Grace – makes beauty out of ugly things

Grace – makes beauty out of ugly things

Life’s not fair! How often have you heard that? If you’ve ever had children, I’m sure you’re familiar with the cry, ‘That’s so unfair!’, usually when you’re trying to exercise some robust parental control. And often we answer in response, ‘Well, life’s not fair so...
Grace – makes beauty out of ugly things

A Jesus Jihad

My host turned to me with a grin and said:  “I would like to introduce you to Jihad”.   Here I was in the heart of the middle east being introduced to global terrorism’s choice word for Holy War. He clearly knew he was provoking a reaction in an innocent westerner...
Grace – makes beauty out of ugly things

Family values

What a Sunday! What a joy it was to witness the baptisms of two young people as they publicly affirmed their faith in Jesus last week. This commitment was, of course, the fruit of years of investment by each family and a testimony to the faithful ministry of children...
Grace – makes beauty out of ugly things

And the heavens opened

The south side of Glasgow is the talk of the steamie, more specifically the deluge of rain which fell over Hampden Park on Tuesday night was a hot topic of conversation. The heavens opened and 15mm of rain fell in one hour, or to put it another way, 6 days’ worth of...
Grace – makes beauty out of ugly things

Taking the plunge!

Last Sunday I was not at QPBC but was with the rest of my family to see my niece being baptised. It was great to see her, and six other people, take this next step in their discipleship journey. Here at QPBC, we are also planning a service of baptism on 25 June. If...
Grace – makes beauty out of ugly things

What lies beneath?

“Abbatars” they called them, and they were impressive. Abba Voyage is London’s great musical night out and last week we had the joy of seeing the show. By means of much jiggery-pokery and digital magic the septuagenarian super troopers Bjorn, Benny, Frida and Agnetha...
Pentecost Sunday

Pentecost Sunday

This Sunday (28th May) is the seventh Sunday after Easter – yes, the year is flying by, but more importantly, it means it is Pentecost Sunday and an opportunity to remember, celebrate, re-immerse ourselves in the story of the giving of the Spirit at Pentecost as told...
The End of the World is Nigh

The End of the World is Nigh

The end of the world is nigh, and it’s not just the men with clapper boards on high streets that are saying so.  Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, gave humanity a 50/50 chance of surviving the 21st century in his aptly entitled book “Our Final Century”. Meanwhile,...
The End of the World is Nigh

The Challenge of Endurance

What image does the word ‘endurance’ conjure up for you? ‘Endurance’ was the name of the ship that took Ernest Shackleton and his crew to Antarctica. The ship, however, got stuck in the ice. Sealed in and unable to move, the ship sank on 21 November 1915. It was...