Our First Love

Our First Love

The gospel injunction to “love our enemies” and “pray for those who persecute us” sits uneasily with modern sensibilities. In politics, such a modus operandi is perceived as weakness and may signal doom at the next election. Even in the Church, the words of our Lord...
Conflicted Ministry

Conflicted Ministry

It is now more than a year and a half since I retired from full time ministry in First Armagh Presbyterian Church. I confess I do not miss the constant pressure to preach at least once a Sunday to the same congregation maintaining biblical truth, as well as relevance...
‘A friend loves at all times?’

‘A friend loves at all times?’

Maybe I am just more conscious of it than before, but I sense that there is an increasing amount of pain and distress in people’s lives – both for younger people as well as for those of us who are older.  This is causing me to think a lot more deeply about some of the...
Treating All With Special Honour

Treating All With Special Honour

I am right handed. I use my right hand to write, occasionally to play tennis, golf or cricket, but most especially to drink coffee. Until recently, I assumed I only used my left hand to lean on. Then on 1st May, I had a stroke. Thankfully, I can talk, walk, see and...