Most people would opt for a conflict-free world. Where everyone got on together, no disagreements. Perhaps like the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve at the forbidden fruit.

In The Cornish Vicar's Daughter, Janet tells Peter (Chapter 3, p.39) "... having a bit of a punch-up can be good; it shows we care for each other and when we make up our firendship is stringer."  Conflict!  He gets a similar lesson from Charlene (Chapter 17 p.361) "...he (God) knew the pain we both felt and sometimes, the only way to do this is with a fight first." Conflict again!

Beautiful truths, beautiful pictures, beautiful music!

Just about everyone knows the story of the serpent tricking Eve into eating an apple. Here's a sermon that puts the story into a context. Eve's foolishness, the terrible consequences and God's rescue plan for his wayward creation!

God's Not Dead remains my favourite and most inspirational film. Filled with good teaching presented as part of an emotion-filled story, here are two pieces of music which continue to lift me up every time.

What I know

Tricia Brock

Background music when a teenager tells her Muslim father that she's a Christian. And gets slapped up and thrown out of the family home.

• ... righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
• ... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
• a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

If you want to learn about ( or be reminded of ) what Easter really means, listen to this sermon!

• Two stories with different endings. One who believes in the Easter miracle, the other who doesn't.
• Resurrection - the Easter glorious reality.
• The clues to the truthfulness of the Resurrection.
• The Resurrection changes everything.
• The Resurrection is the foundation of the Gospel - freedom from Sin and Death.
• What is the way on from the empty tomb?
• Two principles of discipleship: Trust and Tell.

Many people know the message of Easter. But it's a message they don't want to know!  Simon Manchester explains why this attitude doesn't make any sense...

Here is my transcript of this excellent message...

Life turned upside down quickly. I wish someone had said to me, You are holding onto meaningless things, and you are believing in yourself for the wrong reasons. Stop judging your life by your achievements or “blessings,” whether material or relational or reputational, because none of them will last. What you now consider blessings will be taken away, and when they are, you will discover that being blessed is deeper and more lasting than you can imagine.

There is no way I could have prepared my thirty-year-old self for what lay ahead. How does one prepare for the unknown? I’m glad I didn’t know what was coming, but I wish I had known that while God was taking away my earthly treasures, he was giving me something that could never be taken away — he was giving me himself.

I wish I had known that trusting God would never be a mistake and that he would use every ounce of my pain for my good and his glory. And I wish I had known that life in Christ would continue to get better, because Jesus always saves the best wine for the end.

Can My Mother See Me From Heaven?