Reading the bible intelligently is a key part of our spiritual formation. Part of that discipline is to attempt to understand what the author – in this case Luke – was attempting to convey at the time of writing. It’s not sufficient to pluck a text out of its contextual moorings, and apply it to today without attending to what the author had in mind when first it was written. Download my introduction notes here.

Do you care about climate change? Do you believe we should be doing something to prevent it? Do you think it will change the lives of the poorest,who will be flooded, displaced, and hungry?

World leaders have a crucial climate summit in Copenhagen from December 7th and we need to call on them to seal a strong and fair climate change deal. We need to speak out for poor people who are hit hardest by climate change and for future generations. We need to cover this in prayer.

What a fantastic time Zoë and I had when we went to London at half term. There’s no doubt that our country has one of the great capital cities of the world, certainly in terms of history, probably the greatest. The highlight of our mini-trip, following an invitation we received from Nick Brown, our local MP, was to visit the House of Commons.

I came across this from one of Bishop Lesslie Newbigin's books, which I though was worth posting: 

Words without deeds are empty, but deeds without words are dumb. It is stupid to set them against each other. It is, for example, stupid to say: “The one thing that matters is to go everywhere and preach the gospel; all other activities such as schools and hospitals and programs for social action are at best merely auxiliary and at worst irrelevant.”

I'm returning to Africa tomorrow to serve with the Mercy Ship - and this time I'll be in in Benin...

What have a crazy Frenchman called Claude, an impromptu rendition of a new worship single and the minor prophets all got in common...?

There are still some copies of ‘Twelve’, Write Life’s anthology of poetry and prose, available at £6 from the church book table. Alternatively, pay £7.50 to be posted to your door. Contact fiona@veitchsmith.com. All profits to go to the church building fund. And in the meantime, here's a poem...

In my job, I am on the receiving end of loads of opinion. I was much struck by some recent teaching I heard on the important subject of opinion versus counsel by Brian Houston, leader of Hillsong in Sydney, who says: "The recipe for perpetual ignorance is to be satisfied by your own opinion." I’ve discovered that I prefer counsel, and here’s why...

News just in from the Jensens in southern California, where wildfires have destroyed hundreds of homes.

We just wanted to let you know that despite the heat this end of the world, we are all alright...