Category: Faith & life

Which Olympic sports?

April 4, 2026

What Olympic sports do you enjoy watching the most?

Wow this is a very hard question. To make it easier for me can I just say all of them! Being a sports fan I love most sports. I especially love the Olympics – both the Sumer and Winter Olympics.

In the Summer Olympics I love Athletics and the Cycling. In the Winter Olympics I love the Ice Hockey and the Short Track Speed Skating.

In saying this though, these are the sports I did as a child and some as an adult. As a child I did Little Athletics and as a teen I played Ice Hockey and did Speed Skating.

As an adult I took up cycling. For most of my adult life I have done some sort of cycling. Some times it was on my road bike, sometimes on my mountain bike, and sometimes on my indoor trainer.

If you really pushed to make a choice for just one sport at each Olympics. It would be athletics at the Summer Olympics and Ice Hockey at the Winter Olympics.

Watch the Jesus film this Easter

April 3, 2026

This film is a perfect introduction to Jesus through the Gospel of Luke. Jesus constantly surprises and confounds people, from His miraculous birth to His rise from the grave. Follow His life through excerpts from the Book of Luke, all the miracles, the teachings, and the passion.

God creates everything and loves mankind. But mankind disobeys God. God and mankind are separated, but God loves mankind so much, He arranges redemption for mankind. He sends his Son Jesus to be a perfect sacrifice to make amends for us. Before Jesus arrives, God prepares mankind. Prophets speak of the birth, the life, and the death of Jesus.

Jesus attracts attention. He teaches in parables no one really understands, gives sight to the blind, and helps those who no one sees as worth helping. He scares the Jewish leaders, they see him as a threat. So they arrange, through Judas the traitor and their Roman oppressors, for the crucifixion of Jesus.

They think the matter is settled. But the women who serve Jesus discover an empty tomb. The disciples panic. When Jesus appears, they doubt He’s real. But it’s what He proclaimed all along: He is their perfect sacrifice, their Savior, victor over death. He ascends to heaven, telling His followers to tell others about Him and His teachings.

You can find the full Jesus Film here for free.

Jesus prayer on prayer beads

April 2, 2026

Here is another version of the Jesus prayer that you can pray on the Anglican prayer beads. It includes the Apostle’s Creed, the Lord’s prayer, the Trisagion, the Jesus prayer, the Fatima prayer, and finishes with the Glory Be.

On the Cross

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.

The Invitatory

Matthew 6:9-13 KJV

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.

The Cruciforms

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

The Weeks

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God. Have mercy on us, sinners.

End cruciform

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins,
Save us from the fires of hell.
Lead all souls to heaven,
Especially those in most need of Your mercy.

End Invitatory

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
a world without end. Amen.

The Cross

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen

Unity in the essentials

March 31, 2026

When I did my Bible studies I went to an ecumenical Bible college. They had lecturers from right across Christian denominations and they taught what most Christians believe. I found this really helpful.

In the course of my studies I came across this statement – In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity. I did not realise at the time, but it really shaped my faith journey.

So what does it mean to me? To me, this statement says that there are certain core beliefs we should hold as Christians, to declare we have an orthodox and historical Christian faith. It also says there are lesser beliefs we may hold that are not core beliefs.

So what do I think are in the essential category? Rather than reinvent the wheel I find the Westminster Confession of Faith has done a great job. Most Christians down through the ages would agree with these.

The essential things talks about the Bible, creation, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, our need for salvation, the church, Jesus’ return and our role in God’s plan for salvation.

The Essentials of our Faith

All Scripture is self-attesting, and being Truth requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God—the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments—is a complete and unified witness to God’s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. On this sure foundation, we affirm these additional essentials of our faith.

  1. We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To Him be all honor, glory, and praise forever!
  2. Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He now is our High Priest and Mediator.
  3. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior, indwelling our hearts. He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption.
  4. Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God’s free grace. God credits His righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, and thereby justifies them in His sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life.
  5. The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible yet imperfect expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity, where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting she awaits the return of her Lord.
  6. Jesus Christ will come again to the earth personally, visibly, and bodily—to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
  7. The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to “Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.” He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Learn the Beatitudes

March 26, 2026

The Beatitudes sum up Jesus’ teaching about what it means to live as a child of God’s kingdom. They can be found right at the beginning of a long passage of teaching by Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, known as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7).

Just as Moses taught the people of Israel from the mountain after he had received the Commandments, Jesus begins his ministry by going up a mountain and teaching his disciples.

The Beatitudes

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are those who suffer persecution for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The notes from the Life Application Study Bible on this passage are very helpful…

Matthew 5 LASB – These verses can be understood in at least four ways:

(1) They are a code of ethics and a standard of conduct for all believers.

(2) They contrast Kingdom values (what is eternal) with worldly values (what is temporary).

(3) They contrast the superficial “faith” of the Pharisees with the real faith that Jesus demands.

(4) They show how Old Testament expectations will be fulfilled in the new Kingdom.