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Apparently Jesus had been flogged earlier, as part of his interrogation. Immediately after sentence of crucifixion was passed, Jesus was flogged again (v.26).

This was standard procedure; it was customary to flog prisoners before taking them out to be crucified. But what takes place in verses 27 to 31 is not standard procedure. It is more like barracks-room humour.

Famous books

John Knox’s book, God’s Eternal Predestination, was published in Geneva in 1560.

The Geneva Bible was published late in 1560 by a group of English people who had been exiles there during the persecution of Queen Mary I and led by William Whittingham. A handsome quarto volume, convenient for personal and family use, it had illustrations and marginal explanatory notes. It became the most widely used Bible of the English Protestants.

God loves to use the weak and despised of this world to show his power and glory.

He particularly loves to have the glorious treasure of his gospel shine out of broken clay pots. There is a region of the world where God has been doing this in the most remarkable way over the last ten years.

Martin Goldsmith was born in 1934 in England to a German Jewish family.

He attended public school and, through a miraculous answer to prayer, became a Christian at age 15. He qualified as a Russian interpreter in the Navy then studied Modern Languages and Russian Political Thought at Oxford. There he felt called to mission and, after training in theology in Bristol, worked as a missionary with OMF in SE Asia for ten years. He lectured at All Nations Christian College for 24 years and now engages in a full-time international speaking ministry. He has authored many books, the latest being Beyond Beards and Burqas (IVP, £7.99), in which he introduces the reader to a wide variety of Muslims, relaying conversations about Islam and Christianity he has had with them during his many years of Christian service.

Several months ago I was on a train which came to an abrupt and terminal stop. We waited for half an hour before the announcement: ‘Ladies and gentlemen please disembark as there is a large hole in the fuel tank’.

This became obvious from the overpowering smell of diesel that hit us as soon as we were outside. I liked being on the train. It was comfortable and they served refreshments. But it wasn’t going anywhere and from inside it was impossible to see why.

A thanksgiving service was held on November 2 to celebrate the life of Sheena Gillies, who died suddenly on October 16.

Sheena’s interest in mission began in her early family and church life and led her to study at All Nation’s Christian College and then to UCCF in Scotland as a full-time staff worker. She went on to serve as a teacher and trainer at Capernwray Bible School in Lancashire, at London Bible College (now London School of Theology) as Director of Training, and at All Souls Church, Langham Place, where she worked as a Senior Associate Minister for 11 years. She also taught at events and conferences.

Churches up and down the country are shrinking or closing at an alarming rate and, amid the erosion of our country’s spiritual heritage, Christianity is being systematically driven from the public square.

However, alongside the negatives there are many positives. Churches are being planted, people are being saved and men and women are being trained for gospel ministry. In addition, there seems to be a new spirit of partnership among gospel-minded people. An example of this is the number of churches which have committed themselves to the forthcoming A Passion for Life mission.

So, what’s your personal vision statement for this coming year? You don’t have one yet? But we’re on the brink of 2010!

OK, what about your ministry aims? Can you outline them to me in the space of three seconds without breaking into a sweat? No?! Alright then, let me loosen the noose a bit: can you present the projected outcomes of your personal discipleship programme (preferably using bullet points) for the next three years? What do you mean, you can’t even see beyond the coming week you PowerPointless wonder? Take me to your seminar leader — on the double!

Gladys Aylward was born on February 24 1902 to a working class family in Edmonton in north London.

Her parents both worked for the Post Office, and she worked as a humble parlourmaid. It was when Gladys attended a church service one evening and heard about mission in foreign lands that she embraced the concept of people working in far-flung destinations for the Kingdom of God. Subsequently she became aware of the vast country of China which had hardly even heard of Christianity. These thoughts challenged the young Gladys who had given her life over to God’s service, but she was still not sure what that might be.

For many years Peter Anderson has been used by God as an evangelist. Here he tells us of his conversion while on national service in the British Army.

On arrival in Singapore I found myself in an office looking after the pay of Gurkha soldiers. Also in the office was a soldier I recognised from basic training in Devizes. I knew that he was a Christian, but as he slept in a different barrack room from me I could ‘escape’ from him out of office hours.

It is a rare occurrence that on a cold evening students would decide that what they really want to do is leave the warmth and comfort of their rooms and venture out into the cold to a church of all places, sing songs about Jesus and then listen to someone talk about him.

Strangely enough, this seems to be quite appealing to people around Christmas time, for many people this is the one time of the year that they enter a church.

The world has always been home to many religious faiths and ideologies.

This religious pluralism has become more pronounced for people in the West, due to globalisation and migration between countries. A shrinking world brings adherents of different religions closer to each other. We meet people of other races and learn of their cultures and beliefs through television and the internet. Mosques, temples and non-Western restaurants reflect the increasingly diverse nature of many Western societies.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Feb 2010

Whether or not — and to what extent, and at what speed — the international market economy is recovering is beyond the scope of this paper, and certainly beyond my expertise as a writer.

But from the ground up it still looks like, to say the least, we are in ‘interesting’ financial times, and some list it as ongoing through 2010 at least (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932010). What does this mean for the church?

If you’re not sure who Michael McIntyre is or what he does then you’re either abroad or refusing to switch on your TV.

He is a 33-year-old stand-up comedian who has experienced a meteoric rise to fame over the last couple of years. He’s come from literally nowhere, largely because of the decision by Prince Charles to put him into his own 60th birthday celebrations as well as a Royal Variety Performance in 2006.

I’ve been very encouraged that churches are planning to use music events as part of A Passion for Life.

I’m off to Morden in South London on Saturday to be interviewed at a concert which in past years has been simply that — a concert. The event has proved very popular, so I’m pleased that the organisers have wanted to include some gospel content to challenge the audience to think about Jesus. An evening like this is pretty easy to prepare and doesn’t create a lot of mess, so for those who thought they could never organise a musical bash, here’s a simple recipe for putting on a top gig.

I went to talk to Josh who was a student at Loughborough University and is now a UCCF Relay worker there. I wanted to find out a bit more about the Relay programme from a Relay worker’s point of view.

CP: What is Relay?

Josh: Relay is a year of discipleship training in a student context. There’s a lot of training, input from Staff Workers and others involved in UCCF. It involves a lot of study, but also you get to learn by doing and you get chucked in at the deep end. At the same time you’re really supported as well, there’s great teaching and it’s a lot of fun.