The similar phrase 'Worldly Christianity' is one used by Bonhoeffer. It's J Gresham Machen that I want to line up most closely with. See his Christianity and culture here. Having done commentaries on Proverbs (Heavenly Wisdom) and Song of Songs (Heavenly Love), a matching title for Ecclesiastes would be Heavenly Worldliness. For my stance on worldliness, see 3 posts here.

Lord's Day February 26 2017


These are interesting days in Childs Hill, with a continuing stream of new people and several of them staying. We were over fifty in the morning and a decent number at night. I made it seven or eight Iranians this last Sunday. I have heard of other churches experiencing such a phenomenon. One problem is that only two of these are very competent in English. We are having weekly English conversation classes to try and help. Not sure what to do next. and Nigerians still dominate but with Filipinos and West Indians well represented. I hesitate to categorise in that way but I'm trying to give some idea of the multi-ethnic make up of the congregations these days. It was nice to see an Indian lady back from India, although she had been ill most of the time she was there.
Our seminary friends read the Scriptures for us. Next week they will preach.
Despite the encouragements there were still one or two missing. I was sorry not to see our Dutch friend in the evening but a Brazilian man turned up. He had just moved from an AoG to a Presbyterian church back home in Sao Paulo and had various good books on his phone including Cinco pontos by John Piper. Encouraging. He had tried a URC church in the morning misled by the word reformed. Sadly, he only plans to be around for three weeks.
Another encouragement was someone asking me about baptism.
Also encouraging was the presence of seven children under 10. I am going through the children's catechism at the moment.
The preaching was on the second part of Acts 1 and Matthew 12:43-45. 

29-13 Wales not good enough


Too many mistakes and only one try. Not good enough today. Scotland win for the first time in years.

Midweek Meeting Wednesday February 22 2017


We weren't a bad number last Wednesday, though we were two or three down for various reasons. We are really into the thick of it now with a long section on the sin offering, Leviticus 4:1-5:13. It probably was a little long and not as coherent as on week one - I think it is often like that. We also got on to the subject of apostasy, which is always difficult. Once we get through the next two bits we will have covered all the offerings so I am not too despondent. Although the prayer time was a little short it was very fluent.

10 Tong Types

1. Fire tongs
2. Sugar tongs
3. Asparagus tongs
4. Blacksmith's tongs
5. Surgical tongs
6. Salad tongs
7. Cooking tongs
8. Gardening tongs
9. Curling tongs
10. Lifting tongs

Lord's Day February 20 2017


Yesterday was a busy day and there were lots of people about. Unusually we had both lunch together (held over from its usual slot the previous week) and evening communion. Over 40 came to the meal. The morning congregation was quite full. Two of my sons were home with their brides (one is married, one is marrying in the summer). One of our members was back from a few months in Jamaica. There was another new Iranian (plus three others from Iran). Most of our other newbies were there (although one has written to me since explaining that she probably won't be settling with us). It was interesting to hear from my visiting sons of the new people they had been talking to.
Yesterday was the beginning of the seminary placements here so I got our Dutch student and Our South African one to read the Scriptures for us (from 1 Samuel and Exodus). Alexander also gave us a slide presentation on the religious situation in the Netherlands after our lunch together. In the evening an interesting Dutch lady came. She grew up going to church but has not been for years. She is now reading the Bible and attending church (she had 'phoned here beforehand to be sure of the time). Her English was fine (I gave her an English Bible as she said her Dutch translation was too paraphrastic) but she was glad to be able to talk in Dutch with Alexander's wife.
I began a new series from Acts in the morning. I have never preached through Acts. It is the only New testament book I have not touched. It was an okay start. In the evening we looked at the next bit in Matthew 12 (38-42). I started back on the children's catechism with the kids.
So there's a little bit of a buzz at the moment, which is good. 

Eyedentification

I thought of this word today and found this illustration to go with it

Preaching at the seminary


One of the delights of being where I am is the proximity of London Seminary. It is a privilege to serve on the board and to benefit from meetings there and at the John Owen Centre from time to time. I also get to preach there too from time to time. I was there again yesterday, just ahead of the students heading out for their three week placements, as the member of staff due to preach is recovering from a  recent bicycle tumble. I was conscious that two of the students would have heard most of my material since last October and so I delved into the back catalogue and reworked a sermon from 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 on avoiding spiritual immaturity and having a proper attitude to preachers. It went okay I thought and I enjoyed speaking with students over lunch afterwards. You can check out the sermon here on my Preached Sermons blog.
(PS the picture is from last summer not from yesterday)

Midweek Meeting Wednesday February 15 2017

So we had a good turn out on Wednesday as we continue through Leviticus - this time looking at the peace or fellowship offering in Chapter 3. Our two new people returned and there plenty of others. We again had a short question time after the study itself. The prayer time went well too as we endeavoured to pray about various matters large and small, near and far. I had never really considered the fact that though Jews are not to drink blood we drink wine, symbolic of Christ's blood, at the communion.

10 Aptonyms

1. Usain Bolt Jamaican sprinter
2. Igor Judge, Baron Judge Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales 2008-2013
3. Scott Speed former US Race car driver
4. Walter Russell Brain, 1st Baron Brain British Author and former neurologist
5. Marina Stepanova former Soviet athlete, the first woman to run under 53 seconds in the 400 metres hurdles
6. Vania Stambolova Bulgarian athlete, medal winner in the 400 m hurdles
7. Mark De Man Belgian Footballer who currently plays for Stade Bierbeek. He is most often deployed as a defensive midfielder but has also been used at centre back or right full back. He has been a regular player at Anderlecht and Belgium
8. Sara Blizzard UK Local Weather Presenter
9. Colin Bass English musician, record producer and songwriter, bass player with prog rock band Camel
10. Jules Angst Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at Zurich University in Zurich, Switzerland

Lord's Day February 12 2017

It's half term here and people were away in droves (some not well too). By the evening we were down to 10 (and two of those were people who hadn't got up for the 11 am service I think). One couple were with their little boy having an emergency op so I made a point of praying for that family early on. There were plenty of people early on - 2 or 3 Iranians (plenty missing though), a full compliment of Filipinos (6), a sprinkling of Nigerians (6), again a few missing). A trio looking for a permanent home arrived again. It was good to see them but that may mean there isn't a good Reformed church between here and Wembley (maybe we're wrong - let me know!).
I preached my closing sermon on Galatians (number 15) which was a whistle stop tour of some major themes here (the cross, grace, so-called replacement theology, etc) in the morning. The unaccompanied singing was okay although it was the first hymn so we took a little while. In the evening I thought about dropping something (a reading or a hymn) as we were so few but I pressed on. The sermon was not long.
My wife was away and it was just me and the boys. Doesn't quite feel right somehow.

16-21 Wales pipped by clinical England

Wales played well but when pressure does not produce points it is of no use.

10 Four Letter Country Names

1. Iran
2. Iraq
3. Chad
4. Cuba
5. Mali
6. Togo
7. Fiji
8. Peru
9. Oman
10. Laos

Midweek Meeting February 8 2017

There were 12 of us on Wednesday including two new people. We pressed on with Leviticus and people were stimulated by it with several questions at the end. We also had a brief but fluent time of prayer with almost everyone praying. Very encouraging. Someone suggested there may be economic gradations in Chapter 2 as in Chapter 1. I checked it with Philip Eveson, whose commentary I am using. He was not keen on the idea.

10 Smallest countries

With size in sq kms
1. Vatican City 0.4
2. Monaco 2
3. Nauru 21
4. Tuvalu 26
5. San Marino 61
6. Liechtenstein 160
7. St Kitts and Nevis 261
8. Maldives 298
9. Malta 316
10. Grenada 344

10 oldest countries in the world

This is highly debatable I suppose but here's a stab.
1. Egypt 3,150 – 3,500 BC King Menes started this country and also started a reign of pharaohs that ruled the country for over three thousand years. The great Pyramids and the Sphinx remain as testament to this country’s ancient history.
2. India 3,000 BC This country was established by a civilization that started in the Indus valley and has since expanded to be today, the seventh biggest by area and the second biggest by population. In its history, India has given the world calculus and other mathematical formulae.
3. Ethiopia 2,500 – 3,000 BC This country is famous for its wilderness but evidence shows from ancient Egyptian texts, that it was one of its biggest trading partners and actually names the country. 
4. China 2,100 – 1,600 BC It is believed that the Xia Dynasty was the first in China as there is no evidence of an earlier one. Some of this country’s history can be seen by a visit to The Great Wall of China or The Forbidden City in Beijing.
5. Iran 625 – 559 BC This country that would later become the birth place of the Persian Empire was started by the unification of the local tribes by Medes. Some historical sites are Qom and Persepolis.
6. San Marino 301 AD This city state may be one of the smallest countries in the world but that does not mean that it is not also one of the oldest. It was established by St Marinus who settled there to avoid persecution. Some of itshistory can be witnessed by looking at the old Walls of San Marino.
7. France 486 AD There are many historical sites in this country which has had such an influence on the rest of Europe. It was first established by a unification made by Clovis the first king of France.
8. Bulgaria 632 AD The first Bulgarian Empire was established with Pliska as its capital by Asparukh. Some of its historical sites include the Rila monastery and the Kazanuk Tomb. It has more recently been linked with the invention of the first electrical computer. 
9. Japan 660 AD The Japanese nation is said to have been started by its first Emperor, Jimmu. The country is rich in history and perhaps the best place to witness some of that history is at Himeji Castle.
10. Turkey 900 AD This country was established on the sight of the Trojan War by the Seljuk dynasty of Turks as they migrated and later became the birth place of the Ottoman Empire.

(Greece is not here because it was split between Macedonia and Greek city states. Hungary adn Armenia are sometimes listed.)

10 newest countries in the world

1. South Sudan: On July 9, 2011, after ending the war against the Arabic northern part of Sudan in Africa, the southern part declared its independence. The country is currently in turmoil as a civil war has instigated a large-scale famine and displaced around 10% of the total population.
2. Kosovo: Kosovo has long been a troubled territory at the southern end of Serbia. The United Nations has been administering the country since 1990 after the then Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic called the army back from Kosovo. The country declared its independence on February 17, 2008.
3/4. Serbia and Montenegro: Till 2006, the two countries were part of a union and were called Serbia-Montenegro. But Montenegro decided to end its ties with Serbia and declared its independence on May 21, 2006. The country's economic and political states have been stable and prosperous so far .
5. East Timor: East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, was once a small part of Indonesia. The island, which is south of the Banda Sea, declared its independence on May 20, 2002. Due to its huge oil reserve, the country has seen large-scale development and has been acknowledged by the World Bank as a rapidly progressing country.
6. Palau: Language became a barrier for Palau stopping otfrom being a part of the larger Micronesia. The cultural difference among other Micronesian states and Palau was so great that it decided to become an independent country from October 1, 1994. Palau comprises 250 small islands and is known for its tourism.
7. Eritrea: Just over 6 million people live in this small country north of Ethiopia in Africa. Eritrea was declared as an autonomous region under the Ethiopian federation in 1952. However, the Ethiopian government continued to treat it as a dependent part. This triggered a 30-year-long civil war. On April 27, 1993, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front toppled the Ethiopian forces and declared the country's independence
8/9. Czech Republic and Slovakia: People of both the countries welcomed the year 1993 in a unique way. On January 1 that year, the parliament of Czechoslovakia divided the country into two parts. Both the countries have flourished economically after the "Velvet Divorce", a term for the split as it happened "smoothly" after the Velvet Revolution dissolved Yugoslavia: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Slovenia got introduced to the world as independent nations when Yugoslavia was dissolved in 1992.
10. Micronesia: Previously known as the Caroline Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia is a nation north of Australia, which comprises thousands of small islands. Until September 17, 1991, the archipelago or group of islands was administered by the United States. Fishing is the primary livelihood of the nation.

10 facts about colour blindness

1. It is much more common among men. It affects 1 in every 12 males worldwide but less than 1 in every 200 females.
2. Facebook is blue because its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, suffers from red-green colour blindness.
3. Some 99% of all colourblind people are not really colour blind but colour deficient; the term colour blindness is misleading.
4. Colour blindness is hereditary, and is passed from mother to son on the 23rd chromosome. However, it can also be caused by eye diseases, ageing or retina damage. If a woman is red-green colourblind, all her sons will also be colourblind.
5. A fatal railway accident in Sweden in 1875 that killed nine people was believed to have been caused by a colour blind rail operator who failed to properly read a signal. After the crash, a method to test colour vision was developed and applied to railway workers.
6. In Romania and Turkey it is illegal for colour blind people to hold a driver’s licence. This arose from a fear that colour blind drivers would be unable to read traffic signals.
7. In World War II, colour blind men were considered to have an advantage since their inability to see green helped them to see through camouflage. Today, the military will not allow people to serve if they are colour blind.
8. Dogs, cats and rabbits see mostly grey. Monkeys have strong colour vision while bees and butterflies have superior vision and can see colours humans are unable to see.
9. Some few people suffer from a rare form of colour blindness called unilateral dichromacy which means they have one normal seeing eye, and one colour blind eye.
10. People who suffer from red green colour blindness have a difficult time determining if their meat is cooked enough. Without being able to see different shades of red, it is hard to tell.

(PS John Dalton wrote the first known scientific paper regarding colour blindness. He himself was colour blind.
PPS I had a friend in school who wanted to work in air traffic control but then they found he was colourblind, He became a civil servant.).

Westminster Fellowship Elders


We had a good session at the Westminster Fellowship today on elders. Three of the committee (Mostyn Roberts, Roger March and Jeremy Bailey) presented material on elders found in the three above books - The elder by Van Dam, The Bible-centred church by Temple and The elders of the church by Eyres and then we discussed various aspects of the subject such as the relationship between pastors and elders, elders and the church meeting, etc). About twenty of us were present in Westminster Baptist Church. Open session next month.

Lord's Day, February 5 2017

A new month so we started off with communion and that was good. We also welcomed three people into associate membership (two students and one wife of a student). As it turned out, the morning sermon from Galatians 6:1-10 was very much on the interconnection between  brothers and sisters in Christ.
Turn out was good with nearly all our recent newbies returning (just one missing, I hope he's okay) plus another two new people, one being another Iranian. One of the newbies also asked about the midweek meeting too, which is good. I tried something in the morning I have often thought about, singing one of the hymns unaccompanied and we did that for our last hymn, We sang happy birthday to a member after the morning meeting. We have a new system of bringing out the cuppa rather than expecting people to go into the parlour and that is working well. Blest be the tie that binds.
The evening service was fine too. I started a little extra five minute bit in the evening meeting using the Grace Baptist Assembly guide (A is for abortion). We looked, helpfully I hope, at what the unforgivable sin is. People didn't want to go home at the end.

Henry Box Brown

I was not familiar with the story of Henry Box Brown until I came across it recently. Henry "Box" Brown (c.1816–June 15, 1897) was a 19th-century Virginia slave who escaped to freedom at the age of 33 by arranging to have himself mailed in a wooden crate in 1849 to abolitionists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For a short time he became a noted abolitionist speaker in the northeast US. As a public figure and fugitive slave, he felt endangered by passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which increased pressure to capture escaped slaves. He moved to England and lived there for 25 years, touring with an anti-slavery panorama, becoming a magician and showman. He married and started a family with an English woman, Jane Floyd. She was his second wife; his first wife, Nancy, had been sold by their master. Brown returned to the US with his English family in 1875, where he continued to earn a living as an entertainer. He toured and performed as a magician, speaker, and mesmerist until at least 1889. The last decade of his life (1886–1897) was spent in Toronto, where he died in 1897.
Wikipedia describes how he was born into slavery in 1815 or 1816 on a plantation called Hermitage in Louisa County, Virginia. Aged 15 he was sent to work in a tobacco factory in Richmond.
In his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written by Himself, he describes his owner: "Our master was uncommonly kind, (for even a slaveholder may be kind) and as he moved about in his dignity he seemed like a god to us, but notwithstanding his kindness although he knew very well what superstitious notions we formed him, he never made the least attempt to correct our erroneous impression, but rather seemed pleased with the reverential feelings which we entertained towards him."
Brown was married to another slave named Nancy, but their marriage was not recognised legally. They had three children born into slavery under the partus sequitur ventrem principle. Brown was hired out by his master in Richmond, Virginia, and worked in a tobacco factory, renting a house where he and his wife lived with their children. Brown had also been paying his wife's master not to sell his family, but the man betrayed Brown, selling pregnant Nancy and their three children to a different slave owner.
With the help of James C. A. Smith, a free black man and a sympathetic white shoemaker (and likely gambler) named Samuel A. Smith (no relation), Brown devised a plan to have himself shipped in a box to a free state by the Adams Express Company, known for its confidentiality and efficiency. Brown paid $86 (out of his savings of $166) to Samuel Smith. Smith went to Philadelphia to consult with members of Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society on how to accomplish the escape, meeting with minister James Miller McKim, William Still, and Cyrus Burleigh. He corresponded with them to work out the details after returning to Richmond. They advised him to mail the box to the office of Quaker merchant Passmore Williamson, who was active with the Vigilance Committee.
To get out of work the day he was to escape, Brown burned his hand to the bone with oil of vitriol (sulphuric acid). The box that Brown was shipped in was 3 feet long by 2 feet 8 inches deep by 2 feet wide and displayed the words "dry goods" on it. It was lined with baize, a coarse woollen cloth, and he carried only a small portion of water and a few biscuits. There was a single hole cut for air and it was nailed and tied with straps.
Brown later wrote that his uncertain method of travel was worth the risk: "if you have never been deprived of your liberty, as I was, you cannot realise the power of that hope of freedom, which was to me indeed, an anchor to the soul both sure and steadfast."
During the trip, which began on March 29, 1849, Brown's box was transported by wagon, railroad, steamboat, wagon again, railroad, ferry, railroad, and finally delivery wagon, being completed in 27 hours. Despite the instructions on the box of "handle with care" and "this side up," several times carriers placed the box upside-down or handled it roughly. Brown remained still and avoided detection. 
The box was received by Williamson, McKim, William Still, and other members of the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee on March 30, 1849, attesting to the improvements in express delivery services.. When Brown was released, one of the men remembered his first words as "How do you do, gentlemen?" He sang a psalm from the Bible, which he had earlier chosen to celebrate his release into freedom. In addition to celebrating Brown's inventiveness, as noted by Hollis Robbins, "the role of government and private express mail delivery is central to the story and the contemporary record suggests that Brown’s audience celebrated his delivery as a modern postal miracle." The government postal service had dramatically increased communication and, despite southern efforts to control abolitionist literature, mailed pamphlets, letters and other materials reached the South.
"Cheap postage," Frederick Douglass observed in The North Star, had an "immense moral bearing". As long as federal and state governments respected the privacy of the mails, everyone and anyone could mail letters and packages; almost anything could be inside. In short, the power of prepaid postage delighted the increasingly middle-class and commercial-minded North and increasingly worried the slave-holding South."
Brown's escape highlighted the power of the mail system, which used a variety of modes of transportation to connect the East Coast. The Adams Express Company, a private mail service founded in 1840, marketed its confidentiality and efficiency. It was favoured by abolitionist organisations and "promised never to look inside the boxes it carried."

10 Eponymous US Cities

(There are heaps of these)
1. Houston, Texas
(General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had commanded and won at the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles east of where the city was established)
2. Montgomery, Alabama
(General Richard Montgomery, a Revolutionary War officer killed in the attack on Quebec. Extra free trivia - Montgomery is in the county of Montgomery but that is named for Major Lemuel Montgomery, who died in 1814 while fighting the Creek Indians under Andrew Jackson. In a final twist, historians now believe the two Montgomerys may have been distantly related.)
3. Austin, Texas
(Stephen Austin American impresario born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri, known as the "Father of Texas", and the founder of Texas)
4. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
(William Pitt British prime minister and later 1st Earl of Chatham)
5. Columbus, Ohio (Christopher Columbus)
6. Seattle, Washington (Chief Si'ahl of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes)
7. Juneau, Alaska (Joseph Juneau, a gold prospector who reportedly bribed his fellow miners with alcohol or money to vote to name the settlement for him. About a year after the vote was taken, Joe Juneau split town, leaving behind nothing but his name)
8. Fargo, North Dakotaa (William George Fargo, a pioneer American expressman who helped found the modern day financial firms of American Express Company and Wells Fargo with his business partner, Henry Wells)
9. Rochester, New York (Nathaniel Rochester, an American Revolutionary War soldier and land speculator, most noted for founding the settlement)
10. Gary, Indiana (Elbert Henry Gary, an American lawyer, county judge and corporate officer and a key founder of US Steel in 1901, bringing together partners J P Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and Charles M Schwab)

10 US Cities with aboriginal based names

1. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
(derived from Muskogean words tashka (warrior) and lusa (black). Chief Tuskaloosa is remembered for leading a battle against Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto in southern Alabama in 1540)
2. Tucson, Arizona
(from Pima O'odham cuk á¹£on, "black base")
3. Tallahassee, Florida
(from the name of a Creek town, talahá:ssi, perhaps from (i)tálwa, "tribal town" + ahá:ssi, "old, rancid")
4. Chicago, Illinois
(derived from the French rendering of a Miami-Illinois word for a type of wild onion)
5. Topeka, Kansas
(from Kansa dóppikʔe, "a good place to dig wild potatoes")
6. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
(from an Algonquian word Millioke, meaning "Good", "Beautiful" and "Pleasant Land" or "Gathering place [by the water]")
6. Saginaw, Michigan (and Missouri)
(from an Ojibwa (Chippewa) word meaning “land of the Sauks”)
7. Yazoo City, Mississipi
(from the name of the river and a local tribe on it)
8.Tuxedo, Maryland
(may derive from the Lenape epithet Tùkwsit 'the Wolf Clans' or from Munsee Delaware p'tuck-sepo 'crooked river')
9. Montauk, New York
(from the Montaukett tribe, an Algonquian-speaking tribe who lived in the area)
10. Wyoming, Nebraska
(Derived from a corrupted Delaware word meaning "large plains" or "extensive meadows.")

Midweek Meeting Wednesday February 1 2017

We were 11 again last Wednesday, back to some sort of normality. I spent the day preparing and by the time of the meeting I was really excited. We started on the Book of Leviticus. It is one of the few books I have not preached on in my time here and I am sorry in someways that I have not started on it sooner. There is nothing to compare with getting into a new book and preaching it especially when you have help from people like Philp Eveson, John Currid and Gordon Wenham, something that would not have been the case when I began as a pastor. So it was the matter of the burnt offering and how it points to Christ followed by questions and our usual time of prayer. There seem to be many encouragements at the present besides the usual discouragements.
Here's a thing - it happens sometimes that you learn something as you preach. In my notes I had written about putting your hands on the animal. Actually the text only mentions one hand. It struck me at the time that you probably needed the other hand to steady the animal. I notice that the Talmud speaks of two hands between the horns.(Both hands are to be used with the scapegoat).

No hang ups

This is such a great song. A pity there's not a better live recording.

Gloves Z Zombie

See! (I know)

Gloves Y Yes No mittens

We are struggling at this point I admit but we'll make it

La La Land


We went to see the famous La La Land this week. My wife was talking about this film well before all the hype and the Oscar nominations. I went only because of all the talk about it. One of my sons came too.
I was a little sceptical knowing it is a romantic musical but it kept my attention and made me think and I enjoyed the score (chiefly jazz). I don't ask much more of a film than that to be honest. As to why this is such a successful film I have no real idea. The dancing and the singing are okay no more, the acting fine. The story is fairly predictable in some ways but with a post-modern twist. It helps you to think through again this whole matter of talent and desires and celebrity and God's providence. It's nice to be an old person watching it rather than a young one still wondering quite how it is all going to pan out. Not that I don't struggle still with the whole matter of using one's gifts and the temptation to simply do what is popular. At least the opening question of the Shorter Catechism (What is man's chief end?) and its wonderful answer (To glorify him and enjoy him forever) gives us all a head start on that one.
The film is a 12A because one of the main characters swears a bit. he film would be better without the irrelevant swearing. One fears that film makers don't like a U certificate because people will think it is just for kids.
The film was good but we all thought one of the highlights was when a little group wandered into the cinema and sat down only to realise they were in front of the wrong screen. Poor show on the part of Vue Cinemas.

Gloves X X-ray Protection Gloves


Gloves W Water Gloves


Jan Akkerman's biggest fans

You'll need to double click to see this but it is an advert for t-shirts on the official Jan Akkerman website. It says t-shirts are available in various sizes but the xxxl have all sold out. Given that most Akkerman fans are over 50 in age if not waist size that comes as no surprise and made me chuckle.

Lord's Day January 29 2017

Last Lord's Day was very encouraging, chiefly because we had good numbers including people who have come before returning and people who I know were up late the night before but still made the effort to be there in the morning. I was also encouraged by the response to an English conversation class I have arranged to start this week. One problem we currently have is a number of people coming whose English is not really quite good enough to get as much from the sermons as I would wish.
I preached from Galatians 5 in the morning and Matthew 12 in the evening, carrying on with our series. I am rather sceptical about modern day demon possession so people wanted to talk about that. the fact Satan is bound and can deceive the nations no longer is a favourite theme with me but some would not have heard me on it.