Inspiration for today's world

Our  noticeboards at church are a very timely reminder to us all that Jesus, through His body, the Church, invites us to come to Him for every reason in our lives.

We can come to Him in times of Joy and Sorrow, Loneliness and Friendship, Ill health and Health, Abundance and Lack, and, of course, just about anything at all. Jesus, when he came as a baby to earth, grew to be the human embodiment of God himself, and understands very well the creation that He Himself made. Every human is vitally important to God's Kingdom here on earth and we can help God to make this earth a most wonderful place for everyone, even those who either shun Him, or do not yet know who He is.

Perhaps it is time for you to come and see what this wonderful man Jesus is all about. 

Good people don’t always make others good, and careful people rarely make others provident; but happy people have the gift of making others happy, and miserable people are a pain. So, as you budget your time and your money, as you order your days, leave breathing room for laughter and do at least some things for the sheer joy they bring..

New Testament scholar Paula Gooder talks to Catherine Larner about the importance of good theology, encouraging women and her latest book on a key figure in the early church

Paula is also keen that we question what we believe we have understood in our faith.

“I think one of the key Christian disciplines is curiosity. Asking questions. As soon as you think you know something to be incontrovertibly true, ask yourself why you know that, what evidence do you have for that?

“I think part of the problem is that as soon as you know a story really well, you don’t read it in depth any more,” she says and calls us to return to the text and read it again carefully. “Take up different translations, for example, or read a cross-reference Bible. There are a vast amount of riches we miss simply because we aren’t familiar with the Old Testament. If you read the passages slowly and look up the Old Testament references, then the Bible comes alive as never before.

“We are called to learn, to ask questions and to follow, and it is really important that we do.”

 some  poll results

Here are some interesting facts to consider for the church, taken from varying Poll results

99% of people over 55 talk to their neighbours

84% of us won't complain in a restaurant after a bad meal

4% of the population drink a third of the alcohol sold

the average Britain buys 26.7kg of clothing per year, the highest figure in Europe

40% feel immigrants have undermined British culture but...

53% of Asians say they feel they have had to tone down their identity in order to fit in

70% want a reduction in immigration but most not willing to do the jobs that the majority of low paid immigrants do

61% of 16-25s regularly feel stressed mainly due to debt, but don't realise two thirds of those in their 20s and 30s are set to inherit the largest inheritance boom of any generation

51% of us pray. 49% believe that God answers our prayers.

Some food for thought there