KJV at BGS

The auido and PowerPoint from Glen Scrivener's excellent and engaging after-dinner talk on the King James Version given the other day at Bodle Street Green village hall the other day is now available on his blog.

Parish Magazine Item for November

From the Rectory

A reminder!

November is a month that reminds us to remember. On Remembrance Sunday we give thanks for all those who have laid down their lives in war in the cause of justice and freedom. And we also “remember, remember the 5^th of November, gun-powder treason and plot.”

The Bible has lots to say about remembering, which is hardly surprising when we recall how forgetful we are. The word “remember” comes 166 times in the Bible and a further 75 times in various other forms.

For example, the preacher of the book of Ecclesiastes counsels us to:

“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"” (12:1)

The Bible talks about God remembering and not remembering too:

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:13-14)

We’re repeatedly told that God remembers his covenant, the agreement he has made with his people. God makes promises and he keeps them. He alone is utterly trustworthy and reliable.

Yet God also promises:

“I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12)

Not, of course, that God is absent minded, as we so often are. Rather, God promises not to call to mind the sins of believers. Yes, he knows all about them, but he doesn’t relate to us on the basis of them. God forgives and “forgets”. He doesn’t hold our sins against us if we cast ourselves on his mercy.

That’s worth remembering.

Rev’d Marc Lloyd

Acoustic Psalms

A good thing spotted on Facebook: Versions of a number of Psalms by the LORD and Matt Searles performed by Miriam Jones and a guitar. And proceeds to a good cause. (HT: RvdB)

Jesus and Legion

Commenting on Mark 5:1-20, Tom Wright says:

At the climax of Mark’s story Jesus himself will end up naked, isolated, outside the town among the tombs, shouting incomprehensible things as he is torn apart on the cross by the standard Roman torture, his flesh torn to ribbons by the small stones in the Roman lash. And that, Mark is saying, will be how the demons are dealt with. That is how healing takes place. Jesus is coming to share the plight of the people, to let the enemy do its worst to him, to take the full force of evil on himself and let the others go free.

(Mark for Everyone, pp56-57)