Pete's Blog

"For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice..." (Zechariah 4:10) St Francis of Assisi was a man of action, impetuous and impulsive and totally committed to the Lord Jesus.  The song below with lyrics by Donovan is meant to be a reflection on the life of Francis.  It talks of simplicity and heartfelt service for the Lord.  However Francis' great achievements in preaching and teaching were gained at a rapid pace before he died at the early age of 45.  The slow pace of the song seem at odds with that.  Nevertheless I like  the idea in this song of taking care day by day of the small things and remembering the ultimate goal. If you want your dream to be,  Build it slow and surely.  Small beginnings greater ends.  Heartfelt work grows purely.  If you want to live life free,  Take your time go slowly.  Do few things but do them well.  Simple joys are holy.  Day by day, stone by sto...

The Good News at its heart is a declaration that Jesus Christ is in charge, he is Lord of all.  The resurrection of Jesus was a vindication of his claims to have "all authority" and that he had a special relationship to God the Father (I and the Father are one).  Jesus's death was in obedience to God the Father and in it he accomplished his great victor over sin and death.  The Good News is that Jesus in in charge, the Good News is also that Jesus in his death has wind for us the victory over sin and death.  This latter victory means that those who recognise him as Lord and choose to follow him get to receive the blessing of eternal life that he brings.  This receiving of eternal life as a free victory gift  from Jesus is also called being "born again".  This is all so well known even Wiki gets it right, as we discussed on The Good News Show recently.  But it needs to be appropriated personally to be effective, that is, each person needs to not o...

The interview with Baliva, the Gospel rapper, was popular but blighted by a high pitched whine. Before you ask, the whine was not the voice of the interviewer! This background noise has been removed digitally, so listen again or for the first time without distraction. This interview was a special episode of the show with Peter Cooper interviewing Baliva about his musical and Spiritual routes. There is also a discussion of how Hiphop culture relates to church culture. A fascinating insight into  the life and work of a Christian creative artist.