Lyrical Riffs

The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. At times we get the picture wrong Lord, we don’t see you clearly, The LORD is … Read on →

What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Will politics, or fake news, or headlines … Read on →

O LORD, you have searched us and known us. You know when we sit down and when we rise up. You know when we are full of hope and enthusiasm, … Read on →

Yet you have made us a little lower than the angels, You have crowned us with glory and honour. You have given us responsibility over the works of your hands … Read on →

1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. Bring your silence and your shouting, As introverts and extroverts. 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; Come into his … Read on →

We may gaze up at the night sky, squinting to see the lights of heaven, the shapes and wonders of God’s invention, the glimpses of his landing lights as they … Read on →

In the beginning, When all was not as it is now; In the darkness, When light was just a twinkle in the Creator’s eye; In the past, When history was … Read on →

Abraham was 75 when he followed God’s call, And took a step into the unknown. Anna was 84 when she spotted the baby Jesus, In a temple distracted by busyness. … Read on →

So many stones, Small, large, smooth, jagged, new, old, Fitting into this craggy, jigsaw body, Different sizes, different shapes. All vital, all part of a bigger picture, Not a construction … Read on →

Like badly worded emails, There are spelling mistakes, The grammar is all adrift, And the Wi-Fi signal intermittent. We veer off at random tangents, Waffling terribly sometimes, We get our … Read on →

Those dry bones get everywhere In the workplaces and job centres In the homes and high streets In the schools and colleges Those dry bones get everywhere In the shops … Read on →

We pick up our pencils, go into a booth, And put our cross in a box. Quietly, secretly, all on our own, We put our cross in a box. Considering … Read on →

I am the gate, whoever comes through me will find life. Others come to take and to steal, I have come to bring you life, and life in abundance. Others … Read on →

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, Slow to become angry and rich in love. ‘I no longer call you servants,’ said Jesus, ‘Now I call you my friends.’ The Lord … Read on →

1 Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD. My walk is not blameless, I often break your laws, O Lord. 2 Happy … Read on →

We stand on the touch line of life, and we choose our sides. Paul or Apollos. This side or that. We pick the best, the winning team. The spiritual giants, … Read on →

We stand today with The poor church The persecuted church The grieving church The rejected church The pure-hearted church As part of the merciful church The lowly church The church … Read on →

Praise the Lord! Praise him in the heights, Praise him on the earth, And everywhere you go. He made us and knows and loves us. He is the perfect father. … Read on →

Mixing Cement They kneel and pray, In their minds they’re mixing cement. Sometimes silent, Sometimes pleading, Sometimes grateful, Sometimes needing. Reminding themselves, Quietening themselves, Stilling themselves, Strengthening themselves. Waiting, questioning, … Read on →

Drawing on John chapter 4, and a Samaritan woman at a well… The people stare. They can’t quite believe it. Is it really happening? This woman, the talk of the … Read on →

He never said he was God. Instead he left trails, dropped hints, footprints in the dirt. He never said it would be easy, Straightforward, or without its pressures. He never … Read on →

As Jesus ventured down the high street alone, He studied the posters of rocks and stones. ‘These make nourishing meals,’ the straplines read. But Jesus spoke quietly to himself and … Read on →

We come to another river And find ourselves wrestling again Our true selves reflected back at us in the water, Wrestling with ourselves Wrestling with an angel Wrestling with God. … Read on →

We know much of Good Friday With its pain and loss. We know of Easter Sunday With its laughter and resurrection. But many times we find ourselves on Easter Saturday, … Read on →

I will intend to be different. Set higher goals, Climb those mountains, And fell those giants. I may have good days, I will no doubt have bad. And I will … Read on →

A bonus Christmas Thursday Riff… The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not understood it. Not comprehended, Not grasped the full meaning Of the light of God … Read on →

Life Peace Satisfaction Self-acceptance An end to criticism And all recrimination A glimpse of reality A kingdom of colour and joy Music and humour that uplifts The kind of compassion … Read on →

We find ourselves captive to this message This story which has set us free Prisoners of grace and truth The divine jailer setting us free to live with him To … Read on →

We believe we are not an accident. We believe this world is not as it should be. We believe in hope. We believe in truth and kindness. We admit we … Read on →

The wilderness will blossom, the desert will bloom. The dry places will break out in songs of praise. In the mountains and the valleys and the plains in between, In … Read on →

My love is small. My generosity is small. My strength, my loyalty, my courage, all small. My dedication, my patience, my self-control, my forgiveness, all small. My peace, my hope, … Read on →

Drawing on Isaiah 35 vv 3-4 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those with aching, fearful hearts, “Hold on, don’t give up! Your God … Read on →

My ways are not your ways, says the Lord My thoughts not yours My ways are beyond anything you can imagine My thoughts more extraordinary, more wonderful My thoughts wiser … Read on →

For a moment all else pauses. For an eternal split second all sound is gone. All but the rasp of his single breath, Encapsulating a billion gasps for air. His … Read on →

Be still and know that I am God. In the rush and the bustle In the traffic and the queuing Be still and know that I am God. In the … Read on →

She lifts her eyes, sees him smiling, ‘Is there no one left to condemn you?’ She looks around, sees the discarded rocks, The empty footprints where the accusers have been. … Read on →

Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever. Some days I will throw my face to the sky and sing with joy Some days my … Read on →

Jacob was alone by the river Jabbok It was growing dark As a man stepped from the shadows And wrestled with him until daybreak. We may often find ourselves alone … Read on →

There had been ten Ten who needed his help One came back Ten who prayed heartfelt prayers Ten who went away rejoicing One came back Ten who had their prayers … Read on →

Now faith is the assurance of things we hope for, the conviction of things we have not seen. By faith we understand that all reality was conceived by the word … Read on →

A promise, a vision, a hope… I will take hearts of stone and transform them Melt away the pain and the grit from the years Turn them back to life … Read on →

Have mercy on us, O Lord, According to your incomparable, extraordinary love. You know about our wrongs and our mistakes and our brokenness. Cleanse us through and through, renew us, … Read on →

When the prodigal came limping home He had all the wrong credentials Jacob, all those years ago Had returned rich and successful With a large family to show off The … Read on →

We hide in the clefts of life’s rocks So we may see you and hear you, Glimpses of the God we love. In the corners, the nooks and crannies, In … Read on →

We have discovered something A liberating, burden-lifting, life-releasing secret We are accepted and welcomed by God Not because of our working hard, doing good deeds Not because we agonise in … Read on →

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus The man of sorrows The prince of peace Wonderful counsellor The resurrection and the life The everlasting one The bread of life The … Read on →

The snake told Adam and Eve In that garden of consequence ‘You will be like God… If you give in…’ But God told Moses In that desert of freedom ‘You … Read on →

Let nothing be wasted, Jesus said to his friends. Gather up the crumbs, Rescue them. Let nothing be wasted From the days, nights and years, Offer them to Jesus, The … Read on →

Since we are surrounded by such a great crowd of witnesses, Those heroes of the faith who have gone before, Let us lay aside anything that hinders our progress, And … Read on →