4 November 2025
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Back Garden in Autumn

I’ll try to take my next “looking down” shot nearer the middle of the month but, sitting at breakfast the other morning, I couldn’t resist capturing the back garden from ground level:

Although most of the garden is in shade, even mid-morning, next door’s magnolia looks glorious swathed in golden leaves and plants like our birch and hazel trees pull that hue closer. This photo was taken with my iPad, which switched into HDR mode to cope with the contrast, and I have done a little post processing to try and get closer to what widened my eyes.

3 November 2025
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Nyckelharpa

As well as playing songs on my ukulele on Friday evening, I encountered an instrument I wasn’t familiar with: a nyckelharpa. This is a Swedish “keyed fiddle”, quite different to a regular fiddle and nothing at all like a harp.

The instrument is suspended round the players neck on a strap, so it sits like a guitar, but it is played with a bow. You can’t lean over to look closely at your fingers or you risk poking yourself in the eye! There are four main strings, that seemed to sit round about the range of a viola. Rather than pushing them onto a fingerboard, you “stop” them by pressing keys which lift pegs, shortening the vibrating length of the string and raising the pitch. In addition, there are a set of thinner resonant strings (an extra 12 on this instrument, I think). Those aren’t directly stopped at all but resonate depending on which notes are being played on the main strings, giving a reverb effect.

I don’t think it is an instrument I’d seek out to add to my collection but I’d be very happy to come across more of these in future and get to play along side them.

2 November 2025
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Corner Joiners

As the weather gets colder, it has become time to put the polythene covered inner windows in the mesh covered frames at the top of the two end doors. One end goes in easily but I got the sizing wrong on the far end and had resorted to attaching it externally using screws, which is much more awkward than just slotting the inner frame into the outer one from inside. This year, I decided it was time to take the offending piece apart and fix it properly.

It looked like my mistake was to forget to account for the width of the two side pieces when cutting the top and then, when I tried to correct it I went a bit too far. Rather than buying more bits of timber (I was a bit short on suitable spares) I decided to 3D print pieces to both fill the gaps and to reinforce the frame. A simple timber square is quite weak if you are using pieces of batten for the sides and I think it was the attempt to create wooden corner reinforcements that threw me off before.

I did have to go through a few iterations. My first design was too weak in draft mode and would have thrown the spacing out if I had pushed it thicker. My final solution was a set of hollow right angled triangles with holes for small tacks and slots going in both directions near the right angle. I also printed spacers of the right size which would link with the slots and also allow me to use wood screws to fix the ends on to the sides. The result came out reasonably well and the final window, recovered with polythene, fits in neatly. Should we get a spell of warm days, I can pop it out for improved ventilation and, the rest of the time, it will help keep the internal temperature a bit higher than outside.

1 November 2025
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More songs…

Every other week I tend to use my Saturday blog post to make a note of the songs I’ve led at the Saturday sing around but there wasn’t one today (the church hall had something else booked). However, there was a party at the same church hall last night which had some cross over with the regular crowd and guests were invited to bring musical contributions. To that end, I took my ukulele along.

When my first turn came I pulled out an old favourite, “Enjoy Yourself”, which seemed like a suitable light-hearted choice for a birthday party. For my next go, I went a little more jazzy and picked “Fly Me to the Moon”, which has a few more chords in it including the luscious Fmaj7 and one that I needed to revise before I went (Bm7b5).

There weren’t a lot of musicians there so my turn came around again quite quickly. For this one, I decided on “The Twelve Days After Christmas”, which puts a twist on the popular Christmas song. It was worth enduring a few groans at the start for bringing out a yuletide tune, not least because I need to practise that one a bit for a gig in early December.

Finally, as the sing around portion drew to a close, I played “The Weight” by The Band. Some have interpreted it as a loose retelling of the gospels and there are certainly lots of biblical names in there. However, I think there is more weight in the explanation that it simply tells the story of someone who sets off to do someone a favour and then, in the quest narrative tradition, they get passed from pillar to post. Verse five says “I do believe it’s time to get back to Miss Fanny – you know she’s the only one who sent me here, with her regards for everyone”. You take the load off Fanny and (and, and – rising harmonies!) you put the load right on me!

31 October 2025
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What to Expect: Lives bound to others

Part 4 of the What to Expect series (final part).

Lives bound up with others

Jane and I recently had a discussion where I was reminded of John Donne’s devotional piece that starts “No man is an island, entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” Written just over 400 years ago (published 1624), it reflects on death but also how we are connected to each other. In our passage, Paul also turns from his anticipation of death to a whole series of personal connections.

We start with Demas, who has “loved the world” and deserted Paul. He just gets a short sentence here but I suspect it is tied up with a lot of pain, and also for Alexander, mentioned a few verses later. I know that, when I think of people I’ve known who have turned their backs on Christian faith, it makes me deeply sad. Of course, not every parting is necessarily because someone has turned away. We don’t know anything about Crescens other than his name and a few rumours from church traditions but Titus is probably the same disciple who received his own pastoral epistle from Paul. It is more likely that he has departed on missionary work rather than abandoning or even betraying Paul. Nevertheless, he and Crescens are also gone.

This letter reminds us to expect that the cast of people around us will change over time. Maybe that seems blindingly obvious to you but, right now, if you are feeling the pain of one of those changes, take heart from knowing that God, who cares for you, allows these things to happen. Perhaps I could pose another question for you to ponder? Whose life have you drifted away from? Approach that one with care – just because you have been close to someone in the past, it doesn’t mean it is always wise to try and pick that relationship back up. Sometimes God calls us to reach back and connect; often he moves us to the point where we can give thanks and go forward on the path he has for us. In all things, follow him.

Enduring friends

As we draw towards the letter, we can linger over a more positive angle. Paul knew about goodbyes but he also knew about enduring friends and continuing fellowship. Those are also things we can expect. For example, Luke is still with him and there are others who have only departed because Paul has asked them to. Tychicus is mentioned five times in the New Testament but we don’t know much about him. What is clear though is that Paul trusted Tychichus and sent him to Ephesus, another city containing people he loved deeply.

Something else that cheers my heart is seeing the mention of Mark. This could be the author of the second gospel but it is also likely to be the same person Paul felt was untrustworthy at the end of Acts 15. That led to Paul and Barnabas going in different directions. Today’s letter was written some years later and Paul’s opinion seems to be revised. I hope this means that John Mark thrived working alongside Barnabas, the “son of encouragement”. My experience is that these long-term reconciliations are quite rare but they are all the more precious for that. Perhaps there is a bit of wisdom in that popular saying “never say never”; there certainly is in what Paul writes in 1 Cor 4 (v.5): “judge nothing before the time”.

We leave Paul still planning for the future even though he expects his death is imminent. Send my warm cloak he writes, and the scrolls and particularly the parchments. Why he might want a warm cloak seems obvious to us as autumn heads towards winter. Meanwhile, the “scrolls” might well be portions of scripture and the “parchments” suggest he may have plans to write more things down as well. We can look ahead whatever our situation. May we have a measure of Paul’s confidence and continue encouraging others, as he does by naming various people in his final greetings.

Live your life before our heavenly Father

I hope that we’ve found a few things in 2 Timothy 4 for you to ponder in the coming week. As I wrap up, I want to nod briefly back in the direction of the other possible passage, from Luke 18. In that story, Jesus commends not the person who is confident he has done everything well and is “sorted” but the one who knows he isn’t and approaches trusting only the mercy of God. We can expect life to throw us many challenges and some consolations. Remember that God doesn’t need you to impress him with how clever or accomplished you are. Instead, recognise his mercy and draw near to him with gratitude. Allow his grace to slop over the edges of your cup and may you be a blessing to those he brings you to this coming week.

30 October 2025
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What to Expect: getting ready

Part 3 of the What to Expect series.

Be Ready

Paul reminds Timothy of his big picture view of the world: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead…” (v1). It reminds me of Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25 about the wise and foolish virgins, part of a block of teaching about final judgement. Jesus commends the wise virgins, who made sure their oil lamps were topped up. All ten of the virgins were surprised when the bridegroom appeared but, in a solemn warning, the ones who couldn’t keep their lamps lit were shut out.

Paul tells Timothy to “be ready in season and out of season.” Almost two thousand years later, a long time has elapsed but God is telling us through scripture to be patient and prepared. Timothy was a church leader and a person with a particular set of gifts, so the things you need to keep topped up might look different to the list written for him. However, that is a question for each of us to ponder: what do I need to keep topped up, ready for the Lord’s return? We still don’t know when that will be but it is certainly even closer now than it was back then!

Turning Away

Another thing Paul tells Timothy to expect is people turning away from sound faith, wandering “off into myths” (v4). Unlike being ready for the future return of Jesus, here I am sure that Paul is speaking from past and present experience. He writes “the time will come” (v3) but “many times again” is implied. If you read back through the rest of this epistle, you will find that he mentions “Phygelus and Hermogenes”, who “turned away from me” in chapter 1, “Hymenaeus and Philetus”, who “have swerved from the truth, saying the resurrection has already happened” in chapter 2 (resurrection here means humanity’s resurrection to final judgement, not the resurrection of Jesus from the dead) and a whole litany of unnamed people in chapter 3 who have “the appearance of godliness” but deny its power, leading people astray, “always learning but never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth”.

There is plenty of all of that going on in the world today. I could start naming names but we would be here until next Sunday and these conditions are what we should expect. Metaphorically, it is stormy weather out there so make sure you’ve got a suitable coat to button around you.

The End is Nigh

Paul has given us the impression that Jesus will return soon but that is a very extended use of the word! However, Paul was also sure that his own time was coming to an end very soon. The thought of death can make us upset and there is a time to mourn. Paul though seems strangely calm. Perhaps a better word would be confident, meaning “with trust”? The time of his departure “has come” and Paul gives us a poignant image of being poured out like “a drink offering”. The vessel starts full, then it is tipped and then it is empty.

Depending on what was in it, you might be able to say “the spirit is departed”! Our tendency is to look at death as the waste of a life but Paul has a different perspective: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (v7). He has been slowly poured out ever since he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus but it is the life he had beforehand that he counts as a waste. For him, this pouring out has been a willing offering to Jesus, who himself chose to be poured out for us. We can all expect death, sooner or later. Like Paul, let us approach it as people who belong to Jesus, the one who has conquered death and sin.

29 October 2025
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What to Expect: Reading the Word

Part 2 of the What to Expect series.

Now I have reminded you of the background, I am going to read all of chapter four. I want to you have God’s holy word, not God’s word, full of holes! This is chapter four, taken from the English Standard Version:

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: ² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. ³ For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, ⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. ⁵ As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.

⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

⁹ Do your best to come to me soon. ¹⁰For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹ Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. ¹² Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. ¹³ When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. ¹⁴ Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. ¹⁵ Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. ¹⁶ At my first defence no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! ¹⁷ But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

¹⁹ Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. ²⁰ Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. ²¹ Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.

²² The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

What might God be saying to us this morning through this passage? Let’s work through it. As I mentioned earlier, the phrase that came to mind as I prepared was “what to expect” so that is the line I will be fishing with.

28 October 2025
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What to Expect: introduction and background

Part 1 of the What to Expect series.

Two Passages

What do you remember about your school days? One scene I remember was a lesson when I was about ten years old. It was sunny and I think the season was spring. The teacher handed round Bibles, asking us to look at two psalms and to tell her which we liked the most and why. One of them was Psalm 23. I expect most of you know and love it: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” That is the psalm almost everyone in the class picked.

I might have been the only child in that classroom who regularly went to church and I was already aware of Psalm 23. Perhaps that was why I picked the other one. Psalm 100 also has a pastoral theme – “we are his people and the sheep of his pasture” – but all sorts of other riches are packed into its four short verses. It seemed fresher to me in part because of its unfamiliarity. You might also know Psalm 100 but, if I asked for a show of hands of which you know best Psalm 100 would be the field less grazed.

Equipped with that snippet about how my brain is wired, think back to this morning’s two readings. Which one do you now expect I am going to focus on? Of course it is going to the last chapter of Paul’s second letter to Timothy! In most churches using today’s New Testament lectionary passages, I expect they will choose the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Instead, I am going to take you down the path less travelled. If you want a heading for the whole message, the title I have arrived at is “What to Expect”.

Paul and Timothy

Firstly, some background. What do you know about Paul and Timothy? Paul was foundational in God’s plan for establishing the church. He wrote the most books of any New Testament writer. In terms of word count, Paul comes second only to Luke, who authored both a gospel and the book Acts. We should also remember that, during the first days of the Christian church, Paul seemed the least likely person to make such a contribution. He was hell-bent on destroying the followers of Jesus but it turned out that God had other plans!

Paul’s surviving writings come in the form of 13 letters. Most of them were written to churches but three “pastoral epistles” were written to specific church leaders: Titus and Timothy. Paul saw them as his children in the faith and he provided a mixture of encouragement and instruction. Timothy was a relatively young man with a Jewish mother and grandmother, who were both faithful followers of Jesus (2 Tim 1:5), and a Greek father (Acts 16:1). Despite a possibly timid character and compromised health (2 Tim 1:7; 1 Tim 5:23), Timothy was able to lead well: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim 4:12).

Now Paul is imprisoned in Rome and aware that his time is running out. He isn’t afraid to die – as he wrote to the Philippian church from the same cell, “for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Php 1:21) – but he would love to see his friend again: “do your best to come to me soon” (2 Tim 4:9).

27 October 2025
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What to Expect

Part 0 of the What to Expect series.

I was preaching at St Theo’s again yesterday. I was presented two New Testament Lectionary readings to pick from: Luke 18: 9-14 and 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18. Over the next few days I’ll serialise the text of the message, which was under the heading What to Expect. I haven’t yet decided how many parts it will be in and there’s always a chance that I’ll take a break for other news but, by the end of the week you should be able to use that heading to pull all the pieces together.

26 October 2025
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Clock Change 2025

Did you remember the clock change this weekend? An increasing number of devices automatically update so it is getting easier not to get caught out but it still means that, right now, it feels very much like time for bed!

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