London (and elsewhere around the UK) is still filled with events relating to the Cultural Olympiad - an arts festival that runs alongside the other sporting activities, which are now just starting to be a fading memory.
I travelled up to London to catch the festival atmosphere in the sunshine over the weekend, but very quickly became entranced with an artistic installation in the South Bank Centre* called aMAZEme. Essentially, it is a maze built out of 250,000 books that you can wander round and explore.
The maze in itself is not hard to navigate. But what really interests are the books themselves. They lie open on the walls, and you can pick up, browse and read. I recognised many books I have read myself. Some with intriguing titles. Some I wanted to buy. Others that I couldn't believe a publisher would put their money behind.... continue reading
It was great to welcome many people to our open day on Saturday!
It was lovely to meet you:
To help equip you for ministry through our range of seminars:
To chat to you about how we can support you in your local church:
And, of course, to offer you some great deals:
Our open day offers are still live on the website until the end of the day for UK customers. So do grab a bargain today!
Germany’s banning of child circumcision should alarm Christians in the UK.
Not because we want to get our children circumcised for religious reasons. But because of the thinking behind the decision.
The judgment by the court in Cologne said: "The child's body is permanently and irreparably changed by the circumcision. This change conflicts with the child's interest of later being able to make his own decision on his religious affiliation."
So, a western, mainstream, democratic country (56% of German citizens agree with the ruling, according to a poll) has decided that a parent may not do anything, for religious reasons, which cause an irreversible physical change.... continue reading
We're looking forward to seeing many of you at our open day tomorrow for bargains, burgers and some great seminars!
It's not too late to book in for one of our training sessions. So please do click through and secure your place.
And just to whet your appetite, here's the video of our last open day ... enjoy!
After 45 years of searching, some of the world's top physicists think they may have done it. They think they may have discovered the Higgs Boson particle - or something very like it.
Such a discovery, in one field of physics from a lab in Switzerland, would probably pass most of us by if it weren't for this little boson's nickname. The Higgs Boson is more commonly known as the "God particle". And that gets people twitchy. It creates the impression that scientists are on their way to disproving God.
If you have studied a lot of physics, then you may understand your photons from your bosons and your leptons from your quarks. And you might be able to understand with ease what such things tell us about our universe. But for those of us who struggle with physics and want a little assistance when it comes to engaging with our non-Christian friends on this subject, here are some helpful words from the Gospel Coalition:
They also link to this interesting video.
Today, Americans will be celebrating the Declaration of Independence. A holiday to focus on freedom, sacrifice and acting on convictions. Good values for a country. A great reminder of the gospel.
Freedom - “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)
True freedom is rooted in Christ. Without it there’s nothing but despair. The freedom He gives is the highest freedom, freedom to delight in His mercy and grace.... continue reading
Derek Jacobi, the Oscar-winning actor, has spoken of feeling “conned and embarrassed” when he was taken to a Billy Graham rally as a young man.
That’s how he describes the moment when, having gone to the front to “give my life to Jesus”, the American evangelist stopped talking: “It was like the choir stopped singing”.
What an evocative description of a faith-response which depends on a man, rather than on the man. “The choir stopped singing”.... continue reading
Following the success of our last open day, we're flinging wide the doors of the company once again this summer!
It would be great if you could join us in Epsom, Surrey on July 14th for a look around our premises and a chance to snap up some great bargains. Plus, this time, we're offering 4 great seminars:
10:30am-11:30am
Supporting someone with depression in the local church - Alison Mitchell
Running an all-age family service - Helen Thorne
12:30pm-13:30pm
Leading homegroups - Tim Thornborough
Growing disciples in the local church - Barry Cooper
There's no charge for these seminars but as we have limited space we're asking people to book in advance, so please click here to reserve your place.
We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!
What’s today’s most popular news story on the BBC website? That David Cameron’s daughter, Nancy, was accidently left behind in a pub after a family lunch.
It turns out that David went home in one car, with his bodyguards, while Samantha was in another with the other children. Dave thought their daughter was with Sam. Sam thought she was with Dave.
The mistake was discovered when they got home, at which point a quick phone call established that Nancy was still at the pub, and Dad dashed back to collect her. The readers’ comments left on the website are a mix of “it could happen to anyone – no harm done” and “this is totally shocking – how dare the Prime Minister lecture us about family values when he loses his own daughter”.... continue reading
And another small person has recently arrived in the Good Book family! Congratulations to our graphic designer, Andre Parker and his wife on the arrival of their fourth child - baby Jacob.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
