This is our week of prayer and fasting at Freedom Church. As I started to think about the coming week, and when I could make the various prayer slots, I believe God clearly reminded me of how He walks with us...

It was a temptation too good to resist for preachers all over the world to preach their 'Vision Message' at the beginning of the year, referring to the year 2020, and implying good vision. Not that this is...

Growing up, I only half-heartedly committed to New Year's resolutions. They were mainly based on ‘shoulds’, made up on the spot when called into question. However, entering adulthood and ‘settling’ has led me...

Why Simply Church? In a nutshell, what has led you to this point? I am passionate about the local church. When it works right it is the place where people can encounter God, grow strong in their faith and be...

One of the questions people tend to ask each other at this time of year, as a bit of festive smalltalk, is the classic “Are you ready for Christmas?”. I remember one Christmas when friends of ours had been...

I wonder how you are feeling in anticipation of the Election this Thursday? Are you feeling like this is an opportunity for a better future or possibly you’ve lost all hope in the process all together? Are...

I wonder how it felt for Mary and Joseph as they arrived into Bethlehem. Perhaps the streets were heaving with people. Dust flying everywhere as people hurried around. I wonder if Mary’s anxiety rose each...

As I write, it has just been remembrance Sunday and Remembrance Day (11 November) which means the sacrifice of so many has been remembered and appreciated in parades and services throughout the...

I have really enjoyed our teaching series on prayer, and it has been great to spend time focusing on fasting and praying this last week. I could not get to the early prayer meeting every morning but enjoyed...

Wrinkled with burdens? Come to Jesus for a faith lift...I’ve always been a fan of the 'cheesy' when it comes to Christian sayings! In 2004 when my daughter was six, we both became Christians. It was a...

We have been studying prayer as a church and the course we are doing together is based on what is commonly known as 'The Lord's Prayer'. Although this is the name we use for the prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13...

The song ’Still’ by Amanda Cook was recently shared with me. As I listened to the lyrics whilst pushchair-pacing the streets of Romsey I couldn’t help but notice the irony. There I was unable to do anything...

About a month ago at church, I was trying to connect with God, while simultaneously making sure my boys didn’t push over one of the prayer banners – in this moment, God spoke to me. I had looked up and saw a...

The concept of Speaking in Tongues seems to have been flying low under the Christian radar for a number of years. It was fifty years ago that the UK experienced a season of ‘charismatic renewal’. This saw the...

For many years, my wife Judith and I have been in the habit of praying together every morning. We pray for each other, for our children, for others that we know and sometimes also for wider issues. We don't...

One of my daughter’s favourite bible stories is the story of the Widow and the Oil, from 2 Kings 4. The story goes that there’s a woman, whose husband has died, she’s left with his debt and two sons to care...

I was lucky enough to grow up in a church which was expanding and where there were many people investing in the young people. My relationship with God was very good. When I needed comfort, I prayed, and he...

After what feels like the longest summer for some, and a mere couple of days for others, September is upon us…and the much awaited arrival of the autumn. In celebration of the darker evenings, the...

Kynance Cove is often tipped to be the most picturesque beach in the whole of Cornwall, famous for its white sand, turquoise sea and jagged rock stacks. And I was pumped about going there.  So we...

A while ago the Red Dwarf comedy series was a popular viewing in our house. The writers had some amazingly original ideas and one that lodged in my memory was the concept of the justice zone. In...

Rick Warren, the writer of Purpose Driven Life and the master of the well crafted sentence, famously says that “To avoid burnout you should Divert Daily, Withdraw Weekly and Abandon Annually” In a...