Monday Rewrite

He stood among them, surprised them, Opened the conversation with four words, ‘Peace be with you.’ How they needed it, so he said it again, ‘Peace be with you.’ Their …

She is running now, her legs not moving fast enough, her heart beating like it might explode. She hadn’t understood at first, hadn’t seen clearly. Had mistaken him for someone …

The new temple dismounts and strolls around the old temple. The sound of the crowd still ringing in his ears. Those calls for rescue and freedom. ‘Hosanna! Save us!’ The …

It was only later that I realised. When I woke on that morning my thoughts were a scramble, a fistfight of recollections jostling to outdo one another. I couldn’t make …

Two Roman soldiers are chatting. 1. I’ve just spent the last 6 months fighting the barbarian hordes, oh my goodness, those peasants are revolting! They don’t use a knife and …

She looks into his eyes, as he offers his hand, and it’s as if she can see a whole universe in there. Planets coming into being, stars being birthed, comets …

Lord, save us from sticking your word into a glass case, from holding it at arm’s length when it belongs in the sublime and crooked ways of our living. Help …

They found themselves in a strange world, a different world from the one they had known in their youth, one where our little stories were all that mattered, and it …

[From the forthcoming book Lost in the Supermarket] ‘You need something to eat,’ I said. He was sitting in the sun behind the store, looking dehydrated. I’d had a nudge …

From the forthcoming book Lost in the Supermarket, Hagar meets an angel in the nappies aisle… Episode Twelve Hagar I almost tripped over her. She was slouched in the nappies …

Numbers 13 v 25-33 One lot returned with giants in their eyes, seeing the mountains and the problems, the failings and frustrations of the land. The possible potholes and pitfalls. …

We make our way through the maze of shelves. So much on offer, though we can barely afford it all. Special offers. Two for three. Guaranteed life changers and soul …

Somewhere in heaven, a few months before the first Christmas, the angels gathered. Or as we say these days, switched on their tablets, clicked on a link and zoomed one …

Two shepherds are kneeling in a stable looking at the baby. 1. Is he all right? 2. Why? 1. Well, he’s very quiet, shouldn’t he cry every so often? 2. …

The house was like something from a Scooby Doo classic. Dark towers at each corner shrouded in grim shadows. Cobwebs hanging like drapes in every nook. There may well have …

The other day, as I was out on a mission, I bumped into three people. They had all been given things to do by their boss who had gone away …

Three angels wonder what to do about the world’s problems. 1. The world is struggling again. We need a plan. 2. Ooh! I think we should send a committee to …

Joachim is chiselling a bit of wood. Anne walks in. Anne: Joachim, stop that a minute, I’ve got some news for you. Joachim: Good or bad? Anne: Well…. both really. …

Now he wants to eat. Earlier, when the bread was there, right there in his hands, all he did was rip it in two and disappear. Taking them back to …

No one should be invisible, though many of us are. Or feel it anyway. And yes, we all have times when we want to be unseen, left quietly undisturbed, in …

Blessed are those not offended by me, those who can cope when I break out of the boxes they put me in. Blessed are those who can adjust, can keep …

Daniel stands in this strange place. Hearing the pronouncement that he has a new name now. The last vestige of familiarity fading away. Everything he is, grabbed by the collar …

He knows that they worry, understands that it’s a human trait to do so. Can see the concern and questions etched in the furrows of their brows, in the lines …

Imagine the scene, a gloomy cave in the middle of nowhere, and a power player desperate to relieve himself. Maybe he ate the wrong things the night before, or the …

top-pro@citywall.ex-jericho to joshua@conqueringhero.jericho-rubble Dear Sir Just wanted to thank you for saving my life. And for honouring your promise and preserving my family too. When your boys knocked on my …

top-pro@citywall.ex-jericho to joshua@conqueringhero.jerichorubble Dear Sir Just wanted to thank you for saving my life. And for honouring your promise and preserving my family too. When your boys knocked on my …

Like so many, she was trying to construct a life from things she found in the market stalls. And she had a gift for it, no doubt. Spotting the best …

Jesus looks at him, sees beyond the public face, hears the unspoken questions. ‘What are life’s most important rules,’ the man had asked, seeing if his question could upend this …

Once upon a time, in the beginning, a story was told, a Word was heard. And the Word was Hope. And this Word had legs, and a voice, and a …

So many of us sail on the sea of broken dreams, Disappointed with life and all that it seems To offer us. Not what we imagined when we were young. …

Well, he came walking out of the desert,With a humble purpose burning in his eye,A man on a mission, a small town boyReady to live and die.Well, he walked through …

by Lynn and Dave Hopwood There was a king with a palace full of family and subjects. One day one of his sons, Jake, came to him and asked for …

You know how it is when your life feels out of control. Others seem to have got hold of the reins and they’re steering you off course, moving the furniture …

There were three filmmakers who created a brilliant, dark, complex, funny, inspiring, moving, nuanced, difficult, lengthy, insightful film. Many people saw it and discussed it and there were as many …

You know how it is when change happens, often unexpectedly. The floor shifts a little, and the world goes out of focus a bit. Suddenly the old seems so friendly …

You know how it is when you have everything mapped out, and you’ve made all your plans and your future’s right there like a tidy shed. Everything where you want …

Sometimes all we have is our emptiness. Our struggles and humanity. The weak bits. Like a jigsaw with every other piece missing. Like a car with no wheels. A hero …

He walks through the streets, the lanes, the highways and tracks of our towns and cities and country places, in the imprints and trails we have made,  sometimes noticed sometimes …

He looks at them with kindness in his eyes, and strength in his gaze. They come at him so often, with their complaints, desires, hopes, frustration. Wanting him to be …

Let there be respect, And true friendship, Welcome and questions, Vision, wisdom and understanding. Let there be laughter and kindness, Ears tuned to the cries of the poor, Eyes open …

He stands in the sun. The day hits him hard and all he can do is blink repeatedly. He’s so used to the dark that looking at the light is …

An executive is on the phone to Jesus. Hello,  is that Jesus of Nazareth? It is, great, well I’m contacting you now because I don’t think you are making the …

A reading/dialogue for two readers.1 represents Jesus, the other is a narrator. 1.     I’m back! 2.      It was 33 A.D. and heaven was the scene of the greatest welcome …

A garden full of tombs. A soldier stands on guard outside one. Caiaphas, a high priest, walks up to him. Caiaphas: I wish to register a complaint. Soldier: Oh that’s …

He stands there in the quiet of the evening, listening to the water. It’s been a long day. He can barely believe all that’s happened. Looks back up the shore, …

You could say he’s with us, every day, everywhere, Whether or not we spot his humble presence there. With the wounded, the weighed down, the right and the wrong, The …

A restless young man was once given an unusual harmonica by a kindly old lady. The instrument was old, scratched and dented but the kindly old lady assured him that …