Silent in the Background
Ian B. Why a blog, and why the name? In November 2020 I was given an award for being ‘silent in the background’. Strictly speaking, my wife and I were given an…
Talk to God, not just about God
This (long) post is largely the text of my sermon yesterday at The Good Shepherd, Lee, when we were concluding a short series on the book of Job as well…
Loss, Lament & Hope
Here’s the (approximate!) text of my twin short sermons at The Good Shepherd, Lee on 30 June 2024. Or you can listen here to the Lament and the Hope. Lamentations…
The Good Shepherd
Last Sunday I was privileged to preach for the first time at the church where our family has recently settled, The Church of the Good Shepherd with St. Peter, Lee.…
Women of Holy Week
An Easter journey in nine stories – Paula Gooder A thoughtful imaginative (re-)telling of the stories of nine women who encountered Jesus in the final week of his life (and…
Flood and Fury
Old Testament Violence and the Shalom of God – Matthew J. Lynch An easy to read and thought provoking exploration of some of the often-quoted ‘violent’ texts of the Old…
Jesus – who calls him son of God?
Re-reading Luke’s gospel, it’s interesting to see how Luke presents the sonship of Jesus. In my study of Joseph a couple of years ago I focussed on Matthew’s account of…
Reading and listening while white
So far in 2024 I have deliberately tried to be conscious of what I am reading, the effect it is having on me, and what difference this might make to…
BRIT(ish) – Afua Hirsch
This was another eye-opening read for me, as the author, who is mixed race and grew up in Wimbledon, describes, from personal experience, interviews and research, ways in which life…
Where Jake’s story leads…
Jake’s story was the introduction to this talk at Forest Hill Community Church where I talked (for about 25 minutes) about the Bible’s attitude to vulnerable children and how seeing…
Jake’s Story
Jake had a big family; he was the second of five brothers, and he had three sisters too. They lived in a small village with mum and dad, until Jake…