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Lamentations II – Exposed

In the last post I introduced the theme and structure of Lamentations. Now it is important to sit with the reality of the text itself. We need to read, and we need to sit with what it says, and listen to it. It will be important to situate it in the context of the wholeContinue reading “Lamentations II – Exposed”

Lamentations I

A while ago I posted on the concept of Lament, intended as a introduction to a series on Lamentations. In that introduction I explored the wider concept of lament, and in this post I will focus more specifically on the book of Lamentations itself. Reading Lamentations is not necessarily immediately straightforward. It is not aContinue reading “Lamentations I”

Lament I

Lament. There is nothing the church needs right now more than the ability for its leaders to lead us in lament. That, of course, is one of those ridiculous statements people like to make to capture attention. There are 101 things that the church needs right now, and what each individual church needs is different.Continue reading “Lament I”

Do not fear

What will it mean for you this week to not fear, to trust God, to know that He is good? What will it mean for you this week to lay down your phone and pick up your Bible? What will it mean to let God shape your week and not your diary? What will itContinue reading “Do not fear”

Sometimes hibernation is what is needed

Hi, sorry we have not been active here post Christmas but as with many, family time is important and after many months when you might think we have had enough family time with our immediate family members there is a need to take time for a different pace, to be present to each other andContinue reading “Sometimes hibernation is what is needed”

Advent VII: Desire of Nations

O come, Desire of nations, bindAll peoples in one heart and mind;Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease;Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.Rejoice! Rejoice! EmmanuelShall come to thee, O Israel. This last verse is self explanatory in so many ways. It speaks of the longing that we have for a better world. It alludes toContinue reading “Advent VII: Desire of Nations”

Advent VI – The Morning Star

6 O come, O Bright and Morning Star,and bring us comfort from afar!Dispel the shadows of the nightand turn our darkness into light. There are days when morning is a long time coming. The above photo was taken on one of those mornings. It was January 2010. We had just got back to Vancouver fromContinue reading “Advent VI – The Morning Star”

Advent V: The Key

The next verse of O come O come in the version I found refers to the Key of David: 5 O come, O Key of David, comeand open wide our heavenly home.Make safe for us the heavenward roadand bar the way to death’s abode. This verse intrigues me because I think there is more toContinue reading “Advent V: The Key”

Staying still

As final details are put to carol services in their various new formats, congregational needs go on, rumbles still rumble it is hard to sit still. It is hard to create time to sit with God, to dwell with Him and His word? And yet, is there an element in which the busyness of thisContinue reading “Staying still”

Be still and know that I am God

What does it mean to sit with nothing?How does it feel when God is silent? Could it just possibly be that God’s silence is not a dry season, an abandonment but invitation from God for us to draw close and sit in the quiet with Him? Could it be that the silence we feel fromContinue reading “Be still and know that I am God”