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Here in this piece of art Manna was responding to the mood of the church and the worship of the moment as she put together this painting. The interesting thing is that she painted it with a feather in her hand. And her eye and her heart tuned in to worship. I’ve entitled this painting “Too Close for Comfort” not sure what the artist will think of my presumption in naming the painting. However it speaks to me of the God who comes closer to us than we can imagine. Sometimes it is an uncomfortable feeling like lips being burned with the coal from the alter, or depending on your next meal to arrive with ravens. Yes God can be found in the ordinary but too often the ordinary is too difficult for us to trust or even understand.

Finding God in the ordinary! This is the theme we will be exploring through Sanctuary First this month. Please pray for the work of Sanctuary First. We’ve lost our funding and had to make a member of staff redundant, however we’re looking for ways in which we can keep the programme running. In order to [...]

Here I am it’s 1.45am in the morning and I’m taking part in the 24 hour prayer vigil here in the church. Already we’ve had a constant stream of people coming to pray. Some people might think it strange that people want to pray yet the truth is that more people pray than ever go [...]

Christmas means… God has not forgotten us We are not on our own “God is with us” He holds time and eternity in one hand And ours in the other Christmas means… God is in conversation with us He has spoken a Word A huge Word An all-encompassing Word A Word that makes all other [...]

Well who would have thought my 598th post to this blog would be a huge thank you to all who have taken time to send congratulations with reference to my nomination to be Moderator Designate of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Thank you all for your prayerful support. It is greatly appreciated [...]

Its revealing because in this speech Jobs speaks of the importance of following your dreams, of not being afraid of losing material things, because it all has to be left behind one day. For Jobs although he doesn’t credit his source, the biblical truths of faith hope and love permeate his address. You see in the end you have to leave your ibook behind. The book that changed the world is still speaking to a new generation.

This afternoon, I had the privilege of attending Jolyon Mitchell’s Inaugural Lecture, marking his appointment as Professor of Communications, Arts and Religion in New College Edinburgh. Jolyon has been given a well earned honour by Edinburgh University. He has worked tirelessly to bring academic credibility to his subject and has sought to inspire theologians and [...]

One of the issues that is facing the church today is how we can be more relevant. Too often the church is viewed a a museum rather than a movement. The “Church Without Walls Report “ continues to be an important piece of literature to give the church direction as many of us try to [...]

I believe the powers that be in Philadelphia are not too pleased, to say the least, that Brad Pitt’s potential blockbuster, “World War Z is being filmed here in Scotland. So why did he not use Philadelphia? Well from what I can read it would appear that the City of Philadelphia dithered when it came [...]

I can never forget the picture that I saw on a Mega Church wall on one of my visits to the United States. It simply read ” You Build It : They Will Come.” Underneath was a picture of Noah waiting for the animals to arrive. It has stayed in my mind because I fear [...]