“There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
Man puts an end to the darkness;
he searches the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.
Far from where people dwell he cuts a shaft,
in places forgotten by the foot of man;
far from men he dangles and sways.
The earth, from which food comes,
is transformed below as by fire;
sapphires come from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold.
If you're anything like me, you may not have got very far with your Christmas card buying and writing this year. But don't despair!
Our Friday offer this week may be just be the spur you need. Pick up packs of 6 Christmas cards for just ÂŁ2 (usual price ÂŁ2.50).
Simply tap in the code cards at the checkout and enjoy sending a message of good news this Christmas.
Offer expires 03/12/12
So you’ve been asked to give a book review. A 5-minute slot in the service is yours. The task before you is to enthuse, encourage and inspire the congregation to get stuck into some reading that will help in their walk with the Lord. But what to say? Here are our top tips on how to review a book.
1. What’s it called and who’s it by?
It may seem obvious but I’ve sat through incredibly enthusiastic reviews of books whose titles never gets mentioned! So make sure both the name of the book and author are clear. After all, we want people to remember what they’re being encouraged to read. It’s a good idea to try to have an image of the cover up on screen when you’re speaking too.... continue reading
7 Egyptian Christians, Florida pastor sentenced to death for anti-Islam film
Two and a Half Men star urges viewers to stop watching sitcom's 'filth'
Gay marriage could be approved within weeks
Church of England urged urgently to revive female bishops plan
Disclaimer: The Good Book Company is not responsible for the content of external sites and does not necessarily agree with the content of articles listed.
It's still only November, I know. But it's hard to find a date when we're all free. So yesterday, the wonderful people at Christianity Explored Ministries came down to join the Good Book Company team for our Christmas lunch. And we thought you might like a peak at our time together.
There were smiles
... continue reading
Still buzzing from a great day at the Growing Young Disciples conference in central London. I especially enjoyed running a workshop on Making Crafts Work for those who run childrens' groups and Sunday Schools. Here's a few key points that I became more convinced of during my preparation:
Crafts have to work practicallyThe need to be:
There are 2 things that everyone engaged in biblical pastoral care needs:
The first is a Bible. No surprises there. It’s God’s living and active word (Hebrews 4:12) that transforms us by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2). It’s pretty hard to be biblical without a Bible and any pastoral care that ignores the Bible runs a high risk of being little more than well-meant common wisdom.
The second is less well known. It is my contention and humble assertion that anyone involved in pastoral work needs a hippo. Not necessarily a real one - that could be cumbersome - but a small, unobtrusive toy or model hippo has value beyond measure.
Just in case the significance of a hippo isn’t immediately obvious, please allow me to explain.... continue reading
English people want Christianity taught in schools; and Christianity isn’t being taught well in schools, according to recently-published research.
58% of those asked said it is important for children to know about the history of Christianity. 56% want them to be taught about major Christian festivals; 51% about how Christianity distinguishes right from wrong. And the academic leading the project, Dr Nigel Fancourt of Oxford University, said lessons often lacked “intellectual development” and were not always “challenging and vibrant”.
So far, so encouraging. But dig a little deeper, and it’s not quite what it seems.... continue reading
Recently seen on the front of a Bible. And we thought it worth passing on ...
If you want to:
...Please keep me firmly and permanently closed.
