Psalm 118 Wordle

And while we are on the subjects of wordles and Psalm 118 (the last couple of posts), here I've combined the two.  The more times the word is in the text, the bigger the word is in the wordle (a phrase I thought I would never need to use).  So it's easy to see who the psalm is about and the main themes.  Alaister Begg, famous Scottish preacher, always urges that the main thing is the plain thing and that the plain thing is the main thing.  Easy to tell what they are from this!

Luther, beer and the all sufficient God

Reminded of this quote from the reformer Martin Luther as I prepared my sermon on Psalm 118 last week (to tie in with verse 23, if you must know).  He clearly had a part to play in reforming the church but knew that, ultimately, it wasn't all down to him.  A good thing for me to remember after the last seven days.

"See how much he has been able to accomplish through me, though I did no more than pray and preach.  The Word did it all.   Had I wished I might have started a conflagration at Worms.  But while I sat still and drank beer with Philipp and Amsdorf, God dealt the Papacy a mighty blow."

Should we drink to that?!  "Here's to the all sufficient God; may he work through us all."

May we be blessed by times when we sit, sup, watch and marvel at the works of God.

Townend in Town

Huge excitement today as I can reveal that the church has booked Stuart Townend to come to play at the local school in April.  This is a major event for us, we are a small church of around 70 and Stuart Townend has a worldwide following.  His best known hymn is probably, "In Christ Alone" and so it seemed only right to wordle it to celebrate.  I like the way it looks a little like a tree.  Can't wait for the event, very excited!

Exeter City Wordle

Here's something fun I've just discovered, the wordle.  You've probably been doing them for years, I'd seen them before but never known what they were called or how you do them.  The website is pretty easy to use and with a bit of playing around - especially with the randomize button, you can come up with some pretty stunning designs.  This is one I did today, my Exeter City wordle - quite possibly the only one of it's kind in the world.   Expect a few more in the coming days.

Why Men Should Not Be Ordained

Have to confess that this is lifted wholesale from Ben Witherington's Blog - you can find him
here.  Sent it by a friend who I ought to keep anonymous and I love it; funny and clever.  Don't get the vestments things at all though... 



Top 10 Reasons Why Men Shouldn’t Be Ordained

(Kudos to Jason Jackson for this).

10. A man’s place is in the army.

9. For men who have children, their duties might distract them from the responsibilities of being a parent.

8. Their physical build indicates that men are more suited to tasks such as chopping down trees and wrestling mountain lions. It would be “unnatural” for them to do other forms of work.

7. Man was created before woman. It is therefore obvious that man was a prototype. Thus, they represent an experiment, rather than the crowning achievement of creation.

6. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. This is easily demonstrated by their conduct at football games and watching basketball tournaments.

5. Some men are handsome; they will distract women worshipers.

4. To be ordained pastor is to nurture the congregation. But this is not a traditional male role. Rather, throughout history, women have been considered to be not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more frequently attracted to it. This makes them the obvious choice for ordination.

3. Men are overly prone to violence. No really manly man wants to settle disputes by any means other than by fighting about it. Thus, they would be poor role models, as well as being dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.

2. Men can still be involved in church activities, even without being ordained. They can sweep paths, repair the church roof, change the oil in the church vans, and maybe even lead the singing on Father’s Day. By confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the Church.

1. In the New Testament account, the person who betrayed Jesus was a man. Thus, his lack of faith and ensuing punishment stands as a symbol of the subordinated position that all men should take.

Happy Birthday To Us!

Long time no blog.  Lots going on, much of it unbloggable and so perhaps my longest gap between blogs so far. 

Have thought once or twice about what to blog but nothing has really grabbed.  Did wonder this morning about blogging on it being David Bowie's birthday (a date he shares with Shirley Bassey and Elvis Presley) but what to say.

Then, lo... in an interview today with Radcliffe and Maconie, Peter Hook mentions on 6Music that David Bowie has a new single out today!  Happy Birthday to us!  I'll have to catch the rest of that interview later because it's straight on to the interweb for me to find it. 

"We Are We Now?" is the Duke's wistful offering, his first single in ten long years.  Musically it sounds like he's picked up where he left off and the even better news is that an album is due out in a couple of months time.  I'll be queueing at Woolworths for it!

Watch it here