A big well done to all the parents and friends and officers and boys for a really big effort making the first Christmas Fayre in over 10 years a hugh success!! From the selling of programmes by the boys, to the cake making, Father Christmas, teas, coffees, olde fashion stalls like hook-de-duck, and guess the weight of the cake. A fantastic turn out - and alot of money raised - nearly £500 towards the proposed new hall extension.
We tried not to clash with the local church fayre so we had to adjust the start time, and captain Dave was booked up for the afternoon so was unavailable - but he did do alot of preparation to make the whole day exceed all our expectations.
It was a great combination of boot fare clutter, home made preserves and cakes, raffles, and entertaining stalls to help people spend their money!! And our own cafe for the older folk to sit and relax and feel welcome in our hall.
nice one lads and lasses - same time next year!!
Sunday 11 December 2011
From sinner to psalmist ...
well done again to Adrian in his unique style of worship leading - and to Doug on the drums!! Today we got another bout of the weird and wonderful life of King David - from Commandment breaker, to major author of the Judaistic poetry - formally know as The Book of Psalms.
Tim started by taking us through 2 Samuel 12:1-20ish where Nathan the Prophet is telling David the King a parable about a rich man, a poor man and a ewe lamb. Nathan - who is he? the name Nathan appears over 40 times in the Bible but not all referring to Nathan the Prophet. But here is something interesting, the story in 2 Samuel 7: is repeated in 1 Chronicles 17 nearly word-for-word! What does this all mean!!
The two accounts of Nathan's word for David are nearly identical but with a few minor differences. Strangely the account in 2 Samuel refers to God as "Sovereign LORD", an in 1 Chronicles God is referred to as "LORD God" - but both are actually referring to the Tetragrammaton. Really helpful!! But God did think highly of Nathan and we can thank Nathan for writing it all down - see 1 Chronicles 29:29 "As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands." Seer - there's a word we don't see often. I'd like to hear what the difference between a seer and a prophet is.
Tim now takes us all by surprise with a cross reference into the Psalms - to Psalm 51 which is entitled "For the director of music. A Psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba" - who cooked up this title? This has lead to another minor Bible study and a book entitled "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges - The Psalms Book 1 edited by A.F Kirkpatrick B.D". Useful!!
Its re-assuring to see just how far God's grace stretches - David had murder in his heart even after know the voice of God as clear as day! And God still chooses to give David an important and prominent part in His very important book aka The Bible. David knew in his heart who God was. He didn't just do things outwardly to show his commitment to "the faith", but spoke from the heart when he meditated on what he had done to offend God. The outward sacrifices of animals and birds was OK but David shows in the Psalms what is going on inside of him - the inner transformation. And this far outweighed burnt offerings.
Psalm 51 is also quoted from in Romans 3: 4 "What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proven right when you speak and prevail when you judge."
We could also do a separate study on the use of the word "wisdom" eg Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy one is understanding."
Or a study on the use of the word Hyssop which we first see in the Book of Exodus 12:22 for the painting of blood onto the door frames pre "Passover". The whole of Exodus 12 has a multitude of parallels with the story of Jesus - but we'll leave that for another day!!
And finally, the comparison of Psalm 51: 17 "The sacrifice of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" and Matthew 9:13 "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" where Jesus quotes from Hosea 5:6 "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather then burnt offerings." Yet another study!!
Tim started by taking us through 2 Samuel 12:1-20ish where Nathan the Prophet is telling David the King a parable about a rich man, a poor man and a ewe lamb. Nathan - who is he? the name Nathan appears over 40 times in the Bible but not all referring to Nathan the Prophet. But here is something interesting, the story in 2 Samuel 7: is repeated in 1 Chronicles 17 nearly word-for-word! What does this all mean!!
The two accounts of Nathan's word for David are nearly identical but with a few minor differences. Strangely the account in 2 Samuel refers to God as "Sovereign LORD", an in 1 Chronicles God is referred to as "LORD God" - but both are actually referring to the Tetragrammaton. Really helpful!! But God did think highly of Nathan and we can thank Nathan for writing it all down - see 1 Chronicles 29:29 "As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands." Seer - there's a word we don't see often. I'd like to hear what the difference between a seer and a prophet is.
Tim now takes us all by surprise with a cross reference into the Psalms - to Psalm 51 which is entitled "For the director of music. A Psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba" - who cooked up this title? This has lead to another minor Bible study and a book entitled "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges - The Psalms Book 1 edited by A.F Kirkpatrick B.D". Useful!!
Its re-assuring to see just how far God's grace stretches - David had murder in his heart even after know the voice of God as clear as day! And God still chooses to give David an important and prominent part in His very important book aka The Bible. David knew in his heart who God was. He didn't just do things outwardly to show his commitment to "the faith", but spoke from the heart when he meditated on what he had done to offend God. The outward sacrifices of animals and birds was OK but David shows in the Psalms what is going on inside of him - the inner transformation. And this far outweighed burnt offerings.
Psalm 51 is also quoted from in Romans 3: 4 "What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proven right when you speak and prevail when you judge."
We could also do a separate study on the use of the word "wisdom" eg Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy one is understanding."
Or a study on the use of the word Hyssop which we first see in the Book of Exodus 12:22 for the painting of blood onto the door frames pre "Passover". The whole of Exodus 12 has a multitude of parallels with the story of Jesus - but we'll leave that for another day!!
And finally, the comparison of Psalm 51: 17 "The sacrifice of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" and Matthew 9:13 "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" where Jesus quotes from Hosea 5:6 "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather then burnt offerings." Yet another study!!
Wednesday 30 November 2011
God's grace is free - but ...
God's grace is free - but will cost you your life!! There goes that lovely 5 letter word that is so easily bandied about by Christians without knowing or understanding what it is (a bit like the doctrine of the Holy Trinity!). For something so precious and at the heart of Christian beliefs it was great to hear Derek's heart wrenching expose on the matter. And what a blinding job he did - stitched up like a kipper only hours earlier when Dave called in sick - giving Derek the opportunity to rise to the occasion! I think he had less then 24 hours prep time but that was enough.
We have been doing a study on David in 2 Samuel and had seen him screw up his life culminating in the killing of "Uriah the Hittite" and the breaking of all the other commandments which I mentioned previously. He had truly buggered up his life - and then he repented - and then God blessed him. If Derek hadn't mentioned that he had flicked back a few pages you would think that 2 Samuel 7 is a progression from 2 Samuel 12.
2 Samuel 7 is about God's promise to David as given through "Nathan the prophet". And you would expect such a promise to be given to a person after they had an episode of sin/repentance BUT God being God - who knows what David will do in the future, just as he knows what we will do in the future, God gives David an amazing promise in 2 Samuel 7:5-16. God knew what David would be up to in a couple of chapters - breaking as many of the Ten Commandments as he could in a short period of time!
David's response was sincere at the time with a prayer. He appears to have his eyes and heart clearly set on the ways of God - determined to do what is right in the eyes of God. God had put upon David an amazing promise - even though He knew what David would get up to later on in life. If you were God and you could see into the future, would you have given David this great promise? This promise was given to David for free - and God gives a similar promise to us today. Romans 10:9 "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.". Knowing what "sins" we will commit between now and death, we will be saved. We don't deserve to be saved but we are - and its free!!
We don't need to screw things up as badly as David did, but its good to know that if we do screw up there is "grace" - and after we have said sorry, then there is forgiveness. This is brought home in Matthew 6:9-13 "the Lords Prayer" - not so much a prayer but a pattern for prayer - praise, adoration, supplication, requests for provision and finally the request for forgiveness. It is always tempting to get the order wrong - "lets ask for forgiveness first" - NO get the order right!! Grace allows you to bring praise and adoration first - sin has been dealt with - God knew what you were going to do before you did it, before you where born, before Adam-n-Eve!
I was drawn to the words of Davids prayer in 2 Samuel 7:18-29 - David repeated uses the words "Sovereign LORD". The word LORD is actually the divine name of God YHWH aka The Tetragrammaton. These Hebrew letters actually veer towards Yahwah or Jahweh or Jehovah. lost in translation!! So David's prayer was a personal prayer addressing God by His Name and not just a generic title like "LORD". And I think this aspect of "relationship" is lost in modern translations of the Bible. The generic titles like "Lord" or "God" depersonalises the relationships people actually had with God in the Old Testament. Worth pondering.
Well done Derek - lets have some more !!
We have been doing a study on David in 2 Samuel and had seen him screw up his life culminating in the killing of "Uriah the Hittite" and the breaking of all the other commandments which I mentioned previously. He had truly buggered up his life - and then he repented - and then God blessed him. If Derek hadn't mentioned that he had flicked back a few pages you would think that 2 Samuel 7 is a progression from 2 Samuel 12.
2 Samuel 7 is about God's promise to David as given through "Nathan the prophet". And you would expect such a promise to be given to a person after they had an episode of sin/repentance BUT God being God - who knows what David will do in the future, just as he knows what we will do in the future, God gives David an amazing promise in 2 Samuel 7:5-16. God knew what David would be up to in a couple of chapters - breaking as many of the Ten Commandments as he could in a short period of time!
David's response was sincere at the time with a prayer. He appears to have his eyes and heart clearly set on the ways of God - determined to do what is right in the eyes of God. God had put upon David an amazing promise - even though He knew what David would get up to later on in life. If you were God and you could see into the future, would you have given David this great promise? This promise was given to David for free - and God gives a similar promise to us today. Romans 10:9 "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.". Knowing what "sins" we will commit between now and death, we will be saved. We don't deserve to be saved but we are - and its free!!
We don't need to screw things up as badly as David did, but its good to know that if we do screw up there is "grace" - and after we have said sorry, then there is forgiveness. This is brought home in Matthew 6:9-13 "the Lords Prayer" - not so much a prayer but a pattern for prayer - praise, adoration, supplication, requests for provision and finally the request for forgiveness. It is always tempting to get the order wrong - "lets ask for forgiveness first" - NO get the order right!! Grace allows you to bring praise and adoration first - sin has been dealt with - God knew what you were going to do before you did it, before you where born, before Adam-n-Eve!
I was drawn to the words of Davids prayer in 2 Samuel 7:18-29 - David repeated uses the words "Sovereign LORD". The word LORD is actually the divine name of God YHWH aka The Tetragrammaton. These Hebrew letters actually veer towards Yahwah or Jahweh or Jehovah. lost in translation!! So David's prayer was a personal prayer addressing God by His Name and not just a generic title like "LORD". And I think this aspect of "relationship" is lost in modern translations of the Bible. The generic titles like "Lord" or "God" depersonalises the relationships people actually had with God in the Old Testament. Worth pondering.
Well done Derek - lets have some more !!
Friday 25 November 2011
Prepare for the worst ...
ok - I didn't see that one coming. My apologees to Boris the Blade for bad judging the £40m cash move from the Fire Brigade budget to the Police. I can now see your hands were tied and the decision was made higher up the food chain. The "justification" in the news of the dawn raids on know drug dealers (Operation Hawk) where some 270 arrests across all the London boroughs, that was just a smoke screen! I'm sorry but why does a £40m incentive suddenly get mass police co-ordination doing the arrests that should have been done any way.
No, the bigger picture - the boarder control strikes is the tip of the iceberg. The fiasco with Brodie Clark and Theresa May is a whitewash - it is a hint that there is going to be a serious problem - the strike action is the start but things could then get alot worse.
My theory is the £40m is to be used to minimise the mass civil disobedience that is anticipated as the UK unemployment escalated and immigration becomes the scapegoat.
Is £40m enough? Why not invest a bit of money in a new version of the X Factor where people queue up to present their ideas to a panel of politicians, businessmen and economists on what we could do to boost the economy in the UK, and then help drag the planet out of this hole!! First prize - you get to spend the day with the Queen!!
On the other hand, if Boris was the top of the food chain and he made the decision to move the £40m - shame on you!!!
No, the bigger picture - the boarder control strikes is the tip of the iceberg. The fiasco with Brodie Clark and Theresa May is a whitewash - it is a hint that there is going to be a serious problem - the strike action is the start but things could then get alot worse.
My theory is the £40m is to be used to minimise the mass civil disobedience that is anticipated as the UK unemployment escalated and immigration becomes the scapegoat.
Is £40m enough? Why not invest a bit of money in a new version of the X Factor where people queue up to present their ideas to a panel of politicians, businessmen and economists on what we could do to boost the economy in the UK, and then help drag the planet out of this hole!! First prize - you get to spend the day with the Queen!!
On the other hand, if Boris was the top of the food chain and he made the decision to move the £40m - shame on you!!!
King David was no angel ...
What an interesting Sunday - well done to Adrian for bringing sobriety to the worship with his unique brand of leadership. It was different in that it had an air of quietude in a strange sort of way. The lack of drums and bass, and the refreshing sound of not wilting away from the opportunity of doing a simple acoustic number. And he can sing - not scared to harmonise or to solo. My pet-hate of playing whilst someone is praying out loud - something I think I'll just have to learn to live with!! But overall - refreshing.
And James as the MC and Tim's talk both had an air of humility which is so often missed when we have the more "dance like David danced" style worship. Nothing wrong with that but it would be nice to have a few minutes silence every now and then so you can reflect rather then just rush to get through all that has been prepared. ha-ho - life goes on!
Well done Tim for your sermon. Another bout of David but this time the David who is up to no good. 2 Samuel 11 & 12ish sees king David attempt to break as many of the Ten Commandments as possible! For someone who had the Spirit of God upon him (1 Sam 16:13) he went through a really dark period "doing evil in God's eyes" 2 Samuel 12:9.
Lets look at what he did:
1. He failed to divert his gaze from lusting after a woman in the bath
2. He fed his flesh desires by investigating who she was
3. He fed his flesh desires even more by summoning her to his palace
4. He then had sex with the woman knowing full well that she was already married
5. He then tried to cover up the pregnancy by giving Uriah advice with an ulterior motive
6. He then past sentence on Uriah - sentencing him to death by sending him to the battle front
"the things David had done displeased the LORD" 2 Samuel 11:27b . Jesus tells us how we commit just as bad sins in our heart by just feeding our imaginations, thus making us as "displeasing" as David. We all fall short on a daily basis - but there is a way out in the form of repentance and forgiveness.
Nathan then puts David back in his place with his sheep parable which leads to David repenting of his sins. David is told that the sins will not go unpunished and that "the son born to you will die." 1 Samuel 12:14. David then appears to loose the plot as any normal human would. Fasting did nothing to reverse what God had promised. Rolling about on the floor having a hissy fit had no effect! God had invested in David, and David had told God to get stuffed in not so many words. And God is a just God - A God of Justice and justice was served. The Word of God was fore filled and the boy died.
But after that came the blessing from God, and David had a son - Solomon. Tim's advice to us is summed up in Genesis 4:7 "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." or as John Owen put it, “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” .
If only David had that tattooed on his heart!! If only I had it tattooed on my heart!!
And James as the MC and Tim's talk both had an air of humility which is so often missed when we have the more "dance like David danced" style worship. Nothing wrong with that but it would be nice to have a few minutes silence every now and then so you can reflect rather then just rush to get through all that has been prepared. ha-ho - life goes on!
Well done Tim for your sermon. Another bout of David but this time the David who is up to no good. 2 Samuel 11 & 12ish sees king David attempt to break as many of the Ten Commandments as possible! For someone who had the Spirit of God upon him (1 Sam 16:13) he went through a really dark period "doing evil in God's eyes" 2 Samuel 12:9.
Lets look at what he did:
1. He failed to divert his gaze from lusting after a woman in the bath
2. He fed his flesh desires by investigating who she was
3. He fed his flesh desires even more by summoning her to his palace
4. He then had sex with the woman knowing full well that she was already married
5. He then tried to cover up the pregnancy by giving Uriah advice with an ulterior motive
6. He then past sentence on Uriah - sentencing him to death by sending him to the battle front
"the things David had done displeased the LORD" 2 Samuel 11:27b . Jesus tells us how we commit just as bad sins in our heart by just feeding our imaginations, thus making us as "displeasing" as David. We all fall short on a daily basis - but there is a way out in the form of repentance and forgiveness.
Nathan then puts David back in his place with his sheep parable which leads to David repenting of his sins. David is told that the sins will not go unpunished and that "the son born to you will die." 1 Samuel 12:14. David then appears to loose the plot as any normal human would. Fasting did nothing to reverse what God had promised. Rolling about on the floor having a hissy fit had no effect! God had invested in David, and David had told God to get stuffed in not so many words. And God is a just God - A God of Justice and justice was served. The Word of God was fore filled and the boy died.
But after that came the blessing from God, and David had a son - Solomon. Tim's advice to us is summed up in Genesis 4:7 "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." or as John Owen put it, “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” .
If only David had that tattooed on his heart!! If only I had it tattooed on my heart!!
Tuesday 22 November 2011
What a loada pony ...
GLA - Greater London Authority, TfL - Transport for London. You either luv em or you loath em!! Or you have never considered the question "What did the GLA/TfL ever do for us?". Well they may have done some good things like allowing Oyster Card users use overground trains - not rocket science but you still have no confidence in how much money they are really charging you!
But I have a few gripes ("no surprise there" I hear you say!)
Number one, in this age of austerity where just about everyone is tightening their belts (an idiom for loosing weight due to not being able feed ones self!), which Boris sanctioned the £7.8m to be spent on 5 shiny new route master (The Guardian). Lets not forget the joy of the bendy buses - oh what joy - they only accounted for 1,751 accidents in one year (This Is London). How much did that venture cost us and aren't they about to get phased out before they kill to many more people!
Lets not stop there - we have the "normal" Double Decker buses that appear to be growing by an inch in width per year! I love those buses but can you please please please stop them getting wider!! I'm undecided about sending those glorified mini-bus buses down every singly road in London. Yes they do help pensioners get around and that is the only positive thing to be said about them. I feel sorry for those people that don't know that a journey that should be 1 mile and take 7 minutes, now is 7 miles and takes 1 hour!!
And now for the Low Emission Zone on the Greenwich Peninsula - ironic that it's the second highest polluted area in London thanks to the Blackwell Tunnel car park (traffic jam!). If you want to speed up the traffic going from north to south and south to north of the river - hear is a novel idea - why not lift the charge on the Dartford Bridge? Thousands of work hours are lost every day because of the constant traffic jams leading up to the Dartford Bridge and tunnel. We could probably reduce the countries carbon footprint by a whole 1% by dropping the toll! People may arrive at work happier, and return home to their families happier having not spent a couple of hours in the M25 car park! And this may reduce family break up, divorce, the need for fostering and adopting, the list goes on!! There is to much to gain - scrap the river tax!!
Am I the only one that thinks that this toll is crippling the economy of the country? WAKE UP!!!!! The money the government makes from the toll can be gained in business tax where businesses will be doing so much better. And I heard the other day that the toll gates do get lifted IF traffic is backing up for more then 10 miles - generosity!! How many cars is a 10 mile tailback? How many people? How many man hours lost? Come on leaders of the Government, or do you want the country to join the Euro?!!
Back to Boris the Blade, and onto the Cycle Superhighway. How much did it cost - £23m for 2 (BBC). Again, pure genius!! Have more cyclist died since the opening? A complete waste of London money. Paint the road blue and two weeks later it gets dug up and its back to black. Lorries, buses, artics still are limited in the route they can take around a corner. Like it or not they rule the road. They have poor visibility, blind spots, and rely on other smaller road users driving or riding with anticipation. If an artic is turning left, it will take a wide berth but the back wheels are more then lightly to chop across the curb. So why not give cyclist rights on the pavement. A simple "law" - don't cycle past pedestrians - stop and get off the bike and only cycle when the pavement is clear.
Rent-a-bike by Boris - a good idea? I really don't know. They benefit a handful of people but everyone pays for it. Did the majority of Londoners want them? Why cant the handful of people that use them just use the bus or walk (or jog!)? I hate to think how much this scheme cost but I'd rather have the money in my pocket!! This kind of enterprise should be in the hands of the private sector - why isn't it? simple - its not economically viable!! If its cheaper to scrap the scheme then scrap it!!
It's not all grim - the river boat from Woolwich to London is great value. For the first time in years Woolwich is on the map! A serious bit of regeneration going on there - a new Civic Centre, rejuvenation of the Royal Arsenal, New DLR link - fantastic!! DLR, best think since ..... I cant remember the last "best thing"!! Boris - well done for the DLR. Getting to Stratford has never been so easy (Before Westfields there was no real reason to go to Stratford!). An easy transport link to the City Airport, Canary Wharf, ExCeL, O2 - all good news - hats off to the DLR!!
But do we really need Crossrail? How many people actually do this journey from East to West? And how on earth does it generate new jobs? People still have the same amount of money in their pockets! Take Bluewater, generated hundreds of jobs but it drained the local shopping centres - so its a fools economy. Every time a new shopping centre pops up an older one deteriorates. Who will benefit from Crossrail? At the risk of sounding like a killjoy, this seems like an unnecessary luxury which we wont all benefit from. Right now, is this the right time to be spending obscene amounts of money on a traintrack? I know what I would do!!
Back to Boris but not to transport! This time, if I heard it right, he is taking £40m from the Fire Brigade budget and giving it to the Police. DER!! Has the world gone mad or just Boris? People died when you took Fire Appliances off the road over the last dispute. This cut is a big big mistake. You haven't done your home work. Just look at AssetCo - nearly bankrupt where they? Bailed out where they? I sense some funny handshakes going on here!! Looking at the last time you took tenders away for no good reason, you cant have got the full picture of what effect this had. I saw a report that failed to include in its "cooked" statistics the deaths of the two Sri-Lankan ladies in Deptford. Could they have been saved if the tenders were where they should have been? Blood is on someones hands - and not just the manic that started the fire.
Here's an idea Boris, why not take some of your budget and invest in projects that reduces re-offending? If its costing upwards of £37k per year to keep one person in prison, and that over 70% re offend within two years, then why not take £10m off the Police budget and invest it in such projects? Do the maths!! If you've got our money to give to the Police, then you've also got our money to spend on reducing re offending. Another case of fools economy from the GLA!
And I nearly forgot, to help boost the economy let's introduce yet another tax - London 2012 remembered by small business - not for the Olympic revenue, but because its the year of the LEZ (Low Emissions Zone) where the small business that already has small profit margins will get penalised yet again. From January 2012 they could face a £100 to £200 charge (tax!) per day for traveling in the zone. If this is new to you then have a read on the AA website. Who gives a hoot about Carbon emissions from vehicles when you've got volcanic action in Iceland blowing this tax into context. According to Ian Blimer, to quote if I may "Over the past 250 years, humans have added just one part of CO2 in 10,000 to the atmosphere. One volcanic cough can do this in a day." (Australian ABC Net). So Boris, take your foot off the small guy and let London work!!
I find it hard to believe we have empowered the GLA to waste our money on crippling the economy, putting lives in danger, and turning our beautiful city into a police state.
I'll wind my neck back in now!! Enough said.
But I have a few gripes ("no surprise there" I hear you say!)
Number one, in this age of austerity where just about everyone is tightening their belts (an idiom for loosing weight due to not being able feed ones self!), which Boris sanctioned the £7.8m to be spent on 5 shiny new route master (The Guardian). Lets not forget the joy of the bendy buses - oh what joy - they only accounted for 1,751 accidents in one year (This Is London). How much did that venture cost us and aren't they about to get phased out before they kill to many more people!
Lets not stop there - we have the "normal" Double Decker buses that appear to be growing by an inch in width per year! I love those buses but can you please please please stop them getting wider!! I'm undecided about sending those glorified mini-bus buses down every singly road in London. Yes they do help pensioners get around and that is the only positive thing to be said about them. I feel sorry for those people that don't know that a journey that should be 1 mile and take 7 minutes, now is 7 miles and takes 1 hour!!
And now for the Low Emission Zone on the Greenwich Peninsula - ironic that it's the second highest polluted area in London thanks to the Blackwell Tunnel car park (traffic jam!). If you want to speed up the traffic going from north to south and south to north of the river - hear is a novel idea - why not lift the charge on the Dartford Bridge? Thousands of work hours are lost every day because of the constant traffic jams leading up to the Dartford Bridge and tunnel. We could probably reduce the countries carbon footprint by a whole 1% by dropping the toll! People may arrive at work happier, and return home to their families happier having not spent a couple of hours in the M25 car park! And this may reduce family break up, divorce, the need for fostering and adopting, the list goes on!! There is to much to gain - scrap the river tax!!
Am I the only one that thinks that this toll is crippling the economy of the country? WAKE UP!!!!! The money the government makes from the toll can be gained in business tax where businesses will be doing so much better. And I heard the other day that the toll gates do get lifted IF traffic is backing up for more then 10 miles - generosity!! How many cars is a 10 mile tailback? How many people? How many man hours lost? Come on leaders of the Government, or do you want the country to join the Euro?!!
Back to Boris the Blade, and onto the Cycle Superhighway. How much did it cost - £23m for 2 (BBC). Again, pure genius!! Have more cyclist died since the opening? A complete waste of London money. Paint the road blue and two weeks later it gets dug up and its back to black. Lorries, buses, artics still are limited in the route they can take around a corner. Like it or not they rule the road. They have poor visibility, blind spots, and rely on other smaller road users driving or riding with anticipation. If an artic is turning left, it will take a wide berth but the back wheels are more then lightly to chop across the curb. So why not give cyclist rights on the pavement. A simple "law" - don't cycle past pedestrians - stop and get off the bike and only cycle when the pavement is clear.
Rent-a-bike by Boris - a good idea? I really don't know. They benefit a handful of people but everyone pays for it. Did the majority of Londoners want them? Why cant the handful of people that use them just use the bus or walk (or jog!)? I hate to think how much this scheme cost but I'd rather have the money in my pocket!! This kind of enterprise should be in the hands of the private sector - why isn't it? simple - its not economically viable!! If its cheaper to scrap the scheme then scrap it!!
It's not all grim - the river boat from Woolwich to London is great value. For the first time in years Woolwich is on the map! A serious bit of regeneration going on there - a new Civic Centre, rejuvenation of the Royal Arsenal, New DLR link - fantastic!! DLR, best think since ..... I cant remember the last "best thing"!! Boris - well done for the DLR. Getting to Stratford has never been so easy (Before Westfields there was no real reason to go to Stratford!). An easy transport link to the City Airport, Canary Wharf, ExCeL, O2 - all good news - hats off to the DLR!!
But do we really need Crossrail? How many people actually do this journey from East to West? And how on earth does it generate new jobs? People still have the same amount of money in their pockets! Take Bluewater, generated hundreds of jobs but it drained the local shopping centres - so its a fools economy. Every time a new shopping centre pops up an older one deteriorates. Who will benefit from Crossrail? At the risk of sounding like a killjoy, this seems like an unnecessary luxury which we wont all benefit from. Right now, is this the right time to be spending obscene amounts of money on a traintrack? I know what I would do!!
Back to Boris but not to transport! This time, if I heard it right, he is taking £40m from the Fire Brigade budget and giving it to the Police. DER!! Has the world gone mad or just Boris? People died when you took Fire Appliances off the road over the last dispute. This cut is a big big mistake. You haven't done your home work. Just look at AssetCo - nearly bankrupt where they? Bailed out where they? I sense some funny handshakes going on here!! Looking at the last time you took tenders away for no good reason, you cant have got the full picture of what effect this had. I saw a report that failed to include in its "cooked" statistics the deaths of the two Sri-Lankan ladies in Deptford. Could they have been saved if the tenders were where they should have been? Blood is on someones hands - and not just the manic that started the fire.
Here's an idea Boris, why not take some of your budget and invest in projects that reduces re-offending? If its costing upwards of £37k per year to keep one person in prison, and that over 70% re offend within two years, then why not take £10m off the Police budget and invest it in such projects? Do the maths!! If you've got our money to give to the Police, then you've also got our money to spend on reducing re offending. Another case of fools economy from the GLA!
And I nearly forgot, to help boost the economy let's introduce yet another tax - London 2012 remembered by small business - not for the Olympic revenue, but because its the year of the LEZ (Low Emissions Zone) where the small business that already has small profit margins will get penalised yet again. From January 2012 they could face a £100 to £200 charge (tax!) per day for traveling in the zone. If this is new to you then have a read on the AA website. Who gives a hoot about Carbon emissions from vehicles when you've got volcanic action in Iceland blowing this tax into context. According to Ian Blimer, to quote if I may "Over the past 250 years, humans have added just one part of CO2 in 10,000 to the atmosphere. One volcanic cough can do this in a day." (Australian ABC Net). So Boris, take your foot off the small guy and let London work!!
I find it hard to believe we have empowered the GLA to waste our money on crippling the economy, putting lives in danger, and turning our beautiful city into a police state.
I'll wind my neck back in now!! Enough said.
Sunday 20 November 2011
More quality music!
another education in quality music fom my archive :
1. Under the broadwalk - Tom Tom Club
2. Enjoy yourself - The Specials (whatever happened to the "AKA")
3. Land of ... - St Germain
4. I don't feel like dancing - Scissor Sisters
5. I'm gonna lasso santa claus - Brenda Lee
6. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow - Dean Martin (for the Die Hard fans!!)
7. Price tag - Jessie J (Live on Jules Holland 2010 - acoustic version)
8. Fools gold - Stone Roses
9. Games without frontiers - Peter Gabriel (Live version on the B side of Steam)
10. Stuck In The Middle With You Lyrics - Stealers Wheel (Resevoir Dogs)
1. Under the broadwalk - Tom Tom Club
2. Enjoy yourself - The Specials (whatever happened to the "AKA")
3. Land of ... - St Germain
4. I don't feel like dancing - Scissor Sisters
5. I'm gonna lasso santa claus - Brenda Lee
6. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow - Dean Martin (for the Die Hard fans!!)
7. Price tag - Jessie J (Live on Jules Holland 2010 - acoustic version)
8. Fools gold - Stone Roses
9. Games without frontiers - Peter Gabriel (Live version on the B side of Steam)
10. Stuck In The Middle With You Lyrics - Stealers Wheel (Resevoir Dogs)
Fast lane theocracy ...
Good to heard Dave Holden give an old testament story relevance to living in living in the twenty first century. It was a thorough but you need to do a personal study of the 14ish books of the Bible to get a good picture in your mind of what is really going on. David becomes king - but it took some time from 1 Samuel 16 where God tells Samuel that David will be king, to 2 Samuel 5 where David actually is made king.
This time period is interesting - what happens if someone kills him or is he unkillable?! David has an interesting time - he is a theocrat (I think I've just made that word up!! Based on the word "Theocracy" he could talk to God and get an instant answer). David asked God direct questions and got direct answers - and all because of 1 Samuel 16:13b "... and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power."
David enquires of God : 2 Samuel 5:19 "Shall I go and attack the Philistines?" God instantly answers "Yes". David enquires of God again in 2 Samuel 5:23 and God again gives a very precise instruction as to what he should do. Theocracy in action - the Spirit of the Lord being upon him is what gave him this hotline to heaven!
Reading on from this story we get to see how David knew how to worship God and he wouldn't allow anything or anyone interfere with how he wanted to manifest this worship! But lets backtrack to 2 Samuel 5:13 where it kindly tells us a bit about Davids sex life - "he took more concubines and wives" oh how times have changed!! But on the downside, that's an awful lot of nagging!! And then onto chapter 6, David decides to transport the Ark of God. Again we see something interesting about David, he appears to be angry with God "David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah". Get over it!! You where told not to touch the Ark and he did so booosh!!
So David looses his bottle and leaves the Ark with Obed-Edom who reaps the benefits of having it in his house! But then David plucks up courage again to bring the Ark up to the City of David. But this time what on earth is flowing through Davids mind?! "Every six steps they sacrifice a bull and a fatterend calf" 2 Samuel 6 13. And then, David is dancing in such a way that I cant really imagine - the nearest I get is some kind of hippy dance from Woodstock which was acid induced!! But in the process I think he may have exposed himself in front of the young slave girls. Read it for yourself - Michal daughter of Saul didn't think to highly of the dance and had the audacity to confront David about it (2 Samuel 6:20).
That olde song we used to sing "I will dance, I will sing, to be mad for my King" (Matt Redman - Undignified), has a whole new meaning!! The challenge to get people to clap their hands in church, or go beyond tapping their foot to a upbeat number - well David wasn't reserved in his worship. But I don't think that is what Matt Redman had in mind!! Maybe a jump up in the air occasionally, or a pogo - nothing as extreme as a King Kurt concert!! But wow, David, would it be acceptable to dance like that today?!! People get upset at the sight of pants showing out the top of your trousers - imagine how those poor slave girls must have felt - scarred for life!!
So in summing up, somewhere between toe tapping and dancing like David there is a place where you should feel comfortable - but more importantly, what ever dance you manifest needs to be pleasing to God, so it needs to reflect what is going on in your heart rather then just being an act. God isn't looking at the act - He is looking at the heart. If it was the dance that counted then He will be excluding disabled people. If it was the singing that counted then He will be excluding the deaf and dumb, and those that are tone deaf! Worship is manifest in lifestyle and is reflective of what is going on inside you.
This time period is interesting - what happens if someone kills him or is he unkillable?! David has an interesting time - he is a theocrat (I think I've just made that word up!! Based on the word "Theocracy" he could talk to God and get an instant answer). David asked God direct questions and got direct answers - and all because of 1 Samuel 16:13b "... and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power."
David enquires of God : 2 Samuel 5:19 "Shall I go and attack the Philistines?" God instantly answers "Yes". David enquires of God again in 2 Samuel 5:23 and God again gives a very precise instruction as to what he should do. Theocracy in action - the Spirit of the Lord being upon him is what gave him this hotline to heaven!
Reading on from this story we get to see how David knew how to worship God and he wouldn't allow anything or anyone interfere with how he wanted to manifest this worship! But lets backtrack to 2 Samuel 5:13 where it kindly tells us a bit about Davids sex life - "he took more concubines and wives" oh how times have changed!! But on the downside, that's an awful lot of nagging!! And then onto chapter 6, David decides to transport the Ark of God. Again we see something interesting about David, he appears to be angry with God "David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah". Get over it!! You where told not to touch the Ark and he did so booosh!!
So David looses his bottle and leaves the Ark with Obed-Edom who reaps the benefits of having it in his house! But then David plucks up courage again to bring the Ark up to the City of David. But this time what on earth is flowing through Davids mind?! "Every six steps they sacrifice a bull and a fatterend calf" 2 Samuel 6 13. And then, David is dancing in such a way that I cant really imagine - the nearest I get is some kind of hippy dance from Woodstock which was acid induced!! But in the process I think he may have exposed himself in front of the young slave girls. Read it for yourself - Michal daughter of Saul didn't think to highly of the dance and had the audacity to confront David about it (2 Samuel 6:20).
That olde song we used to sing "I will dance, I will sing, to be mad for my King" (Matt Redman - Undignified), has a whole new meaning!! The challenge to get people to clap their hands in church, or go beyond tapping their foot to a upbeat number - well David wasn't reserved in his worship. But I don't think that is what Matt Redman had in mind!! Maybe a jump up in the air occasionally, or a pogo - nothing as extreme as a King Kurt concert!! But wow, David, would it be acceptable to dance like that today?!! People get upset at the sight of pants showing out the top of your trousers - imagine how those poor slave girls must have felt - scarred for life!!
So in summing up, somewhere between toe tapping and dancing like David there is a place where you should feel comfortable - but more importantly, what ever dance you manifest needs to be pleasing to God, so it needs to reflect what is going on in your heart rather then just being an act. God isn't looking at the act - He is looking at the heart. If it was the dance that counted then He will be excluding disabled people. If it was the singing that counted then He will be excluding the deaf and dumb, and those that are tone deaf! Worship is manifest in lifestyle and is reflective of what is going on inside you.
Sunday 13 November 2011
Greenwich - the place to be ...
And about time to! I've been banging on about this for years and now the rest of the world has finally caught up!! Greenwich has made the top 10 global places to visit in the Frommer's travel guide. Yes we have the Mean Time and the Meridian Line, great museums and places of interest. Totally geared for tourism with the O2 and Greenwich town centre. We have overground, Underground, DLR, river boat, easy access to the City Airport. Next year we are hosting a chunk of the 2012 Olympics and the whole world will be watching. We are getting a new station in the form of Crossrail, and I think I heard there might be a new port built for luxury cruisers to dock.
When the rest of the world is going down hill, things are looking bright for Greenwich. A great opportunity to show the world what Greenwich is all about next year for the Olympics/Paralympics and to bounce off that we have the London Marathon starting in Greenwich Park every year. Everyone has heard of us!! Greenwich is the place to visit and spend your money!
Get to the new Sammy Ofer Wing in the National Maritime Museum, and then to the Fan Museum in Crooms Hill, then to the Royal Observatory and state-of-the-art lazer show in the Planetarium, followed by a night at Greenwich Theatre or the O2. And soon to return - the famous tea clipper the Cutty Sark and the redesigned Cutty Sark Gardens and the revamped Greenwich Pier. The foot tunnels in Greenwich and Woolwich under the river Thames are getting a face life.
I think you'll be spoilt for choice! You could easily spend two weeks in Greenwich and leave feeling you haven't seen it all! The O2 was voted the worlds most popular music venue for the forth year. The Thames Barrier should be one of the wonders of the world!!
Come on - don't go abroad on holiday next year - come to Greenwich!! If its on your doorstep then you've got no excuse. For a taster have a look at one of my virtual tour websites www.virtual-greenwich.net .
When the rest of the world is going down hill, things are looking bright for Greenwich. A great opportunity to show the world what Greenwich is all about next year for the Olympics/Paralympics and to bounce off that we have the London Marathon starting in Greenwich Park every year. Everyone has heard of us!! Greenwich is the place to visit and spend your money!
Get to the new Sammy Ofer Wing in the National Maritime Museum, and then to the Fan Museum in Crooms Hill, then to the Royal Observatory and state-of-the-art lazer show in the Planetarium, followed by a night at Greenwich Theatre or the O2. And soon to return - the famous tea clipper the Cutty Sark and the redesigned Cutty Sark Gardens and the revamped Greenwich Pier. The foot tunnels in Greenwich and Woolwich under the river Thames are getting a face life.
I think you'll be spoilt for choice! You could easily spend two weeks in Greenwich and leave feeling you haven't seen it all! The O2 was voted the worlds most popular music venue for the forth year. The Thames Barrier should be one of the wonders of the world!!
Come on - don't go abroad on holiday next year - come to Greenwich!! If its on your doorstep then you've got no excuse. For a taster have a look at one of my virtual tour websites www.virtual-greenwich.net .
Friday 11 November 2011
Jesus - Author of the Decalogue ...
As you may or may not know, I created the website for Templehouse Publishing for Adam. And his book The Jesus Discovery is well worth the cost if you want to know more about who Jesus was and who his father Joseph was. Sad to say I have gone years with the thinking that Jesus was a carpenter, just as I thought the fruit that Adam and Eve ate was an apple! The book suggests another school of thought as to the profession of Joseph and who Jesus was in the society He lived in.
During reading this book I couldn't help but repeatedly thinking "oh that bit makes more sense now!". The idea that Joseph was an architect working on building the Temple for Herod, to Jesus being a rabbi rather then just an ordinary uneducated citizen makes more sense. He knew the Torah because he spent His "missing years" studying it in the Temple. Taught by word-of-mouth rather then being read from a book.
Jesus is God - a part of the Holy Trinity. He is co-eternal. He was there in "the beginning". He is co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit and as such Jesus would have been co-author of The Ten Commandments or Ten Words or Decalogue. So He knew the spirit behind what these words where about. So from His Spirit He could talk confidently to rabbis and teachers of the law about what they really meant having divine insight. When He lost His parents (or His parents lost Him!) He was found teaching the teachers - at a very young age, and they where amazed! I have never appreciated that Jesus had any involvement in the writting of history in the Old Testament - He as strictly New Testament!! DER!!
If I owned a big software company and found an 8 year old boy that could write very good Perl scripts and was teaching me things I didn't know after spending my life studying the language, I would but him on the payroll!! Adam Bradford suggests the same - Jesus would have been "encouraged" into spending more time in the temple teaching the teachers new things - things they previously didn't understand. And they would have wanted Him there as much as possible. "not today guys - I've got to help my dad make tables and chairs" - I dont think so!! "We'll pay for that - and keep your family happy. You just keep teaching us what you know!" is a more lightly scenario.
After watching the Revelation TV interview of Adam, I discover how poor the English translation of our Bible really is. A lot has been lost over the years in terms of "context". Just looking at modes of transport in those days is very interesting, and how people communicated over long distances. Mark chapter 8 gives an account (I hate the term "tells the story"!) of Jesus feeding 4000. A familiar story but look again - "some of them have come a long distance". "Long distance" in our time is different to "long distance" in Jesus' time. Consider how those people who travelled "a long distance" would have even heard that Jesus would be at a "remote place" at a certain time. And what was their mode of transport. Was Jesus just a carpenter doing some spare time preaching?!! Or was He a very interesting "Teacher of the Law" that was recognised by His attire?
Jesus spent a lot of time in various synagogues teaching. Can any Joe Bloggs go into a synagogue and teach? He appears to be respected by rabbis and pharisees to the extent that they followed Him and listened to His every word. Something has been lost in translation!!
I would urge you to buy the book ;) and have a read for yourself. If you conclude that Adam is wrong in his school of thought then please let me and him know!!
Ephphatha!
During reading this book I couldn't help but repeatedly thinking "oh that bit makes more sense now!". The idea that Joseph was an architect working on building the Temple for Herod, to Jesus being a rabbi rather then just an ordinary uneducated citizen makes more sense. He knew the Torah because he spent His "missing years" studying it in the Temple. Taught by word-of-mouth rather then being read from a book.
Jesus is God - a part of the Holy Trinity. He is co-eternal. He was there in "the beginning". He is co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit and as such Jesus would have been co-author of The Ten Commandments or Ten Words or Decalogue. So He knew the spirit behind what these words where about. So from His Spirit He could talk confidently to rabbis and teachers of the law about what they really meant having divine insight. When He lost His parents (or His parents lost Him!) He was found teaching the teachers - at a very young age, and they where amazed! I have never appreciated that Jesus had any involvement in the writting of history in the Old Testament - He as strictly New Testament!! DER!!
If I owned a big software company and found an 8 year old boy that could write very good Perl scripts and was teaching me things I didn't know after spending my life studying the language, I would but him on the payroll!! Adam Bradford suggests the same - Jesus would have been "encouraged" into spending more time in the temple teaching the teachers new things - things they previously didn't understand. And they would have wanted Him there as much as possible. "not today guys - I've got to help my dad make tables and chairs" - I dont think so!! "We'll pay for that - and keep your family happy. You just keep teaching us what you know!" is a more lightly scenario.
After watching the Revelation TV interview of Adam, I discover how poor the English translation of our Bible really is. A lot has been lost over the years in terms of "context". Just looking at modes of transport in those days is very interesting, and how people communicated over long distances. Mark chapter 8 gives an account (I hate the term "tells the story"!) of Jesus feeding 4000. A familiar story but look again - "some of them have come a long distance". "Long distance" in our time is different to "long distance" in Jesus' time. Consider how those people who travelled "a long distance" would have even heard that Jesus would be at a "remote place" at a certain time. And what was their mode of transport. Was Jesus just a carpenter doing some spare time preaching?!! Or was He a very interesting "Teacher of the Law" that was recognised by His attire?
Jesus spent a lot of time in various synagogues teaching. Can any Joe Bloggs go into a synagogue and teach? He appears to be respected by rabbis and pharisees to the extent that they followed Him and listened to His every word. Something has been lost in translation!!
I would urge you to buy the book ;) and have a read for yourself. If you conclude that Adam is wrong in his school of thought then please let me and him know!!
Ephphatha!
Wednesday 9 November 2011
Things to do before you die ...
A big well done to James for his sermon and presentation on Sunday. I may be going mad but does he speed up after the half way point?! Well I've missed the past three weeks due to other commitments but still had no joy finding the sermons on the NCC website so I could catch up - maybe they don't do sermons when I'm not there!! And where did all those new songs come from?!! More golden oldies please!) "And can it be", "How great thou art", "Will your anchor hold" to the sound of a pipe organ without drums!!
And what a blessing it was to see 5 babies being dedicated with all their possibly un-churched relatives - did I see people having to stand around the edge due to lack of chairs? An appropriate sermon and an easy way to get a house full. Maybe we should have a service dedicated to blessing the craft fair or praying for the football team!
Back to James, a break in the middle of a mini series which I have missed so far. A fantastic video presentation that gave a clear message for parenthood. I've been banging on about this for I don't know how long - The Sun newspaper recently ran a story on Baroness Greenfield who just happens to be a leading neuroscientist, saying that "Computer games 'are giving kids dementia'" - and according to James, children today spend on average 52 hours a week in front of a screen (personally I clock up over 100 hours and that hasn't effected me!!).
The essence of the talk was to not sit back and let society bring your kids up. Don't give in to the pressures of advertising etc or give in to the temptation of pursuing a career that takes you away from the joys of life. James quotes from John 10:10b "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (KJ). An "abundant life" - sounds good to me!!
Lets just look at our life for a minute, do we have the work/life balance nearly right? Do we pursue money or do we pursue our family? Are we more worried about work or the state of the planet, then we are about our kids having sex education when they are in primary school - Tower Hamlets schools teach it to 8 year olds - are you bothered? Information or innocents? Lets deprive our kids of their childhood because of teenage pregnancy! WAKE UP!! We can make a difference if we can be bothered. oppps - did I just rant?!
Back to the sermon. Does that mean we are given license to pursue our dreams? I don't think so. When you become a Christian a new part of you comes alive - your spirit. And when you become a Christian God will send His Helper - the Holy Spirit, and "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Gal:22-23 This is an abundant life - this is all we need for life. We came into this life with nothing and we are taking nothing with us when we leave - except that which is within our heart.
Thank you James for using MY rope analogy!! my version has a long washing line with a length at each end to represent co-eternity with our life somewhere in the middle of this time line. In my example I use a clothes pegs to represent different events in our life ie being born, going to school, getting married, retiring etc. But in terms of the sheer length of the clothes line, our life is a blip! And this is the meaning of life - what we do during this blip will determine what happens after we die. There is no backdoor into heaven.
James sums it up with a useful equation :
Jesus + nothing = Abundant life
Abundant life - Jesus = nothing
Not a difficult equation! You get a very simple choice in life - there are no other loops you need to jump through. As I summed up last week - Prayer, Study the Bible, Fellowship with Jesus followers and you wont go wrong. That is your responsibility.
There is no other reason for life on this planet - eternity is the only reason. What you choose now will effect you for eternity.
And James, did I hear you swear?!!!!!!!
And what a blessing it was to see 5 babies being dedicated with all their possibly un-churched relatives - did I see people having to stand around the edge due to lack of chairs? An appropriate sermon and an easy way to get a house full. Maybe we should have a service dedicated to blessing the craft fair or praying for the football team!
Back to James, a break in the middle of a mini series which I have missed so far. A fantastic video presentation that gave a clear message for parenthood. I've been banging on about this for I don't know how long - The Sun newspaper recently ran a story on Baroness Greenfield who just happens to be a leading neuroscientist, saying that "Computer games 'are giving kids dementia'" - and according to James, children today spend on average 52 hours a week in front of a screen (personally I clock up over 100 hours and that hasn't effected me!!).
The essence of the talk was to not sit back and let society bring your kids up. Don't give in to the pressures of advertising etc or give in to the temptation of pursuing a career that takes you away from the joys of life. James quotes from John 10:10b "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (KJ). An "abundant life" - sounds good to me!!
Lets just look at our life for a minute, do we have the work/life balance nearly right? Do we pursue money or do we pursue our family? Are we more worried about work or the state of the planet, then we are about our kids having sex education when they are in primary school - Tower Hamlets schools teach it to 8 year olds - are you bothered? Information or innocents? Lets deprive our kids of their childhood because of teenage pregnancy! WAKE UP!! We can make a difference if we can be bothered. oppps - did I just rant?!
Back to the sermon. Does that mean we are given license to pursue our dreams? I don't think so. When you become a Christian a new part of you comes alive - your spirit. And when you become a Christian God will send His Helper - the Holy Spirit, and "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Gal:22-23 This is an abundant life - this is all we need for life. We came into this life with nothing and we are taking nothing with us when we leave - except that which is within our heart.
Thank you James for using MY rope analogy!! my version has a long washing line with a length at each end to represent co-eternity with our life somewhere in the middle of this time line. In my example I use a clothes pegs to represent different events in our life ie being born, going to school, getting married, retiring etc. But in terms of the sheer length of the clothes line, our life is a blip! And this is the meaning of life - what we do during this blip will determine what happens after we die. There is no backdoor into heaven.
James sums it up with a useful equation :
Jesus + nothing = Abundant life
Abundant life - Jesus = nothing
Not a difficult equation! You get a very simple choice in life - there are no other loops you need to jump through. As I summed up last week - Prayer, Study the Bible, Fellowship with Jesus followers and you wont go wrong. That is your responsibility.
There is no other reason for life on this planet - eternity is the only reason. What you choose now will effect you for eternity.
And James, did I hear you swear?!!!!!!!
Friday 4 November 2011
Enjoy yourself ...
Yes, after several months of painful waiting and waiting and waiting - marking the days off in the diary - the 3rd November 2011 is the day! Ally-pally - The Specials - this is it!! You cant focus on your work coz you've got tunes going round in your head - Rude boy, Rude boy, Rude boy! Well I knew it would be a surreal night out coz of who I was going with but it was far beyond what I expected. Mandy's brothers and a load of Chelsea fans - and setting off at 4 so we could get a few jars down our neck prior to kick off!!
It's a sad day when you have to borrow your sons Fred Perry to go to a concert, and your father-in-laws cardie so you blend in! ha-ho. Well I tarted up and set off on the unpredictable 51 bus - it could take 30 minutes or it could take over an hour to get from sunny Plumstead to monsoon St. Marys cray station.
And the heavens opened just as I got off the bus outside PC World Sevenoaks Way. There's no way I was going to walk in that! I was soaked just walking 2 meters from the bus door to the shelter. Things couldn't get worse so I waited and waited and then gave up waiting and legged it! Got to the station and was quite dry compared with Chris! Who cares - its the Specials!! 8 of us in all - and all bar-one had short cropped hair - or balding!!
From there cider, lager in bags ready for the off. all normal so far - lets see what effect booze has!! Onto the train and a rather empty carriage - chit-chat but then it became apparent that small talk was not on the agenda - Neil was with us!! I cant begin to describe Neils volume - it was how you would try and talk to someone who was standing a meter away from you in a night club!! Volume setting was set to "full on"!! Quite bizarre - A son he called Zippy, anecdotes about locking his wife in the boot of the car, showing his mates topless photos of her when she was pregnant, telling his outlaws to go-forth coz they supported united! He got up to use the toilet and the Irish lady behind us describe him as a "picture of domestic bliss!".
And then the question "are Tottenham playing at home?" emmmm!! do we have time to do a detour? Fortunately they weren't as we may have missed the gig. off at Victoria to the Weatherspoons - do I drink or don't I? So I splashed out on two bags of tissues anticipating my nose exploding as it normally does after the sniff of alcohol. A cheap round at £28!! And more stories from Neil "I've got no sympathy for fat people!", "when my boy is old enough for the BB I'm going to go back as a helper" (ex Bromley "pacemakers" Boys Brigade trumpet player), more anecdotes about mates that had done time for holding up off-licenses and post offices with a banana!!
More beer, more beer - is that the time? And we're off again - don't bother checking the tube map, lets just get on the first train that is roughly going in any direction - or follow anyone that looks like they like de specials!! More stories from Neil as he entertains the whole packed train weather they like it or not! not sure to laugh or cry or both - I did both!! "WE ARE THE MODS, WE ARE THE MODS" - speak for yourself - I'm a psychobilly ;) and Pauls a rocka!
"Now here's a couple that looks like they're going where we're goin' - we'll follow them!" - sounds like a plan. Yes Wood Green - and a pub. Off for a few more jars, Daren for a Kebab and then the excitement of a packed "The Specials" (needs!) bus to the palace. Still feel quite sober - and my nose is behaving!! Ally Pally and straight to the bar - more booze and into the arena. Not sure about the support act so back out again to the bar!! 5 minutes later and back in - this time to the bar at the back of the arena. Not my idea of a good place to watch your favourite group after spending so much on a ticket so I'm off to the front! A long fight to the front but my timing was perfect.
100 meters of crowd to get through so I set off as they started to play their intro video - "BOOOO BOOOOO HOOOORAY BOOOOOO BOOOOO" to loads of political photos - prime ministers, Dunblane, riots, bomb blasts - all controversial with a photo of Steven Lawrence which for me was out of place. Well whilst the crowd was focused on BOOOOOZE and HOOOORAYS I shot through right to the middle of the front of the crowd with that crowd protection bar the only thing between me and the stage. Not a soul in front of me except "de boucers"!!
RUDE BOY RUDE BOY RUDE BOY!!!
and if you want to get an idea of what it was like go to YouTube and type in "the specials Alexandra palace" nite klub, Stupid marriage, rudy, enjoy yourself ..... you'll either like it or you'll hate it!! How loud? and on that note I'm glad "we're havin' all the fun" was a Fun Boy Three number as the mention of "I like manchester united" may have tipped the Chelsea boys over the edge and we would have had a riot on our hands!!
God moves in mysterious ways and has a bizarre sense of humour - there I was with a lady on either side of me, being crushed by 12000 fans, full of beer, jumping up 'n' down like I was 20 years younger - bliss!! I had to cross my arms across my chest to stop the pain of the crowd pushing my chest against the metal barrier. I'd been standing like that for some time - jumping up 'n' down, singing along exchanging small talk occasionally with the girl on my left when I noticed that my hand was on someone Else's hand! Who knows how long for - 1 minute? half an hour? Well she didn't look dead from the neck up!! My brain was disfunctioning and I wasn't sure if it would be wise to pull my hand away quick! I glanced behind to see if she had a fella and there was a guy pinned quite close against her back so I put two and two together and got zero!! A few songs later my esophagus started sending signal to my brain and at this point I noticed she was holding her phone camera with both hands!!!!!!!! Whose hand was that's?!! I changed position and to my horror the mystery hand left the barrier and rose - and in the light I observed a hairy arm!! "oh woops-a-daisy, this is area seven" as the song goes!! So I decided it was time to make an exit and beckoned "de bouncers" to pull me out and hast my way to the gents - enough said!! Judging by the bruises I've now got up my arms and across my chest I think it was a wise move. Still breathing at least!! Well I think I got my moneys worth - legendary!!
Watched the rest of the gig from the back and decided to dance till I dropped - and drop I nearly did!! My legs we're both dead - lack of blood circulating or just full of BEER!! But I survived and there was no riot as expected during "do the dog". Old age creeping in! Weirdly all their lyrics were still relevant except the intro to "do the dog" which may have sounded a bit strange if it was updated. "mods, rockers, hippies and skin 'eads" no!! "nemos, goths, yardies and people that like the X factor" doesn't really go!!
We'll - job done! A gallon of sweat down the boys Fred! A stretched cardie, wet trousers, shoes full of rain from St. Marys! who cares what the time is or how we're getting home - the night is young and we've just witnessed a legendary act! But back to reality - where is the free bus back to Wood Green. Neils going off on one "OI BALDY - LET US ON THE F-ING BUS!" (a tad ironic!) well we got on in the end and sang our way back to Wood Green - one chorus of "enjoy yourself"!!!
The evening mellowed out as us ole-timers started to show our age - but not before Neil told a couple of Turkish football supports to go forth back to their own country - but in not so many words. We were descending on the escalators and these two singing Turks returning from who knows where, very kindly singing some strange song we didn't understand as they went up the opposite escalators. Neil didn't take to kindly to a scarf that didn't read "CHELSEA" so on that note "F- OFF YOU FOREIGN ..............." - I thought he would run after them but I think the train beckoned and he saw sense! More songs back to Victoria with a burst of "OH WE ALL HATE LEEDS" from Chris and a rush of various other famous weird Chelsea anthems!! And the occasional spurt of "making your mind up" by bucks fizz!! I simply don't get it!
Things just aren't quite what they seem!!!!
It's a sad day when you have to borrow your sons Fred Perry to go to a concert, and your father-in-laws cardie so you blend in! ha-ho. Well I tarted up and set off on the unpredictable 51 bus - it could take 30 minutes or it could take over an hour to get from sunny Plumstead to monsoon St. Marys cray station.
And the heavens opened just as I got off the bus outside PC World Sevenoaks Way. There's no way I was going to walk in that! I was soaked just walking 2 meters from the bus door to the shelter. Things couldn't get worse so I waited and waited and then gave up waiting and legged it! Got to the station and was quite dry compared with Chris! Who cares - its the Specials!! 8 of us in all - and all bar-one had short cropped hair - or balding!!
From there cider, lager in bags ready for the off. all normal so far - lets see what effect booze has!! Onto the train and a rather empty carriage - chit-chat but then it became apparent that small talk was not on the agenda - Neil was with us!! I cant begin to describe Neils volume - it was how you would try and talk to someone who was standing a meter away from you in a night club!! Volume setting was set to "full on"!! Quite bizarre - A son he called Zippy, anecdotes about locking his wife in the boot of the car, showing his mates topless photos of her when she was pregnant, telling his outlaws to go-forth coz they supported united! He got up to use the toilet and the Irish lady behind us describe him as a "picture of domestic bliss!".
And then the question "are Tottenham playing at home?" emmmm!! do we have time to do a detour? Fortunately they weren't as we may have missed the gig. off at Victoria to the Weatherspoons - do I drink or don't I? So I splashed out on two bags of tissues anticipating my nose exploding as it normally does after the sniff of alcohol. A cheap round at £28!! And more stories from Neil "I've got no sympathy for fat people!", "when my boy is old enough for the BB I'm going to go back as a helper" (ex Bromley "pacemakers" Boys Brigade trumpet player), more anecdotes about mates that had done time for holding up off-licenses and post offices with a banana!!
More beer, more beer - is that the time? And we're off again - don't bother checking the tube map, lets just get on the first train that is roughly going in any direction - or follow anyone that looks like they like de specials!! More stories from Neil as he entertains the whole packed train weather they like it or not! not sure to laugh or cry or both - I did both!! "WE ARE THE MODS, WE ARE THE MODS" - speak for yourself - I'm a psychobilly ;) and Pauls a rocka!
"Now here's a couple that looks like they're going where we're goin' - we'll follow them!" - sounds like a plan. Yes Wood Green - and a pub. Off for a few more jars, Daren for a Kebab and then the excitement of a packed "The Specials" (needs!) bus to the palace. Still feel quite sober - and my nose is behaving!! Ally Pally and straight to the bar - more booze and into the arena. Not sure about the support act so back out again to the bar!! 5 minutes later and back in - this time to the bar at the back of the arena. Not my idea of a good place to watch your favourite group after spending so much on a ticket so I'm off to the front! A long fight to the front but my timing was perfect.
100 meters of crowd to get through so I set off as they started to play their intro video - "BOOOO BOOOOO HOOOORAY BOOOOOO BOOOOO" to loads of political photos - prime ministers, Dunblane, riots, bomb blasts - all controversial with a photo of Steven Lawrence which for me was out of place. Well whilst the crowd was focused on BOOOOOZE and HOOOORAYS I shot through right to the middle of the front of the crowd with that crowd protection bar the only thing between me and the stage. Not a soul in front of me except "de boucers"!!
RUDE BOY RUDE BOY RUDE BOY!!!
and if you want to get an idea of what it was like go to YouTube and type in "the specials Alexandra palace" nite klub, Stupid marriage, rudy, enjoy yourself ..... you'll either like it or you'll hate it!! How loud? and on that note I'm glad "we're havin' all the fun" was a Fun Boy Three number as the mention of "I like manchester united" may have tipped the Chelsea boys over the edge and we would have had a riot on our hands!!
God moves in mysterious ways and has a bizarre sense of humour - there I was with a lady on either side of me, being crushed by 12000 fans, full of beer, jumping up 'n' down like I was 20 years younger - bliss!! I had to cross my arms across my chest to stop the pain of the crowd pushing my chest against the metal barrier. I'd been standing like that for some time - jumping up 'n' down, singing along exchanging small talk occasionally with the girl on my left when I noticed that my hand was on someone Else's hand! Who knows how long for - 1 minute? half an hour? Well she didn't look dead from the neck up!! My brain was disfunctioning and I wasn't sure if it would be wise to pull my hand away quick! I glanced behind to see if she had a fella and there was a guy pinned quite close against her back so I put two and two together and got zero!! A few songs later my esophagus started sending signal to my brain and at this point I noticed she was holding her phone camera with both hands!!!!!!!! Whose hand was that's?!! I changed position and to my horror the mystery hand left the barrier and rose - and in the light I observed a hairy arm!! "oh woops-a-daisy, this is area seven" as the song goes!! So I decided it was time to make an exit and beckoned "de bouncers" to pull me out and hast my way to the gents - enough said!! Judging by the bruises I've now got up my arms and across my chest I think it was a wise move. Still breathing at least!! Well I think I got my moneys worth - legendary!!
Watched the rest of the gig from the back and decided to dance till I dropped - and drop I nearly did!! My legs we're both dead - lack of blood circulating or just full of BEER!! But I survived and there was no riot as expected during "do the dog". Old age creeping in! Weirdly all their lyrics were still relevant except the intro to "do the dog" which may have sounded a bit strange if it was updated. "mods, rockers, hippies and skin 'eads" no!! "nemos, goths, yardies and people that like the X factor" doesn't really go!!
We'll - job done! A gallon of sweat down the boys Fred! A stretched cardie, wet trousers, shoes full of rain from St. Marys! who cares what the time is or how we're getting home - the night is young and we've just witnessed a legendary act! But back to reality - where is the free bus back to Wood Green. Neils going off on one "OI BALDY - LET US ON THE F-ING BUS!" (a tad ironic!) well we got on in the end and sang our way back to Wood Green - one chorus of "enjoy yourself"!!!
The evening mellowed out as us ole-timers started to show our age - but not before Neil told a couple of Turkish football supports to go forth back to their own country - but in not so many words. We were descending on the escalators and these two singing Turks returning from who knows where, very kindly singing some strange song we didn't understand as they went up the opposite escalators. Neil didn't take to kindly to a scarf that didn't read "CHELSEA" so on that note "F- OFF YOU FOREIGN ..............." - I thought he would run after them but I think the train beckoned and he saw sense! More songs back to Victoria with a burst of "OH WE ALL HATE LEEDS" from Chris and a rush of various other famous weird Chelsea anthems!! And the occasional spurt of "making your mind up" by bucks fizz!! I simply don't get it!
Things just aren't quite what they seem!!!!
Wednesday 2 November 2011
Birthing pool baptism and the fire that followed ...
Sunday was another opportunity to visit our old POW (Place of Worship) CBCF where the son of my ole school mate from Bluecoat days was getting baptised. Yes I am beginning to feel old! A bit disappointed the tables weren't out as they normally are on a Sunday morning for us to sit around - but then again the hall was packed without tables. Great to hear that personal prophecy and words of knowledge aren't dead! Quite refreshing to hear so may from such a range of people- quite envious!!
The birthing pool was a novelty - no reasonably sized human could ever lie down in it so you have to stand at one side and as you descend into a kneeling position the guys doing the bap will lower you backwards til you go totally under - but how much needs to remain dry before it is announced null and void!! And why don't babies drown when they are born in one of these?!!!!! DER! I hope they washed it!
And afterwards for some serious nosh from around the planet - arrived at 10:20 - left at after 3:00 and it felt normal - apart from the small fire that I put out with my coffee! I think a child may have plugged the water heater back in - without it being in water which isn't good! and it just caught fire. Baptism and fire in the same service cant all be bad!!
It was good to hear the Healing On The Streets (HOTS) had a guy waiting half hour for the team to arrive because his mate had been healed the previous week! WOW!! And they had a constant stream of people this week that wanted prayer - again envious - living the dream!!
And the sermon - with PowerPoint - Read the Bible, Pray, Fellowship - if you keep to these then you wont go far wrong! Nice one Mike - Good to hear the good ole beach missions getting another mention! And lets not forget Joseph leading the worship and Peter on the drums - that was refreshing to see "da youff" being utilised. A good time was had by all - well done!
The birthing pool was a novelty - no reasonably sized human could ever lie down in it so you have to stand at one side and as you descend into a kneeling position the guys doing the bap will lower you backwards til you go totally under - but how much needs to remain dry before it is announced null and void!! And why don't babies drown when they are born in one of these?!!!!! DER! I hope they washed it!
And afterwards for some serious nosh from around the planet - arrived at 10:20 - left at after 3:00 and it felt normal - apart from the small fire that I put out with my coffee! I think a child may have plugged the water heater back in - without it being in water which isn't good! and it just caught fire. Baptism and fire in the same service cant all be bad!!
It was good to hear the Healing On The Streets (HOTS) had a guy waiting half hour for the team to arrive because his mate had been healed the previous week! WOW!! And they had a constant stream of people this week that wanted prayer - again envious - living the dream!!
And the sermon - with PowerPoint - Read the Bible, Pray, Fellowship - if you keep to these then you wont go far wrong! Nice one Mike - Good to hear the good ole beach missions getting another mention! And lets not forget Joseph leading the worship and Peter on the drums - that was refreshing to see "da youff" being utilised. A good time was had by all - well done!
Wednesday 26 October 2011
The joy of secondary school selection
Well I was goin' to sit back and listen to the Sunday sermon tonight - but its not available yet! So I thought I'd rant on about the joy of going to a Church that doesn't easily get our son into the school of our choice.
About me, in the past 27 years I have been involved in many different Christian activities. I have been involved with the Church of England (CofE) and worked along side many CofE members - Prison Fellowship, HTB Caring for Ex-offenders, The Boys' Brigade for the past 7 years ... the list goes on - in fact :
Prison Fellowship
Evangelical Alliance
Lawyers Christian Fellowship
Counties
Open Air Campaigners
Healing on the Streets
Caring For Ex-offenders
Alpha Course
Youth for Christ
Boys' Brigade
Christian Resources Exhibition
CARE
More Than Gold
Our Fathers House (Forteleza)
Greenwich SACRE
Voice of the martyrs
Christian Concern
Greenwich Church
Greenwich Churches Olympic Forum
These are the main groups I have either been involved with or prayer support on a regular basis. I would stand along side these organisations. When I was a member of a CofE church I helped run a prayer meeting at 6:30AM and their youth club - and got married in their church!
So here is the issue, our oldest boy currently goes to an oversubscribed CofE secondary school that we want our youngest boy to go to. He appears in the Bexley SACRE multi-faith DVD where he talks about his faith and what it means to him to be a Christian - organised by the school. On the application form, Criteria 1 is that we frequent a CofE church - which we dont - but I help run the BB which is part of the youth ministry associated with the CofE church. Criteria 2 is that our church is part of Churches Together in England - New Frontiers does not appear on the printed list of recognised members of Churches Together in England but New Community Church is part of Churches Together in Sidcup which appears to come under the umbrella of Churches Together in England. So that is a mystery! Criteria 3 is a practising member of a non-Christian faith. Criteria 4 is sibling.
There lies a dilemma - worshipping at New Community Church (Sidcup) which is a New Frontiers church may not be good enough to get our second son into the secondary school of our choice. New Frontiers is larger then most of the churches listed in Churches Together in England on the school admission application form, and they work along side many CofE churches across the country on a variety of projects.
So our youngest boy would only get into the school on criteria 4 as a sibling - and they never reach criteria 4 in past selections! So my church is simply not good enough - which puts them into criteria 5 - worshippers at a church not members of Churches Together in England. it does bug me!!
I'll let you know if he doesn't get in ;(
About me, in the past 27 years I have been involved in many different Christian activities. I have been involved with the Church of England (CofE) and worked along side many CofE members - Prison Fellowship, HTB Caring for Ex-offenders, The Boys' Brigade for the past 7 years ... the list goes on - in fact :
Prison Fellowship
Evangelical Alliance
Lawyers Christian Fellowship
Counties
Open Air Campaigners
Healing on the Streets
Caring For Ex-offenders
Alpha Course
Youth for Christ
Boys' Brigade
Christian Resources Exhibition
CARE
More Than Gold
Our Fathers House (Forteleza)
Greenwich SACRE
Voice of the martyrs
Christian Concern
Greenwich Church
Greenwich Churches Olympic Forum
These are the main groups I have either been involved with or prayer support on a regular basis. I would stand along side these organisations. When I was a member of a CofE church I helped run a prayer meeting at 6:30AM and their youth club - and got married in their church!
So here is the issue, our oldest boy currently goes to an oversubscribed CofE secondary school that we want our youngest boy to go to. He appears in the Bexley SACRE multi-faith DVD where he talks about his faith and what it means to him to be a Christian - organised by the school. On the application form, Criteria 1 is that we frequent a CofE church - which we dont - but I help run the BB which is part of the youth ministry associated with the CofE church. Criteria 2 is that our church is part of Churches Together in England - New Frontiers does not appear on the printed list of recognised members of Churches Together in England but New Community Church is part of Churches Together in Sidcup which appears to come under the umbrella of Churches Together in England. So that is a mystery! Criteria 3 is a practising member of a non-Christian faith. Criteria 4 is sibling.
There lies a dilemma - worshipping at New Community Church (Sidcup) which is a New Frontiers church may not be good enough to get our second son into the secondary school of our choice. New Frontiers is larger then most of the churches listed in Churches Together in England on the school admission application form, and they work along side many CofE churches across the country on a variety of projects.
So our youngest boy would only get into the school on criteria 4 as a sibling - and they never reach criteria 4 in past selections! So my church is simply not good enough - which puts them into criteria 5 - worshippers at a church not members of Churches Together in England. it does bug me!!
I'll let you know if he doesn't get in ;(
Friday 21 October 2011
Now for somethin' completely different ...
yes I really do have bad taste in music! And just to prove it here is a taste of what I listen to for no particular reason :
1. Yellowbird by the Mills Brothers - watch the video on YouTube
2. Dare by Gorillaz off the Demon Days album
3. White Shadow Cold Play off X&Y (XYZ if you have dyslexia!)
4. You stole the sun from my heart - Manic Street Preachers
5. Fools Gold - The Stone Roses (something to do with Lock Stock and the base!!)
6. Song Bird by Eva Cassidy - what an amazing voice
7. Games without frontiers - Peter Gabriel (dont mix your words Pete - say what you mean!)
8. No matter what - Boyzone epecially for my sick uncle - he sang this in his hospital bed after having a stroke.
9. The fun lovin' criminal - Fun Lovin' Criminals - reminds me of the good ole days in Belmarsh
10. How did it come to this - Take That - everyday you wake up and you should ask yourself this question!
FYI - I'm not perfect!!
1. Yellowbird by the Mills Brothers - watch the video on YouTube
2. Dare by Gorillaz off the Demon Days album
3. White Shadow Cold Play off X&Y (XYZ if you have dyslexia!)
4. You stole the sun from my heart - Manic Street Preachers
5. Fools Gold - The Stone Roses (something to do with Lock Stock and the base!!)
6. Song Bird by Eva Cassidy - what an amazing voice
7. Games without frontiers - Peter Gabriel (dont mix your words Pete - say what you mean!)
8. No matter what - Boyzone epecially for my sick uncle - he sang this in his hospital bed after having a stroke.
9. The fun lovin' criminal - Fun Lovin' Criminals - reminds me of the good ole days in Belmarsh
10. How did it come to this - Take That - everyday you wake up and you should ask yourself this question!
FYI - I'm not perfect!!
The Queen and a machine gun ...
Sunday Sermon - So good I had to listen to it twice - well done Tim - excellent setting of the context of Samuel and David (1 Sam 16: 1-12). Having read this myself I did notice a possible nother school of thought regarding Jesus. I compared Samuel's mum Hannah with Mary, and Samuel as a theophany for Jesus. Mary and Joseph may well have been chosen because of their desire to spend quality time in the Temple as Hannah. Hannah prayed in such a way that she appeared drunk. So I put it to you that if God had met with Mary and Joseph in such a way, and they truly believed their Son was God in the flesh, the promised Messiah, then I believe, like Hannah and Samuel, Mary and Joseph would have brought Jesus up in the Temple. We get a brief mention of this when Jesus decided to stay in the Temple whilst His family left Him unaware that He wasn't with them (thank God there was no social services in those days!!).
Samuel was no wimp! Digging deeper we see that he was in submission to Saul and was probably scared of him. But when Samuel turns up in Bethlehem "the town elders turn up trembling" - possibly a bit like Gadaffi turning up in another country (Apparently he was involved in 17 coup d'etats). So the elders had good reason to tremble - will we live to see another day!! And Samuel has come to meet a top guissa in Bethlehem - Jesse of Bethlehem, a bit like Tim of Sidcup or Mervyn of Plumstead or Dave of Mottingham - all with fame!!!!!!!! Jesse of Bethlehem was known - his business, his protection etc Fame.
Samuel was looking for Gods man. Samuel had a hotline to heaven - he could ask God a question and get a real answer there and then. Samuel was a holy man that spent quality time in the Temple and in the presents of God - talking to Him and listening to Him. And this is not limited to the Old Testament characters or the New Testament characters, but is also available today - to all - without prejudice. You spend quality time with God and He will talk to you. I dare you to try!!
Samuel had each of Jesse's sons walk in front of him and each time Samuel asks God "is this the one?", and instantly God answers "No". Amazing - really this is amazing! The power that Samuel could tap into simply by having a hot line to heaven. And Samuel humbly said "we will not sit down til he arrives" and made all the people remain standing til David the Shepherd arrived. That could have been 10 minutes or it could have been 6 hours. They stood in anticipation that they where about to be in the presents of someone very important. Standing and waiting is important here - just try and picture in your mind that situation. They stood and waited - and waited - and waited. Maybe in silence and continuing in quiet conversation - probably not feasting. "We will stand and wait" - the authority of Samuel to make men remain standing! Hopefully no one had a weak bladder or they may have had their head chopped off!
In walks David. What do they see? Another theophany. David probably spent quality time with God whilst he spent time with his sheep. David was someone that worked with his hands and lived outside under the stars. David was no lightweight. David was Brad Pitt!! He wasn't Derek Trotter!! He was Robert De Niro not Ian Beale!! He wasn't a wimp - he was well 'ard! But not just "handsome" but in touch with God - not so clean on the outside, but clean on the inside. But chosen because God answered Samuels question "is this the one?" by saying "yes". Nothing to do with Davids handsomeness - simply hearing "yes" got David chosen.
So the challenge of the day to todays Christians is to clean your ears! Spend quality time "in the temple" and quality time listening for the answers. Has God changed? Does He talk to us today in the same way? is this hot line to heaven been disconnected or on answer phone?! Talk to Him and you will hear Him. Quality time, quality time and more quality time in the temple.
Samuel was no wimp! Digging deeper we see that he was in submission to Saul and was probably scared of him. But when Samuel turns up in Bethlehem "the town elders turn up trembling" - possibly a bit like Gadaffi turning up in another country (Apparently he was involved in 17 coup d'etats). So the elders had good reason to tremble - will we live to see another day!! And Samuel has come to meet a top guissa in Bethlehem - Jesse of Bethlehem, a bit like Tim of Sidcup or Mervyn of Plumstead or Dave of Mottingham - all with fame!!!!!!!! Jesse of Bethlehem was known - his business, his protection etc Fame.
Samuel was looking for Gods man. Samuel had a hotline to heaven - he could ask God a question and get a real answer there and then. Samuel was a holy man that spent quality time in the Temple and in the presents of God - talking to Him and listening to Him. And this is not limited to the Old Testament characters or the New Testament characters, but is also available today - to all - without prejudice. You spend quality time with God and He will talk to you. I dare you to try!!
Samuel had each of Jesse's sons walk in front of him and each time Samuel asks God "is this the one?", and instantly God answers "No". Amazing - really this is amazing! The power that Samuel could tap into simply by having a hot line to heaven. And Samuel humbly said "we will not sit down til he arrives" and made all the people remain standing til David the Shepherd arrived. That could have been 10 minutes or it could have been 6 hours. They stood in anticipation that they where about to be in the presents of someone very important. Standing and waiting is important here - just try and picture in your mind that situation. They stood and waited - and waited - and waited. Maybe in silence and continuing in quiet conversation - probably not feasting. "We will stand and wait" - the authority of Samuel to make men remain standing! Hopefully no one had a weak bladder or they may have had their head chopped off!
In walks David. What do they see? Another theophany. David probably spent quality time with God whilst he spent time with his sheep. David was someone that worked with his hands and lived outside under the stars. David was no lightweight. David was Brad Pitt!! He wasn't Derek Trotter!! He was Robert De Niro not Ian Beale!! He wasn't a wimp - he was well 'ard! But not just "handsome" but in touch with God - not so clean on the outside, but clean on the inside. But chosen because God answered Samuels question "is this the one?" by saying "yes". Nothing to do with Davids handsomeness - simply hearing "yes" got David chosen.
So the challenge of the day to todays Christians is to clean your ears! Spend quality time "in the temple" and quality time listening for the answers. Has God changed? Does He talk to us today in the same way? is this hot line to heaven been disconnected or on answer phone?! Talk to Him and you will hear Him. Quality time, quality time and more quality time in the temple.
Sunday 16 October 2011
A building without footings
Well I would have liked to have passed comment on the NCC sermon-of-the-week but I jumped ships for the day due to the annual enrolment/re-enrolment service for the officers & boys of the 2nd West Kent Boys Brigade company at St. John's Blackheath. What a blessed day we had - blazing hot sunshine especially layed on for our church parade! And a great turn out of boys and a special guest mace bearer, and a few old-boys looking on with envy;)
Not a service format anyone could ever be familiar with but it did work. I got collared to read Proverb 1:1-7 which was difficult because just when you think there is going to be a full stop, the sentence keeps going so difficult to know what words to emphasise!!
Its been a good week for our BB - the Company boys came 7th (out of 8) in the 10 pin bowling. But a great turnout of lads from across the 2 boroughs. I think there was an internal competition going on with the 2wk that I didn't know about to see who could get the most gutter balls! Ha-ho. But the Juniors did much better on Saturday with their handball competition - walking away with the trophy - well done!! We won 4 out of 4 games and there weren't to many injuries.
Glad to say the BB has got strong foundations and we are going to grow again. I was amazed at how well the parade went - its certainly going against the grain of thinking in the 21st century - uniform, marching, bugle band, discipline etc etc.
St' Johns has got strong foundations which will keep it in good stead until that Great Day. 2wk+st.Johns=a great combination!!
Not a service format anyone could ever be familiar with but it did work. I got collared to read Proverb 1:1-7 which was difficult because just when you think there is going to be a full stop, the sentence keeps going so difficult to know what words to emphasise!!
Its been a good week for our BB - the Company boys came 7th (out of 8) in the 10 pin bowling. But a great turnout of lads from across the 2 boroughs. I think there was an internal competition going on with the 2wk that I didn't know about to see who could get the most gutter balls! Ha-ho. But the Juniors did much better on Saturday with their handball competition - walking away with the trophy - well done!! We won 4 out of 4 games and there weren't to many injuries.
Glad to say the BB has got strong foundations and we are going to grow again. I was amazed at how well the parade went - its certainly going against the grain of thinking in the 21st century - uniform, marching, bugle band, discipline etc etc.
St' Johns has got strong foundations which will keep it in good stead until that Great Day. 2wk+st.Johns=a great combination!!
Wednesday 12 October 2011
Ventilation - really exciting stuff!
Yes the eco show was exciting - not as good as ExCeL but still informative. One new product I liked was the retrofit Ventive by Green Structures. A very clever design which relies totally on natural mechanics to suck out stagnant air and blow back fresh air that is heated! No paid energy is used to do this - its just the wind outside the house blowing through a vent. This is the missing piece in my energy survey results - ventilation. We spend our life plugging every draft in the house to try and keep it warm and keep our energy bills down, but we dont consider the stale air we breath. And when we do we open the window or door to let in fresh air and let all the heat out!! Ventive is the answer! It ticks all the boxes and fitting looks quite easy.
It's bugged me for some time that gas from a gas boiler goes through a flue and out the building because it is dangerous. But how dangerous is the fumes from the oven after cooking Sunday roast? There must be a substantial amount of carbon monoxide produced and where does it all go? Carbon monoxide is a light gas so it will rise through the house and fill up the hose from the top down. So you will probably get a good nights sleep after a roast - for all the wrong reasons! Is your kitchen ventilated to take the fumes outside? Do you have a cacbon monoxide alarm that works and has been tested?
My next research is to find out if there is a connection between carbon monoxide and asthma - watch this space!
Other really useful stuff from the eco show - Water Matters (EU) Ltd. do a shower head that uses less water. If you are on a water meter then this may be of interest. And Osram are going to bring out a bayonet LED light bulb ie not mercury! Kingspan seem to think you could get your money back with Solar PV panels within 5 years if you lived on the Isle of Wight! ebmpapst UK Ltd do a low energy fan that generates less heat but does the same job - I'll find a use for this somewhere!!
If you are intersted in what is going on in the eco world then why not checkout what is happening in Scotlan nd the Isles. Some really great hydro electric stuff going on! lots of ind turbines and dispondent fisherman running their boats on cooking oil from the local hospital! GSHP and community heating schemes are the future!
It's bugged me for some time that gas from a gas boiler goes through a flue and out the building because it is dangerous. But how dangerous is the fumes from the oven after cooking Sunday roast? There must be a substantial amount of carbon monoxide produced and where does it all go? Carbon monoxide is a light gas so it will rise through the house and fill up the hose from the top down. So you will probably get a good nights sleep after a roast - for all the wrong reasons! Is your kitchen ventilated to take the fumes outside? Do you have a cacbon monoxide alarm that works and has been tested?
My next research is to find out if there is a connection between carbon monoxide and asthma - watch this space!
Other really useful stuff from the eco show - Water Matters (EU) Ltd. do a shower head that uses less water. If you are on a water meter then this may be of interest. And Osram are going to bring out a bayonet LED light bulb ie not mercury! Kingspan seem to think you could get your money back with Solar PV panels within 5 years if you lived on the Isle of Wight! ebmpapst UK Ltd do a low energy fan that generates less heat but does the same job - I'll find a use for this somewhere!!
If you are intersted in what is going on in the eco world then why not checkout what is happening in Scotlan nd the Isles. Some really great hydro electric stuff going on! lots of ind turbines and dispondent fisherman running their boats on cooking oil from the local hospital! GSHP and community heating schemes are the future!
Sunday 9 October 2011
Do not worry ... chillout!
Well done James Silley for the forth and final installment of consumerism. A sermon that incorporated the best of wikipedia! I'm glad I've grown out of taking notes coz I think I'd have no hand left. A strong argument that puts consumerism back into its place and exposed it for what it really is. I cant help but feel that this talk being the conclusion should have been the preambles - but then again maybe this is just the beginning and not the end!!
The verse-of-the-day was from Luke 12:22-34 where Jesus drives home the meaninglessness of worrying ie DONT DO IT!!!! I'd like to start at verse 21 where it advises on "being rich towards God". So wealth has nothing to do with money or mammon. As Christians we can be rich towards God without having a penny in our pocket - so the message of the Gospel does not discriminate across wealth. Every man is in the same boat - the richest person to the poorest person is equal in the eyes of God when they decide to follow Him. What they have in the form of money or mammon does not give them an advantage or a disadvantage - which is a relief!
So "being rich towards God" is right up there as a paramount characteristic of being a Christian. Luke 10:27 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and, Love your neighbour as yourself" are a key to this. You cannot be "rich towards God" and not love your neighbour. "rich towards God" is another example of the strange way that God thinks! It's not a mentality "the world" understands. It's the opposite to what you expect. If we live a life where we put others first, then we will be rich - DER!!
So onto Luke 12:22-34 we get more reverse logic from God. Everything the world says we should worry about - God says dont worry about it! "do not worry about your life" "do not worry about what you will eat" "do not worry about what you will wear" "do not be afraid". This isn't usually something you fully grasp when you become a Christian - although, in terms of eternity there really is nothing worth worrying about because pritty soon we wont be here!!
But how difficult is it to stop worrying? How easy is it to be happy-go-lucky without appearing lackadaisical or lacking emotion? I am bothered if there is not enough money in the bank to pay the bills - but is bothered the same as worrying about it? I trust God for my future, and in terms of eternity 'bill paying' is meaningless!! But on earth I should take responsibility for my welfare - or should I? I cant say "I dont care" because I do care - but I do trust that God will do what His word says. And I dont think it is saying He will always give us what we want - he is saying "seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you" in the sense that we will receive "treasure" in heaven as we put more and more trust in Him.
The problem we have is the lack of reliance we can put in God when UK society provides us with all that we need to survive without attributing it to Him. So "in all circumstances give thank" - that way you can be sure that you will be greatful for all that He provides! And from our wealth always remember to give to the poor. Dont forget "I desire mercy not sacrifice" - its not just about giving money, its about showing mercy. In God's wierd reverse logic, I cant but help feel that as we start to persue showing mercy, our desire to invest in ones own interests will diminish and we will naturally become less of a consumer.
In conclusion, do not worry, trust God more everyday, be more thankful towards God, have mercy on those in need, and invest in God's bank!
The verse-of-the-day was from Luke 12:22-34 where Jesus drives home the meaninglessness of worrying ie DONT DO IT!!!! I'd like to start at verse 21 where it advises on "being rich towards God". So wealth has nothing to do with money or mammon. As Christians we can be rich towards God without having a penny in our pocket - so the message of the Gospel does not discriminate across wealth. Every man is in the same boat - the richest person to the poorest person is equal in the eyes of God when they decide to follow Him. What they have in the form of money or mammon does not give them an advantage or a disadvantage - which is a relief!
So "being rich towards God" is right up there as a paramount characteristic of being a Christian. Luke 10:27 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and, Love your neighbour as yourself" are a key to this. You cannot be "rich towards God" and not love your neighbour. "rich towards God" is another example of the strange way that God thinks! It's not a mentality "the world" understands. It's the opposite to what you expect. If we live a life where we put others first, then we will be rich - DER!!
So onto Luke 12:22-34 we get more reverse logic from God. Everything the world says we should worry about - God says dont worry about it! "do not worry about your life" "do not worry about what you will eat" "do not worry about what you will wear" "do not be afraid". This isn't usually something you fully grasp when you become a Christian - although, in terms of eternity there really is nothing worth worrying about because pritty soon we wont be here!!
But how difficult is it to stop worrying? How easy is it to be happy-go-lucky without appearing lackadaisical or lacking emotion? I am bothered if there is not enough money in the bank to pay the bills - but is bothered the same as worrying about it? I trust God for my future, and in terms of eternity 'bill paying' is meaningless!! But on earth I should take responsibility for my welfare - or should I? I cant say "I dont care" because I do care - but I do trust that God will do what His word says. And I dont think it is saying He will always give us what we want - he is saying "seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you" in the sense that we will receive "treasure" in heaven as we put more and more trust in Him.
The problem we have is the lack of reliance we can put in God when UK society provides us with all that we need to survive without attributing it to Him. So "in all circumstances give thank" - that way you can be sure that you will be greatful for all that He provides! And from our wealth always remember to give to the poor. Dont forget "I desire mercy not sacrifice" - its not just about giving money, its about showing mercy. In God's wierd reverse logic, I cant but help feel that as we start to persue showing mercy, our desire to invest in ones own interests will diminish and we will naturally become less of a consumer.
In conclusion, do not worry, trust God more everyday, be more thankful towards God, have mercy on those in need, and invest in God's bank!
Sunday 2 October 2011
Consumerism is meaningless ...
Nice one Dave Holden for your sermon this morning! Another bout of consumerism from yet another angle. I sat eagerly with my bible in hand waiting for a quote - and waited and waited and waited and then was steam rolled with over 10 quotes! Very cheeky!! The whole essence of the message I assumed was common knowledge and basic for any Christian - I got that one wrong. The "enlightening" we receive when you become a Christian is that there is an eternity. And the fact that we will be on this earth for a reasonably short period compared with eternity, should make everything we do or are be a response to this gift of eternal life. We entered this life with nothing and we are taking nothing with us!
I liked Dave's thoughts on the human body being temporary but the spirit inside us being eternal. The body is destined to die but the spirit is desitined to exist eternally (unless you are not a Christian in which case you will face a second death - death of your spirit).
So how should we live if we are leaving with nothing? The book of Ecclesiastes makes a whole load of sense once you grasp this mentality! "Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher, "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless". And then consider what the Apostle Paul had to say in Philipians 1:21-26 where he argues with himself weather it is better to stay on this earth or go onto the next life! What really matters in life? leaving a legacy? servitude? humility?
I see two things - giving of time to serve others, living a simplistic life style. We should evaluate this balance - do we actually serve others enough? can we live a simpler life? Do we spend more time watching junk on TV which leads to nothing, compared with being "out-there" helping to improve the quality of life of others. Have we over complicated our life to the point of having no time to even read this blog!!! Can we look outwards more then looking inwards? Are we investing in "me" rather then investing in something that is eternal?
Dave's talk did get the grey matter thinking about something random but nothing he said directly. I did consider the act of consumerism and why I take a mug to church to have a coffee! Its because I dont want to contribute to a hand-fill by using a plastic cup. Plastic disposable cups are a product of a consumer society! Disposable society - use once and throw it away is not what God wants us to do. God's commission to Adam was to take care of the earth - and I believe we have inherited this command - food-for-thought! How we dispose of our rubbish effects the planet. Are we wise or stupid?! This is not a great issue if you live a simplistic life. What are those useless toys "made in Chine" you get with a McDonalds "happy meal" - LFTs - Land Fill Toys! What are we sending to the landfill? can it be recyled or reused? Should we take any interest in "eco" as Christians?
By not being such a consumer this problem should get reduced. But to over focus on this issue will make it a "god" in our life and we can quite easily be overwhelmed by recycling! This to is meaningless!!!
So to sum up I would say - consume less - Dispose of thoughtfully - Serve others more - watch less TV - and invest everything in what is eternal.
I liked Dave's thoughts on the human body being temporary but the spirit inside us being eternal. The body is destined to die but the spirit is desitined to exist eternally (unless you are not a Christian in which case you will face a second death - death of your spirit).
So how should we live if we are leaving with nothing? The book of Ecclesiastes makes a whole load of sense once you grasp this mentality! "Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher, "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless". And then consider what the Apostle Paul had to say in Philipians 1:21-26 where he argues with himself weather it is better to stay on this earth or go onto the next life! What really matters in life? leaving a legacy? servitude? humility?
I see two things - giving of time to serve others, living a simplistic life style. We should evaluate this balance - do we actually serve others enough? can we live a simpler life? Do we spend more time watching junk on TV which leads to nothing, compared with being "out-there" helping to improve the quality of life of others. Have we over complicated our life to the point of having no time to even read this blog!!! Can we look outwards more then looking inwards? Are we investing in "me" rather then investing in something that is eternal?
Dave's talk did get the grey matter thinking about something random but nothing he said directly. I did consider the act of consumerism and why I take a mug to church to have a coffee! Its because I dont want to contribute to a hand-fill by using a plastic cup. Plastic disposable cups are a product of a consumer society! Disposable society - use once and throw it away is not what God wants us to do. God's commission to Adam was to take care of the earth - and I believe we have inherited this command - food-for-thought! How we dispose of our rubbish effects the planet. Are we wise or stupid?! This is not a great issue if you live a simplistic life. What are those useless toys "made in Chine" you get with a McDonalds "happy meal" - LFTs - Land Fill Toys! What are we sending to the landfill? can it be recyled or reused? Should we take any interest in "eco" as Christians?
By not being such a consumer this problem should get reduced. But to over focus on this issue will make it a "god" in our life and we can quite easily be overwhelmed by recycling! This to is meaningless!!!
So to sum up I would say - consume less - Dispose of thoughtfully - Serve others more - watch less TV - and invest everything in what is eternal.
Monday 26 September 2011
Zeal for your house
Following Tim Blabers sermon on Sunday about consumerism siting John 2:12-25 I decided to delve a little deeper. If you want to hear Tim's sermon then you can get it on the New Community Church (Sidcup) website. The Story entitled "Jesus clears the Temple" is accounted for in all four Gosples and each has a slightly different angle. What caught my eye was this wierd verse 17 "Zeal for your house will consume me" quoting Psalm 69:9. In the context of the Psalm there is this persuit of God which is unstoppable. Nothing and no one is going to stop this guy having his eyes trans fixed upon God - even if God turns His head from him.
Zeal or intense enthusism or ardent endeavour or devotion for a place where God resides is something worth having. Jesus spent everyday in the temple teaching. The physical temple before His death was the place where God resided. After His death, the curtain was ripped in two and the old temple was no more. Jesus said in Verse 19 "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days". Referring to Himself being the temple and God residing in Him. And when we become a Christian our body becomes a temple for the Holy Spirit. So our attitude should be the same as Jesus - "Zeal for your house". Jesus displayed this zeal by physically dealing with those things in the temple that should not be there. And so should we. Be enthusiastic about clearing the temple. We could sit back and allow things into our heart that offends God - but that does show a lack of zeal. Self sacrifice is important.
In Matthew 9:13 Jesus says "I desire mercy not sacrifice" quoting Hosea 6:6 which continues "And acknowledgement of God rather then burnt offerings". Another reason why Jesus may have turned over the tables etc was because he found the offerings offensive because in their hearts the people did not acknowledge God. The people thought more of the religious act of sacrificing an animal or a bird, then they did about showing mercy to their fellow human being. Luke 10:25-37 tells the story of the good Samaritan showing mercy.
The businessmen selling sheep and the money exchangers dont appear to have put up any kind of fight when Jesus chased them out. He was not arrested by the Temple guard which suggests he may have had authority over the guards and had the authority to do what he did. Jesus said that he taught in the Temple daily and scolars would question him. He was recognised as being a rabbi in the temple and everywhere He went He was referred to as "rabbi" or teacher. This was not an ordinary man in the temple on that day - He was a rabbi and His physical attire may have made Him stand out in the crowd as being a rabbi.
Reading the Bible with a view that Jesus was a recognised rabbi rather then an everyday carpenter or a person that just frequented the temple makes alot of stories make more sense. Having such authority to do what he did in the temple may also suggest he was a very respected rabbi - possibly a chief priest! Food for thought!!
Zeal or intense enthusism or ardent endeavour or devotion for a place where God resides is something worth having. Jesus spent everyday in the temple teaching. The physical temple before His death was the place where God resided. After His death, the curtain was ripped in two and the old temple was no more. Jesus said in Verse 19 "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days". Referring to Himself being the temple and God residing in Him. And when we become a Christian our body becomes a temple for the Holy Spirit. So our attitude should be the same as Jesus - "Zeal for your house". Jesus displayed this zeal by physically dealing with those things in the temple that should not be there. And so should we. Be enthusiastic about clearing the temple. We could sit back and allow things into our heart that offends God - but that does show a lack of zeal. Self sacrifice is important.
In Matthew 9:13 Jesus says "I desire mercy not sacrifice" quoting Hosea 6:6 which continues "And acknowledgement of God rather then burnt offerings". Another reason why Jesus may have turned over the tables etc was because he found the offerings offensive because in their hearts the people did not acknowledge God. The people thought more of the religious act of sacrificing an animal or a bird, then they did about showing mercy to their fellow human being. Luke 10:25-37 tells the story of the good Samaritan showing mercy.
The businessmen selling sheep and the money exchangers dont appear to have put up any kind of fight when Jesus chased them out. He was not arrested by the Temple guard which suggests he may have had authority over the guards and had the authority to do what he did. Jesus said that he taught in the Temple daily and scolars would question him. He was recognised as being a rabbi in the temple and everywhere He went He was referred to as "rabbi" or teacher. This was not an ordinary man in the temple on that day - He was a rabbi and His physical attire may have made Him stand out in the crowd as being a rabbi.
Reading the Bible with a view that Jesus was a recognised rabbi rather then an everyday carpenter or a person that just frequented the temple makes alot of stories make more sense. Having such authority to do what he did in the temple may also suggest he was a very respected rabbi - possibly a chief priest! Food for thought!!
Wednesday 21 September 2011
'ave a word!
The first of many - hopefully! Christianity, Cycling, Ecology, Chelsea, Music, Photography, Virtual Tours, Camping, Boys' Brigade, Greenwich ... Thats what you'll hear from me, and putting the world to rights! Welcome to the wierd and wonderful world of Mervyn58.
Christianity - There is but one God
Cycling - My preferred mode of transport
Ecology - Save the planet or just save money
Chelsea - Keep the blue flag flying high
Music - Ska, reggae, 80's, vinyl, CDs
Photography - Adictive hobby
Virtual Tours - Low level quality but I dont care
Camping - Under canvas for the best holidays
Boys' Brigade - First and best
Greenwich - the world revolves around Greenwich
You'll be hearing more from me on these so keep your eyes peeled (ouch!)
Christianity - There is but one God
Cycling - My preferred mode of transport
Ecology - Save the planet or just save money
Chelsea - Keep the blue flag flying high
Music - Ska, reggae, 80's, vinyl, CDs
Photography - Adictive hobby
Virtual Tours - Low level quality but I dont care
Camping - Under canvas for the best holidays
Boys' Brigade - First and best
Greenwich - the world revolves around Greenwich
You'll be hearing more from me on these so keep your eyes peeled (ouch!)
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