God’s Paint Box

When I see a rainbow halo around the setting moon I like to think that God is playing with His paint box drawing circles of colours to delight His creation Like when I see long streaks of cloud on a sunny day He is finger painting across the sky When sun sets through cloud all…

Prosperity preaching – why it’s wrong

The idea of so-called prosperity preaching within the Christian Church is not as new as you might imagine. It started to creep into church teaching in the USA as far back as late nineteenth to early twentieth century. The basic idea is as follows: God will bless those who have faith in a material way,…

Need

You grow up learning how wrong it is to shout and yell and scream Only children have tantrums Adults don’t cry Grow up! Behave! Act your age!   Swallow it down Swallow it down You must be decorous, quiet and appropriate Your cries echo only around the inside of your skull You wail silently in…

Consider this

When you stand at the foot of the cross Consider this An innocent man is convicted And tortured to death He wasn’t the first And won’t be the last His execution is political Protecting the status quo Because fulfilment of prophecy Gets people excited And it’s all nonsense, right? Nobody really works miracles No matter…

The origins of Easter

It’s that time of the year when shops are selling chocolate eggs, bunnies, and various other chocolate animals. (You can get an Easter Bilby in Australia.) Churches hold special services, and nominal church goers make one of their twice-yearly visits. At this time also, the internet gremlins come out to shout that Easter is a…

The dilemma of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who opposed Nazism before and during the second world war. He spoke out against the treatment of Jews and was very concerned about the influence of Nazism on the German church, leading to what was known as the Deutsche Christen church. Opposition to Nazi infiltration of German churches led…

My warrior

Backed into a corner with no way out On your knees and in despair He comes Not like a movie hero Wearing cool clothes and cracking one-liners Not in a blaze of magic or a hail of bullets None of that nonsense But still, He comes And before you know it You’re walking out of…

A Shepherd’s Tale

A cold night Winter’s coming And it will soon be time to move indoors But for now, build up the fire Huddle in cloaks Almost hoping for a wolf among the flock Some kind of action To keep warm   Bethlehem’s fires can be seen in the distance Dream for a moment of wealthy homes…

A Christmas Feast

The Christmas feast is ready The table groans with abundance The turkey smells like heaven With lashings of gravy and stuffing Roasted vegetables piled high Plum pudding flames To oohs and ahs of delight Crackers pop, paper hats adorn happy heads Raise your glasses to a merry Christmas   While outside, noses press to the…

The Gift

Wise men saw a star in the east And went looking for a king A shot in the dark A journey of faith Wise men found a child And knew him for the lord of all But they did not know That their gifts could not match his   His gift was shiny like gold…