30-31 & John 21:25 The disciple John and his brother, James were the sons of a well-to-do fisherman, Zebedee and his wife, Salome, Read more…
John knew he was loved by other people. John knew he was loved by God. Please read 1 John 4:7-12, 16 This is the God who loved Mary and Joseph. This is the God who loved the daughter of Jairus, the woman from Samaria and the man from the Gerasenes. Read more…
“You’ve given me the confidence to feel I can go out with someone else,” she told me on Valentine’s Day. Nearly 40 years on (and after over 30 with my wife) I can laugh at the back-handed compliment from a former girlfriend as she left me for another man. But Read more…
Having arrived in the country of the Gerasenes after a stormy trip across Lake Galilee, Jesus is faced with a challenging situation. There’s a man who’s ‘Mad, bad and dangerous to know’… and there’s no time for a risk assessment. (Please be aware this entry considers the sensitive topic of Read more…
Please read Mark 5:14b-20 After Jesus’ intervention, the man from the Gerasenes is described as being ‘in his right mind’. (Please be aware this entry considers the sensitive topic of mental ill health.) Many have described the man from the Gerasenes as being mentally ill. He may well have been: Read more…
Jesus, Mary and Martha are together once again in Bethany. And this time there’s an altogether different atmosphere: Please read John 12:1-7 Jesus may well have found stability and security in the friendship and hospitality of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. These were people he was able to be himself with. Amidst Read more…
While not named, Mary was probably among other women who gathered for the Last Supper and then moved on to the Garden at Gethsemane – and she was certainly involved in what followed. Please read Matt 27:55-57,61 and John 20:1, 11-18 Like many of us after a death, Mary Magdalene Read more…
They stand at the well. And they talk. Please read John 4:7b-15 Continuing as it does to verse 28, this is the longest recorded conversation between a woman and Jesus in the whole of the Gospels. Initially, it has a feel of jolly repartee to it as if the woman Read more…