Christingle Service 2020

Luke 2.22-40 On 12 February 1809 a baby boy was born in a one-room log cabin with a dirt floor on a farm in Kentucky.  He grew up to be a man of rugged determination.  And although he had less than a year of formal education, he succeeded in becoming a lawyer.  However he really wanted to make…

Galatians 2:1-14 I heard a story of three ministers who went on a fishing trip together.  They rowed out to the middle of the lake, and the United Reformed Church Minister realised he’d forgotten his fishing line, hopped out of the boat and walked across the water to get it, and back again.  Then the…

Ezekiel 1:1, 4-10, 22-28a Revelation 4:1:1-11 Tonight isn’t about literal truth, or about logic or proof, but about visions. Ezekiel said, “I was among the exiles by the River Chebar; the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God”. In Revelation we read, “after this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood…

1 Kings 19:1-15a Galatians 3:23-29 Luke 8:26-39 I wonder if you’ve ever read or seen the film of The Lord of the Rings?  A friend of mine had never read the book and was taken by his wife to see the first film, and came away saying it had a funny ending, not knowing that…

Any decent decorator will tell you that 90% of the work is the preparation, and actually putting the coat of paint on is but the culmination of all the work. It’s the preparation that matters. Looking at it from a very different angle, the idea for the Basingstoke Canal began as an economical means of…

John 1:1-14 Have you got all your Christmas shopping done?  I discovered this year that the good news for really lazy husbands, who can’t even be bothered to wrap a present, is an online ‘gift service’ which has perfected an authentic Neanderthal wrapping service.  For an extra £3.95 you can select a wrapping option called…