Monthly news and updates which usually appear in the monthly edition of the Herald.
There has been a mixed response to the John Lewis Christmas advert this year. If you haven’t seen it, I’m sure you will soon. It tells the story of a cute fire-breathing dragon called Excitable Edgar who, in his desire to join in with the festive fun, accidentally melts a snowman, sets fire to Christmas decorations and burns a large hole in…
We’ve finally arrived at number 1: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.’ When thinking of the 10 Commandments we often miss out the first sentence, but to do that destroys its context and weakens the very basis for our obedience. These 10…
Commandment #2: You shall not make for yourself an idol… You shall not bow down to them or worship them. For I the LORD am a jealous God… Everybody worships something. It’s what we were made for. The big question is what we will worship. Worship isn’t necessarily what you sing about, or even what or whom you pray to. Worship is…
Commandment #5 came with a promise; this one comes with a warning. “For the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” This is serious. Very serious. On the surface, this command seems to be about blasphemy, using the name of God or the name of Jesus as an expletive or swear word. These days it is sadly very common,…
This is the longest commandment by far. In our pew Bibles it covers 4 verses and contains 99 words. And unusually, it contains detail as to what the commandment means and the reason why keeping is makes sense. The answer to that last question takes us back to Creation. In 6 days God made the world, and then he rested from his…