My friend and this week’s ‘guest presenter’ Allan Taylor muses on Irene, a character in one of Alan Bennett’s plays, and the need to accept difficult people.
A Second Conversion: Jacob’s Wrestling Match At Peniel
When I was growing up, my grandmother lived with us. The only time she watched anything that could loosely be called sport was on a Saturday afternoon at 4 pm. That was when ITV’s World Of Sport showed wrestling. Never mind the fact that the bouts were blatantly staged and fixed, Nanna (and Mum) used to enjoy shouting at Mick McManus and Jackie Pallo when they got up to their devious tricks.
Jacob’s wrestling bout with the mysterious stranger at Peniel in Genesis 32:22-32 is very different. This isn’t cheap entertainment. This is a new revelation of God to Jacob, every bit as significant as the encounter he had at Bethel with the dream of the staircase to heaven.
Here are my thoughts on the passage.
Jacob’s Marriage and Laban’s Deception – A Bigger God Story
This week’s reflection seeks to get beyond the ‘Jacob got a dose of his own medicine’ and ‘romantic love story’ tropes to seeing Genesis 29:14b-28 in the perspective of God’s Big Story. When we do that, we find a lot of Gospel here.
Jacob at Bethel: Finding God In Unexpected Places
This week we continue the story of God making a people of blessing through imperfect people. In this week’s episode, Jacob meets God in an unexpected place. The reading is Genesis 28:10-22.
How can god be in charge when … ?
This week, I explore Genesis 25:19-34 which tells the story of Isaac and Rebekah’s long wait for children. Then, when Esau and Jacob arrive, they prove in their characters to be great disappointments. How can we believe that God is in charge of our lives when things like this happen?
Some Reflections on Marriage and Relationship from the Story of Isaac Meeting Rebekah
I forgot to schedule this post for this morning – oh dear.
Anyway, here are this week’s devotional thoughts, based on Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67. As I say in the video, I hope these observations help you whether you are in a relationship, waiting for one, or coping with the end of one.
And this week, it’s filmed for the first time on my new Nikon Z 6 camera. It was recorded in 4K, but that made for a massive file, so I converted it to HD before uploading.
GIVING BACK TO THE GREAT GIVER
This week, I’m tackling the difficult and disturbing story in Genesis 22:1-19 where God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.
Prayers come from Ray Simpson‘s book Celtic Worship Throughout The Year.
Sermon and Prayers: How God’s Grace Heals Our Mess
This week’s reflections are based on Genesis 21:8-21:
Sermon and Prayers: Meeting God the Stranger in Ordinary Life and Finding Hope in Disappointment
Here’s the video with this week’s reflections. I reflect on the story of the three strangers who meet Abraham and Sarah by the oaks of Mamre and renew their faith that God will give them a son (Genesis 18:1-15).
Sermon and Prayers for Trinity Sunday: Difficult Doctrine but Simple Application
The doctrine of the Trinity may be daunting, but really it is about setting some boundaries around our doctrine of God.
And when it comes down to it, the practical applications to our life and faith from it are simple and straightforward.
Here, then, are this week’s video devotions:
Big Circumstance 