I am continuing to reflect on Jesus’ story: the parable of the sower in Matthew chapter 13: Jesus compares the growth of healthy seeds in four different types of soil. The seed is representative of the Gospel: the good news about the kingdom of God. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the seed or the [...]

Filed under: Bible, Christianity, Church, faith, persecution, teaching the Bible, worry by sian
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Where I live in Southern California we try to grow grass in almost desert like conditions. Apart from an occasional attempt to sow wild flowers, my only repeated experience of sowing seeds was scattering grass seed over the soil. We covered the seed with wire netting, we added compost to the soil to make it [...]

Filed under: Bible, Christianity, Church, faith, prayer, the devil by sian
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Lust and love are often confused, to the detriment of many. Teenagers, who start to feel sexual intrigue for the first time, are in particular danger of responding out of lust rather than love. We know from experience that this is not just a teenage problem. Divorce at any age is usually in some way [...]

Filed under: Bible, Christianity, forgiveness, love/lust, marriage, repentance, teenagers, Uncategorized by sian
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Attached to my lap top is a bright red phone. It is a Skype phone which is a very affordable way of calling relatives who live in England. It has now become the least expensive way of keeping in touch with our son, Tom, at the University of Chicago. If we both use Skype neither [...]

Filed under: Bible, Christianity, following God, forgiveness, New Media, prayer, repentance, Student life, teenagers by sian
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I met a woman in a grocery store about a year ago and since then I have received the occasional email from her. I am the sort of person who enjoys meeting new people and I have met some delightful people in interesting places. Essie is one of them. In a recent email she addressed [...]

Filed under: Bible, Children, Christianity, homosexuality, marriage, persecution by sian
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This morning I was asked to deliver a five minute Bible talk at very short notice. I was up for the challenge and while I was preparing the talk, which was a re-hash of my homecoming blog post, I was struck by an exciting thought! The thought related to a more profound meaning of the [...]

Filed under: Bible, Christianity, following God, God's invitation to us, My teenage years, teenagers by sian
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Before I lived in the States, homecoming was an old fashioned word describing a much appreciated return home after a long absence. The word might be written in a Victorian novel and the return, at least in my imagination, would be by horse or in a horse drawn carriage. I was a slow learner and [...]

Filed under: Anglo-USA, Bible, Christianity, Church, Holy Spirit, radical Christian life, teenagers by sian
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My British upbringing included participating in and attending the local village horticultural show. This was a community event which was put on, not with the goal of raising money but instead, to appreciate local gardeners and to perpetuate a delightful village tradition. Any money that was made was pumped back into the following year’s show. [...]

Filed under: Anglo-USA, Bible, Children, Christianity, Church, God's invitation to us, teenagers by sian
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I was under the impression that teenage rebellion was typical of the present but not of the past. It seemed that old, proper grandparents must have always been good and respectful and Victorians, at least the ruling classes, expected children to be “seen and not heard.” It seems that teenage and younger children’s disrespect towards [...]

Filed under: Bible, Children, Christianity, teenagers by sian
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Yesterday evening, there was a celebration concert held at the local movie theater. It was a special conclusion to the “see you at the pole” prayer time at schools that took place early that morning. This event was sponsored by a new church and the focus on challenging the kids to commit their lives to [...]

Filed under: Bible, Christianity, following God, God's invitation to us, radical Christian life, teenagers by sian
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