Merry Christmas There has been discussion on Twitter about the best carol for Christmas 2020. Whilst there have been plenty of punning answers, which I will not distract you with, OK, maybe one ... The first vaccine, oh Fauci did say was to certain poor people in homes where they layIn homes where they stay …
Category: God
What does Jesus have against goats? – Matthew in Advent day 21
While shepherds watch'd their flocks by night,All seated on the ground,The angel of the Lord came down,And glory shone around. In the pasture lands of the western Mediterranean, flocks are often either sheep or goats. In the east, where land is more scrubby, herds would have been mixed, goats can graze harder ground. Next time …
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Animal husbandry for beginners – Matthew in Advent day 20
Nearly all the meat you eat is male. My great-grandfather was an agricultural worker in North Yorkshire, between Malton and Pickering, near to where the Flamingoland theme park now stands. He moved to West Yorkshire to become a farm owner, running a dairy farm on Hartshead moor. That farm is no longer in the family …
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Is this capitalism? – Matthew in Advent day 19
Last Saturday (it will be linked at the end of this post) I wrote of the traditional interpretation and why I have always felt wary of it, because the traditional reading takes takes the Greek talenta, a large sum of money, translated traditionally as talent but in the NIV as bag of gold, and makes …
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Love
Holy Trinity Church, HuddersfieldSunday 20th December 2020 It was like watching a scene from the transporter room in Star Trek. At the end of the sermon retired vicar John became Vicar Mike, similar jumper and shirt colours added to the effect. It was the fade they used in editing, one merging fairly quickly into the …
Use what you are given? – Matthew in Advent day 18
"You know sometimes words have two meanings," wrote Robert Plant in Led Zeppelin's Stairway to heaven, and it is true. Several passages in the Old Testament have an immediate meaning to the people at the time and then a further Messianic meaning, fulfilled in Jesus Christ. As Christmas is almost upon us I will take …
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Are you ready? – Matthew in Advent day 17
In just one week it will be Christmas, are you ready? Have you bought and wrapped the presents, bought all the non perishable food so the last week is as smooth as possible? Or are you a stereotypical man? Men, rumour has it, though I have not met one who admits to it, start their …
The sensible servant – Matthew in Advent day 16
Time for an perspective shift. Matthew chapter 24 is not about Jesus returning in this generation or any other one. It never has been and never will be. As we come to the end of the chapter we can look back on it, and look at how it goes. It stated with a warning not …
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The beginning of the end – Matthew in Advent day 15
This is so like God. Before a season of blessing comes a season of waiting. It has been so ever since creation. In the first three days God separated light from darkness, separated the sky from the sea and made the dry land appear. In the second set of three God populated the light and …
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The fig tree – Matthew in Advent day 14
Some years ago I heard a talk by a Christian which turned out to be an hour long advert for a scheme he was involved in which comprised finding Jewish people living in Russia and paying them to emigrate to Israel. Which seemed like a very strange thing for a Christian based in the UK …
Making an ass of myself 