Christian escapology

Harry Houdini was a magician who specialised in spectacular escapes. No locks or handcuffs could hold him. They did all kinds of things to try and incarcerate him. They could seal him in coffins. He would escape. They riveted him into a boiler. He escaped. They sewed him up in canvas bags. He escaped. They locked him in a milk can. He escaped. They sealed him in a beer barrel. He escaped. They put him in a maximum security prison and he got out.

However in October 1926 Harry Houdini died and he was buried in a grave. While he was still alive he had told his wife, ‘If there is any way out, I’ll find it. If there is any way out, I’ll make contact with you on the anniversary of my death.’ For ten years she kept a light burning over his portrait. At the end of ten years, she turned out the light. Death had Harry, and he couldn’t escape. Thank goodness that in the end any believer in Jesus can do better.

Return of the King on Palm Sunday

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien tells a story in an imaginary world that somehow rings true. In Tolkien’s fantastic universe of humans, hobbits, elves, wizards, dwarves and monsters, a great evil threatens to cover the world in darkness and make every living being its slave. Chaos is the order of the day. Fear rules the hearts of most. Hope is faint. Yet amid the darkness, there are flickers of light in the love, unity and courage of a few heroic characters. One of them is Aragon, who is destined to be king. The trilogy ends with his long-awaited return to the throne and triumphant deliverance of his people. Mark 11:1-10 is one of the Bible passages for Palm Sunday, it tells of Jesus entering Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowd, it is the return of the King: Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a c

Public worship continues during this government national lockdown.

Church worship in my churches, St Pauls, St Lukes and St Mary's in Wallasey, continues each week. If people are able to make it out, you are welcome. Wherever they are are we are praying for them. A church minister's letter, signed by 1,161 English ministers and priests, was sent to the British government saying: "The suspension of church services during the first lockdown was something that we were willing to do, given the unknown nature and scale of the threat we were facing. Yet the costs were high. Our greatest concern was that for four months God was not publicly worshipped in this country. And we have all seen first-hand the deep damage that this caused to many people. Since restarting in July, church has been a vital lifeline to many who have been struggling with loneliness and other negative effects of lockdown." Churches have gone to great lengths to ensure that worship need not be suspended again and put in place thorough COVID-secure measures. As a res

The Power that Perseveres

The dictionary defines hope as looking out for something good; a belief that what we wish for will come. Are you hoping for the positive outcome of your dream, a sickness, or finances? Do you see the desired end result in your mind's eye so vividly that you can almost touch it? What is your hope based on? Were you very excited yesterday when the stock market jumped or the doctor gave an optimistic prognosis? How about today, when the market had a sudden drop and the hospital reported further complications in your condition? Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1). Now, what does that mean? You mean that no matter how hard it gets and when everything points to disaster you still have to hope against all hope? So, if you clench your teeth, purse your lips and scrunch your eyes together in faith trusting your dilemma will pass, it should go, right? Well, let's have a look how the Bible puts it... We rejoice in our sufferings, k

Peter Timothy Cooper

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