Posts from July 2017

In the last couple of weeks I have been thinking about IBY Limitless – the youth group on Thursday nights. It’s a great group to be a part of, full of fun and energy, and the “kids” (who are mostly taller than me!) are enthusiastic and pretty much up for anything. We generally joke around playing some silly games for an hour and then have a shorter chat or “God slot” before supper. Last term we were telling “seed stories”…

I really enjoyed the service on Sunday about Waiting and it really resonated with me and the stage of my life that I have been in. I have been waiting for an opportunity to do more and not really knowing what that looks like, a job, more study, carrying on volunteering. I have been applying for jobs, relieving, filling in for Andrea while she’s been away and doing voluntary work. I have also been patiently waiting on the Lord. I…

I recently read a story in the Guardian about the Yazidi people. The Yazidis live on the edge of Iraq, and have been a target for ISIS because their brand of Islam isn’t pure enough. The story in the Guardian, like many of the recent stories from this area, is bleak and horrific. ISIS take over a village, kill the men, and sell the women into slavery. The story follows the life of one woman, Nour, as she is sold…

Last semester I battled my way through a paper on the Pentateuch. Last week I had the opportunity to preach about Saul and David from 1 Samuel 17: 55 – 19: 24. It has been an opportunity for me to wrestle with parts of the bible I find really tricky to know what to do with. God seems mean and violent and many, many people (who are God’s image bearers) die as the Jewish nation is formed and founded as…