1 Kings 4:1-34 In the Harry Potter stories, there are hooded shadowy creatures called the Dementors who feed on human happiness and suck joy and hope out of people’s lives. The only defence against them is to think of a…

1 Kings 3:16-28 Hearing discussions about the gifts that God gives to His people in the New Testament left me confused as a young Christian. It seemed to me that the lists included a wide variety of categories, often in…

1 Kings 3:1-15 Every now and again one hears of a prominent Christian leader going off the rails. Whether the issue is sexual sin, abuse, or embezzlement, their actions typically rock the Christian communities they are involved in. The questions…

1 Kings 2:28-46 In my last year at secondary school, we got a new physics teacher, a young woman straight out of university. She wanted to be liked and popular and could not keep discipline or deal with troublemakers. Her…

1 Kings 2:10-27 During my gap year working in a Christian youth hostel in Israel, I encountered a Christian life that showed God’s grace and love, which opened my heart to live for the Lord not out of fear and…

1 Kings 2:1-12 A friend fought to escape her controlling mother by moving to a different city. Yet, when she married and had a daughter, she was confronted with her own controlling behaviour towards her child. She suddenly realised that…

1 Kings 1:1-53 Prior to my doctoral studies, I was given much well-meaning advice about where to get funding. None of it seemed appropriate to me and I felt a little lost about what to do. Supporting higher academic study…