To enjoy any of the 25 series we’ve produced over the last five years, please check out our back catalogue. There are series from all across the bible, and you can either view the PDF files online or download at your leisure.
Summer 2026: ‘Wildfires’ – The Holy Spirit, from Genesis to Revelation
This summer, we’ll immerse ourselves in the person and work of the Holy Spirit: from the first verses of Genesis, to the last verses of Revelation. Often the ‘forgotten’ part of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is there at Creation, and also at the climax of the New Creation, throughout history revealing the reality of God’s presence and power to the world. So, let’s celebrate the Wildfire of the Holy Spirit, and continue to welcome His presence in our lives today!
Monday 8th June – Genesis 1:1-3 ‘The Spirit in Creation’
In 1998, Dame Judi Dench won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in the film ‘Shakespeare in Love’. Despite the fact that she only appeared in the film for 8 ½ minutes, her presence as the reigning monarch was felt throughout, and, being the supreme actress that she is, when she does appear she dominates the screen.
In some ways the Holy Spirit plays a similar role in Scripture. Appearing only occasionally in the text of the first three quarters of the bible (the Old Testament), nevertheless the Spirit’s presence is known and felt throughout – and, when the Spirit does appear front and centre in the narrative, whether ‘coming upon’ a Judge or King, or rushing through the room at Pentecost, the power and glory of God dominates the page.
If Jesus Christ is the unquestioned ‘hero’ of Scripture, the Holy Spirit plays the decisive supporting role. This is true even at Creation. Whilst New Testament writers St John and St Paul make it clear that Christ was the ‘Word of God’ declaring creation into being through the narrative of the bible’s first chapter, Genesis 1:2 tells us that it was the Spirit of God who was hovering (or brooding, in the marvellous phrasing of the old translations) over the waters, making Christ’s creative word a powerful reality.
From the beginning, God has always been a Trinity – Father, Son and Spirit, a perfect inter-relationship of love and glory. People often mistakenly think that God started as one, then became two with Jesus, and finally three at Pentecost. But Genesis 1 tells us otherwise. And the extraordinary truth is that we are invited into that relationship: effective through the work of Christ and the indwelling witness of the Spirit. We get to ‘eat with God, and God with us’ (Rev 3:20), to share in this divine web of love forever.
In this season we will explore what that means, and I hope this journey will reveal new depths to you about God, and your life in and with Him. But today, let’s reflect a moment that the fullness of the Spirit was only revealed many, many years after creation, at Pentecost. In the divine will and wisdom of God, what had always been there finally became a visible reality.
The fact that we bear God’s image means that this too can be a reality for us. Gifts and talents, causes and opportunities, can still come unexpectedly to the fore later in our lives. In God’s economy, all of life can be used for His glory. How is God at work in you currently? Are there deep facets of who you are being revealed for His glory, even now? As the Spirit of God hovers over the waters of your life, where might God be saying: ‘Let there be light….’?
God is always making everything new. Amen, come Holy Spirit.
The First Letter of Peter
In these months after Easter, as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, St Peter’s amazing letter helps us put that hope into practice. Written in challenging times, its life-giving wisdom is just as relevant today!
Saturday 6th June – 1 Peter 5:1-14 reprise
It’s always tempting to move on quickly to the next piece of scripture, and sometimes that’s the right thing to do. But Chapter 5 is one of those ‘end chapters’ of a New Testament letter which crams a huge amount of teaching into a small amount of text, often giving barely a line to a significant thought or instruction.
So, today, as we end our week and our time in Peter, can I suggest that you read the whole chapter one more time, slowly (and maybe twice). Open your mind and ask the Lord: what are you showing me today? What new jewel do you want to catch my eye, glinting its truth or radiating its light?
May the Lord speak to each of us again once more from this letter. And may His glorious word bear fruit in our lives – today, and every day.
Friday 5th June – 1 Peter 5:12-14 ‘Peace to all of you’
I’m always writing PS’s. It’s natural for many of us to want to add a line or a paragraph to a piece of text we’ve just written. Maybe we’ve forgotten something; or maybe we want to reinforce something, offer some additional greetings or encouragement. What’s true for us is also true for the church leaders who wrote the letters which form the second half of the New Testament. Writing material was expensive, every square inch of paper (or equivalent) had to be used.
As Peter ends his letter – which he does formally in verse 11 – he now wants to add a few final lines, and in doing so, he makes it clear that it was his friend and co-leader Silas who had written down the content that Peter had dictated to him, until this point. But this last small section – Peter’s PS – was probably written by Peter himself, just as Paul did on a number of occasions (e.g. Galatians 6:11, Colossians 4:18).
Peter takes the opportunity to remind his readers that his purpose was to share the true grace of God, and to encourage them to stand firm (v12). I hope over these last few weeks we have received similar encouragement. Peter’s wonderful letter has reminded us of the glory of Christ’s resurrection, and our joy as ‘resurrected people’; the promise of strength in our present trials and hope for the future; our secure and privileged status as the family of Christ; and the need to keep loving, and standing with, each other.
Peter also sends greetings from his fellow-believers in Rome (the Babylon referred to in v13). Given that Peter only visited Rome at the end of his life, as a prisoner, and that he does not mention Paul, who had left Rome (temporarily) after his first release from prison cAD62, this little snippet allows us to date the letter to approximately 62-65 AD. The fact that Silas is with him, and also Mark, shows not only the support that the Christian community offered each other, but its unity of leadership at this stage. Silas and Mark both served with Paul, too; the writer Eusebius was later to declare that Mark was the scribe who in effect recorded Peter’s life of Jesus – which became Mark’s gospel.
Peter’s encouragement to his readers to ‘greet one another with a kiss of love’ reminds us that these letters were read aloud to a whole church community as they gathered. It’s amazing to imagine what that must have been like, hearing the legendary old leader’s words read directly to you! Although the ‘kiss of peace’ was later formalised as a ritual by the church, in the first generation it was a simple declaration of the importance of our unity and commitment to each other.
Finally, Peter ends where he began (1:2): bestowing a blessing of peace on all of us who read it (v14). As we conclude our own time spent with Peter, may that blessing of peace rest upon us, too. As one commentator neatly puts it: ‘The roar of the lion or the flames of persecution cannot overthrow the shalom of Christ’s salvation.’ Amen, come Lord Jesus.
Thursday 4th June – 1 Peter 5:8-11 ‘Standing firm’
Dieter ‘Didi’ Senft is one of the great characters of the Tour de France – my favourite annual sporting event, and only four weeks away, which always gives me a little lift in my spirit. He’s not a cyclist, at least not a professional one, or a team manager, or a tour organiser, or even part of the extraordinary entertainment machine that packages the world’s most popular race, by number of visitors (average of 12 million watching by the roadside each year).
No, Didi is a devil. Literally. His name to Tour fans all around the world is Didi the Devil, and his ‘job’, if I can put it like that, is to attend every stage of every tour every year since 1993, dressed in a red costume, complete with horns and a pitchfork. As the cyclists pass his motorhome on each stage, he runs alongside them, jumping up and down and waving his pitchfork. Crazy, yes; but after 33 years (only missing 2012 through ill health) and well over 600 stages, he has become a legend in his own right. L’Etape magazine even summarises his presence on the Tour as symbolising ‘a moment that evokes positive emotions: joy, playfulness, eternal youth, cheerfulness, life = a game, wakening an inner child of each of us … With a little magic all worries are forgotten.’
Strange way to describe a devil! But Didi symbolises a sanitised version of how many people picture him: a sort of darkly comic creation, creepy but relatively harmless. However, it’s definitely not how the bible represents the devil – something which today’s passage bluntly reminds us: (v8) ‘Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.’ That’s altogether more sobering. If Jesus is the true and ultimately triumphant Lion of Judah, there is another lion – the Scar to Jesus’ Simba, if you will – a lion we need keep an eye out for.
The important thing when it comes to how we understand the devil, as C S Lewis wisely reminds us, is neither to make too much of him nor too little. No-one who knew there was a lion nearby would be complacent; at the same time, many millions of people live near lions and have to go about their daily lives just the same, relying primarily on just being alert (v8).
Peter’s advice is similarly wise, and straightforward: alongside being alert, we are to be realistic (‘sober mind’ v8), and resist (v9). If this sounds vague, Paul’s advice in the letter to the Ephesians is that we have the armour of righteousness (right living), faith and salvation, alongside the weapons of God’s word and prayer. We don’t attack, but this armour and weaponry allows us to resist, to ‘stand firm in the faith.’
It’s not something we undergo alone, either: we stand firm together (v9), and ultimately in the power and strength of the Lord (v10). Lions generally only ever attack isolated prey. If they confront a group, they try to separate one from the rest – they never go after all of them. In the same way, if we stay plugged into the Christian community, and our relationship with the Lord, we are ‘safe’. So, as we pray today, let’s pray not just for protection, but for community – for ourselves, and also for all who need it currently. And may the Lord make us all ‘strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.’
Wednesday 3rd June – 1 Peter 5:5-7 ‘He cares for you’
We live in anxious times. Anxiety has always been a feature of human society, but it seems particularly prevalent at present. About 20% of the UK population admits to feeling anxious all or most of the time, and almost three quarters feel anxiety sometimes. There are many things to worry about: personal circumstances and global events; health, income, family and future; the small things we might be able to change and the big things we are pretty sure we can’t.
Where do we take our anxiety? How do we reduce it? A balanced answer to that question should highlight a number of things: good diet and exercise, supportive relationships, the natural world (being out in creation has a significant positive effect on our wellbeing, scientifically proven).
All this is good, and right. But there is one other answer, the one we need most: (v7) ‘Cast all your anxiety on him (God) because he cares for you.’ We need more than strategies to reduce anxiety, we need someone to carry it. Someone who can take the ‘bags’ of worries which weigh us down and hold them in our stead. That person is God.
It’s very easy to try and take the bags back, though, isn’t it? To want to carry them ourselves again. Casting our anxiety onto God is a daily, even hourly discipline; it takes courage and perseverance. It also requires confidence in the character of God: ‘…because he cares for you.’
There’s one other thing we need, in order to see real change through this advice. This verse is often quoted, and rightly so; but the verses before it form the backdrop to this famous piece of wisdom. Peter reminds his readers about the importance of humility, of ‘humbling yourselves… under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.’ There can be pride in our anxiety. We carry our burdens because we don’t want to let others help: ‘no,’ we say, ‘I want to carry this myself. No-one else has to.’ We might even feel this before God – that somehow it’s a failure to let Him help. Have none of that, says Peter: choose humility before God, trust that He will lift you up – and then you’ll also find yourself more able to give your anxiety and burdens to Him, too.
Today, give your anxiety to God – whatever it is. Let Him carry it, and keep choosing to release it to God whenever you feel tempted (and you will) to pick it back up again. This God cares for you. Always.
Tuesday 2nd June – 1 Peter 5:1-4 ‘True shepherds of the flock’
Serving in an ecumenical church I get called all kinds of things! Those from a Catholic or high church background will call me ‘Father’, Anglicans may call me Reverend, and those from an evangelical or Pentecostal background usually call me ‘Pastor’. I don’t really care, they’re all valid terms – but the last one is particularly important, as it means ‘Shepherd.’ But very few people are actual shepherds nowadays – what does it really mean? How do we make best use of it in a modern church?
‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.’ Probably the most famous verse of the bible – the beginning of Psalm 23 and David’s heartfelt description of his relationship with his Lord. And this iconic Psalm gives us a good guide to the role of a shepherd, in both a literal and a spiritual sense. The shepherd provides, protects, guides, nourishes and leads; ultimately the shepherd is simply there – always with his flock, seeking their flourishing.
All good stuff, and integral to how we might define a minister, even now. Today’s passage, however, takes our understanding of a true shepherd, a true pastor of God’s flock, a bit further; in verses 2-3, St Peter defines the work of a spiritual shepherd primarily in terms of character:
First, a shepherd leads out of desire, not duty: ‘not because you must, but because you are willing.’
Second, a shepherd seeks to give, not to get: ‘not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve.’
Third, a shepherd practises humility, not hubris: ‘not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.’
Our model, as always, is Jesus, whom Peter describes as the ‘Chief Shepherd’ (v4). In a sense, all church leaders are only Under-Shepherds, serving the Chief. And sadly, we all know of leaders who have fallen prey to any of these pitfalls: lifeless duty, or the temptations of wealth or pride. It takes discipline and resilience to keep eagerly choosing the path of humility and service. We can only do it in the strength of the Chief Shepherd, allowing His Spirit to keep transforming our hearts. We carry always before us the example of Christ, our inspiration and our challenge.
Today, let’s pray for our pastors/shepherds, that they might model this kind of life and ministry. May each of them daily remind themselves that, despite the cost, the prize is eternal: they will ‘receive the crown of glory that will never pass away.’ (v4) The Lord truly is their shepherd, too; they shall not want. Amen.
Monday 1st June – 1 Peter 4:12-19 ‘Committed to our faithful Creator’
Some years ago, I read an interview with a Chinese pastor, who described the challenges the underground church had suffered in his country. Towards the end of the interview, the interviewer assured him of the prayers of many Christians around the world that the persecution would end. The pastor was shocked. No, he said, don’t pray for it to end, for our suffering has caused the amazing growth you want to hear about today!
This kind of attitude may seem strange to our ears, and to many in the West, where we rarely have to face real persecution for our faith. But the attitude of this pastor echoes a strand of our discipleship which goes right back to the first church and its original leaders. After being flogged and ordered not to speak about Jesus, ‘the apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.’ (Acts 5:41)
St Peter, of course, was one of those apostles referred to in that verse, so as he writes this letter many years later, he knows exactly what he is talking about, when, in today’s passage, he draws together the strands of a theme which has occupied much of the letter: that of how we respond opposition to our faith – and especially the suffering we might experience for holding fast to what we believe and practise. Let’s clarify here that, in this case, the suffering to which St Peter is referring is not the general suffering of, say, illness or bereavement; rather, this is specifically what we experience as a direct result of our faith and witness.
As he summarises everything he has taught on this subject, he reminds his readers – and us – of two things: first, suffering is unsurprising (v12) – it is part and parcel of following Jesus. This is a sobering truth, but the second thing is its antidote: if suffering is unsurprising, suffering is also glory (v13). Jesus identifies most closely with those who suffer for his Name, and those who experience this kind of trial often testify to how close Jesus is to them, how often they see miraculous answers to prayer, how many ‘divine appointments’ they receive.
If these are the two realities of life as a follower of Jesus, there are also two practical bits of advice from someone who has ‘been there and done it’; bearing all this in mind, Peter draws this section of the letter to a close with two very simple principles which enable us to meet this kind of suffering head-on (v19): first, we ‘commit ourselves to our faith Creator.’ Ultimately, we can trust in the character of God: He made us, and He is faithful. He always has our best interests at heart.
Second, we ‘continue to do good.’ It may be hard when we face opposition for this, but, as Peter has said several times previously, we should keep doing it anyway, because we’re doing it for God, not for anyone else. As we begin our week, may the Lord grant us all grace to continue doing good, as a sign of our faithful commitment. And may we do so, trusting that ‘the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.’ Amen.
Summer 2026: ‘Wildfires’ – The Holy Spirit, from Genesis to Revelation
This summer, we’ll immerse ourselves in the person and work of the Holy Spirit: from the first verses of Genesis, to the last verses of Revelation. Often the ‘forgotten’ part of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is there at Creation, and also at the climax of the New Creation, throughout history revealing the reality of God’s presence and power to the world. So, let’s celebrate the Wildfire of the Holy Spirit, and continue to welcome His presence in our lives today!
- Monday 8th June – Genesis 1:1-3 ‘The Spirit in Creation’
In 1998, Dame Judi Dench won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in the film ‘Shakespeare in Love’. Despite the fact that she only appeared in the film for 8 ½ minutes, her presence as the reigning monarch was felt throughout, and, being the supreme actress that she is, when she does appear she dominates the screen.
In some ways the Holy Spirit plays a similar role in Scripture. Appearing only occasionally in the text of the first three quarters of the bible (the Old Testament), nevertheless the Spirit’s presence is known and felt throughout – and, when the Spirit does appear front and centre in the narrative, whether ‘coming upon’ a Judge or King, or rushing through the room at Pentecost, the power and glory of God dominates the page.
If Jesus Christ is the unquestioned ‘hero’ of Scripture, the Holy Spirit plays the decisive supporting role. This is true even at Creation. Whilst New Testament writers St John and St Paul make it clear that Christ was the ‘Word of God’ declaring creation into being through the narrative of the bible’s first chapter, Genesis 1:2 tells us that it was the Spirit of God who was hovering (or brooding, in the marvellous phrasing of the old translations) over the waters, making Christ’s creative word a powerful reality.
From the beginning, God has always been a Trinity – Father, Son and Spirit, a perfect inter-relationship of love and glory. People often mistakenly think that God started as one, then became two with Jesus, and finally three at Pentecost. But Genesis 1 tells us otherwise. And the extraordinary truth is that we are invited into that relationship: effective through the work of Christ and the indwelling witness of the Spirit. We get to ‘eat with God, and God with us’ (Rev 3:20), to share in this divine web of love forever.
In this season we will explore what that means, and I hope this journey will reveal new depths to you about God, and your life in and with Him. But today, let’s reflect a moment that the fullness of the Spirit was only revealed many, many years after creation, at Pentecost. In the divine will and wisdom of God, what had always been there finally became a visible reality.
The fact that we bear God’s image means that this too can be a reality for us. Gifts and talents, causes and opportunities, can still come unexpectedly to the fore later in our lives. In God’s economy, all of life can be used for His glory. How is God at work in you currently? Are there deep facets of who you are being revealed for His glory, even now? As the Spirit of God hovers over the waters of your life, where might God be saying: ‘Let there be light….’?
God is always making everything new. Amen, come Holy Spirit.
- Monday 9th March – John 15:9-13 ‘No greater love than this’Read more...
Some things are so important they need to be repeated. As Jesus talks with his disciples on the night before he dies, he shares deeply about many vital, life-changing things. If you were to read chapters 13-17 in one sitting (or listen, as the disciples did), it’s clear that this extraordinary teaching revolves around a few simple themes and commands, which ...
- Saturday 7th March – John 10:10-11 ‘The Good Shepherd’Read more...
And so we finish our week with the iconic image of Jesus as The Good Shepherd. There’s so much we can say; but before we explore the image further, today let’s remind ourselves to link verse 11 to verse 10. Paragraph breaks are not there in the original text – we impose them in our translations. These translations are wonderful, not ...
- Friday 6th March – John 10:7-9 ‘I Am the Gate’Read more...
On the second Sunday of 2017, we were about to start the 9.30am service, when one of our welcomers came and found me urgently. ‘Come outside, you’ll want to see this,’ they said. So, I hustled out and watched one of the more unusual sights I’ve seen in my years here. Running along the road, and just passing the churchyard gate, ...
- Thursday 5th March – John 8:12-20 ‘The Light of the World’Read more...
Light is one of the universal religious metaphors in our world. Jews have Hanukkah, or festival of lights; Hindus and Sikhs have Diwali; Buddhists talk about the path to enlightenment. Light is one of the few images to have almost universally positive connotations. 1.5 million people each year even take about 12 million trips to Blackpool for its illuminations, and other ...
- Wednesday 4th March – John 6:35-40 ‘I am…’Read more...
As we’ve enjoyed the last of Jesus’ seven ‘I am’ statements – I am the true Vine – let’s spend a few days revisiting the other I am statements in John, beginning with the first:
Who are you? Or rather, if you were asked to describe yourself, what would you say?
Studded throughout John’s gospel ...