Author Archives: Hugh Thompson

‘Wellbeing’ is not just a fashionable catchphrase

Posted on April 4, 2019 by Hugh Thompson

Recently it seems that everyone is talking about wellbeing. It’s the fashionable way to refer to a person’s all-round good health, whether mental health or emotional, physical or spiritual health. Actually, the Hebrew language had a word similar to wellbeing … Continue reading →

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‘I must be about my Father’s business’

Posted on March 26, 2019 by Hugh Thompson

‘I must be about my Father’s business’ (Luke 2:49 King James Version) To which God-given duties did Jesus occasionally refer? Only a few times in the Gospels do we hear Jesus speak of duties he ‘must’ fulfil. In fact there … Continue reading →

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The origin of ‘Happy Families’ was more than a game!

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Hugh Thompson

Milton is the locality where our church meets on Sunday mornings. We expressed our vision for 2019 as: ‘Being Family at Milton’. One of the games we played when our offspring were children was Happy Families. The pack contained such … Continue reading →

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What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘Where two or three are gathered ……

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Hugh Thompson

What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them’ (Matthew 18:20 English Standard Version)? An emailed question I received an email the other day from an old friend. … Continue reading →

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The funeral of a still-born child – a pastor’s potential dilemma

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Hugh Thompson

It is generally accepted that personhood starts with a baby’s first breath. In the beginning ‘the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground’ physically; then ‘He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and … Continue reading →

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Murder and the death penalty – up close!

Posted on February 9, 2019 by Hugh Thompson

Having sold our house in Bolton to David and Lesley Moore, we had moved with our four children across the Pennines. Three years later I paid a rare visit to what had been our home church back there and was … Continue reading →

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The funeral of a six-month-old baby boy

Posted on February 9, 2019 by Hugh Thompson

Asked by a retired Baptist minister if I had any insights to help him conduct a funeral of a still-born baby prompted me to track down my notes of a message I had delivered decades ago at the funeral of … Continue reading →

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Understanding ‘The Anointing’ (1 John 2:20, 27)

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Hugh Thompson

Understanding ‘The Anointing’ (1 John 2:20, 27) Such expressions as, ‘the anointing was evidently upon her as she preached’ and ‘he was under the anointing as he prayed over those who were ill’, can sometimes feature in the vocabulary of … Continue reading →

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Divine enlightenment comes to us gradually (Proverbs 4:18)

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Hugh Thompson

Solomon informs us in Proverbs 4:18 (New Living Translation): ‘The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.’ Then he contrasts this in Proverbs 4:19 with ‘the way … Continue reading →

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Elijah meets God on Mount Sinai (1 Kings 19)

Posted on January 19, 2019 by Hugh Thompson

If we are not currently hearing God’s voice, one major reason could be a particular act of sin or a persistent wrong attitude – some act of disobedience or a habit of self indulgence. When one of the builders lost … Continue reading →

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Gorgeous Georgia, our fondly remembered pet

Posted on December 28, 2018 by Hugh Thompson

After remarking on the two-a-penny, rock bottom market price of a couple of sparrows, Jesus added that ‘not a single’ one of them ‘can fall to the ground’ apart from the comforting care of their Creator, ‘your Father.’ ‘So,’ he … Continue reading →

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Peace that you can’t figure out

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Hugh Thompson

Christmas since Victorian times has developed into a prolonged, frenetic period of the year. Folk seem to reach a state of perpetual motion, rushing through shopping arcades to buy seasonal gifts. Sure, some have solved that problem by ordering online. … Continue reading →

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Remembering can cause anguish – or ecstasy

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Hugh Thompson

(A sermon delivered on Armistice Centenary; Sunday 11th November 2018) [] Only ten days ago we were prompted to: Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot. I can’t find a reason why gunpowder treason should ever be … Continue reading →

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The progressive Christian life: sitting enthroned; walking wisely; standing firm

Posted on September 1, 2018 by Hugh Thompson

In my youth I considered Nee to-Sheng as a model minister of the gospel – better known here in the West as Watchman Nee. He trained and inspired many apostolic teams who established 700 indigenous congregations all over their native … Continue reading →

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Job’s ten gut-wrenching cries he prefaced by an ‘Oh!’

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Hugh Thompson

Speakers of Hebrew and English can express their frustration dramatically by deliberately expelling air from their lungs to launch a sentence of deep emotion that starts with an explosive ‘Oh’. For example: [] ‘Oh will you kids take your noisy … Continue reading →

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The Snowflake Generation

Posted on August 10, 2018 by Hugh Thompson

Just a moment! That phrase, the snowflake generation, nowadays refers to our Western society, so restrained by political correctness that they are afraid to takes risks or show their heads above the parapet. But instead let’s consider the creation of … Continue reading →

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Bearing up among one’s spiritual family

Posted on August 1, 2018 by Hugh Thompson

Amongst my blogs on ‘Partially Understood Texts’ you would find one labeled ‘Burdensome biblical contradictions’. In it I mention that two neighbouring statements of Paul in Galatians chapter six seem to cancel each other out: [] ‘Bear one another’s burden’ … Continue reading →

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Spirituality – have you a vague idea?

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Hugh Thompson

According to contemporary authors one can be spiritual without being religious. And we might suppose that our Lord himself agreed with this non-religious aspect of real spirituality when answering the lonely, religious Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar because … Continue reading →

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