the strange silence of Saturday

Posted on April 11, 2020April 10, 2020 by Chard Baptist Church

[musings from the manse – 11th April 2020] What do we do about that strange day stuck between Good Friday and Easter Sunday? We’re not even all that sure what to call it. It’s not Easter Saturday because Easter doesn’t happen until the next day. I suppose Easter Eve is appropriate, but that makes it sounds a bit Christmassy. Holy Saturday makes it sounds all very … well, very holy. When actually it is a day that we don’t really know what to do with. Do we just treat it like we do any oth...

A quote for Good Friday

Posted on April 10, 2020 by Chard Baptist Church

[Musings from the manse – 10th April 2020] ‘When you reflect upon Jesus Christ hanging upon the cross of shame, you understand the depth and weight of human sin. How do you measure the size of a fire? By the number of firefighters and fire engines sent to fight against it. How do you measure the seriousness of a medical condition? By the amount of risk the doctors take in prescribing dangerous antibiotics or surgical procedures. How do we measure the gravity of sin and the incomparable vastness...

slowing down and taking notice

Posted on April 4, 2020April 4, 2020 by Chard Baptist Church

[Musings from the manse – 4th April 2020] One of the reasonable excuses for leaving home, unless you have been told to shield, is for exercise once a day. This means we can go for a walk and enjoy the emerging signs of spring that are coming in nature. It can be quite tempting to rush our exercise, trying to get as much out of our “out of the house” experience as possible, but maybe we should just slow down a little bit and look around us. Out on a walk the other day, we paused for a mome...

loving one another in a time of isolation

Posted on March 31, 2020March 31, 2020 by Chard Baptist Church

musings from the manse – 31st March 2020 Jesus says this in John 13:34-35: A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. So how do we do this in a time of isolation? Well, I think it can work in three areas: home This is where most of us are spending most of our time at the moment, either on our own or with a small number of people. How do we love one another in the ...