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If you like watching thrillers, you’ll know the moment in the story when the tables turn. The heroes have their backs against the wall – but suddenly the very thing that their captors or enemies thought they had under their control is turned against them, and the heroes prevail.  The idea repeats itself so often … Read more

Some years ago I watched a fascinating programme about child behaviour.  Ten boys and ten girls (none of whom knew each other) were each invited to a location to live under the same roof for a limited time.  Their behaviour was observed by psychologists, and the aim of the programme was to show how they … Read more

Palm Sunday is such a familiar story to many of us; we celebrate it every year, on the Sunday before Easter Day.  The image of Jesus riding on a donkey into Jerusalem is one etched into our minds, and we usually approach the day with a mixture of excitement and awe.  Excitement that privations of … Read more

The beautiful story of the anointing at Bethany is also one of the most debated – at least, John’s version is.  Why does he change the details?  And does this cast doubt on the reliability of the bible? Let’s tackle this head-on today.  And we have to start by acknowledging that this account does appear … Read more

Today’s passage is one that can be read on two levels.  In narrative terms, it forms a ‘quiet moment’ between the two emotional peaks of the dramatic raising of Lazarus (ch11) and the even more dramatic return to Jerusalem, which ultimately led to his arrest, trial, death and resurrection (ch12 onwards).  Knowing that a very … Read more

Many years ago I was privileged to pastor a young lady who’d come to faith on an alpha course our church had run.  I asked her how she’d found her way to Alpha.  She replied that some people from church had been handing out fliers for alpha in the train station, and her partner had … Read more

Light attracts some creatures and repels others.  We see this all through nature; and it’s not just the unappealing creatures who prefer the darkness: think of owls or leopards – beautiful animals, however deadly they are! It’s easy to imagine that Jesus’ miracles must have been universally welcomed.  After all, who could possibly be offended … Read more

Of all Jesus’ miracles, the raising of Lazarus is the most dramatic.  The feeding of the 5,000 may have been on a larger scale, the walking on the water more terrifying – but the combination of extraordinary power and sheer pathos we see here gives this miracle a unique position in the gospels.  John certainly … Read more

‘If you believe, you will see the glory of God.’ It’s quite a promise, isn’t it? When we talk about glory nowadays, we usually mean some great achievement, or something which merits great praise – this weekend we’ve had talk of FA Cup glory, for example, for the winning teams, especially those who registered shock … Read more