If you listen to Imagine Dragons lyrics, especially “Night Visions,” they are very honest about the nature of human existence. As we listen, it rings true with our own experience. But as we’ll see, the hope clung to is more sentimental and not so grounded in reality. The Bible shows us our problematic reality as well but also reveals God’s way of salvation from it.

Since you’re reading this article, presumably you agree with me that written words matter. In fact, they matter a great deal. As the digital revolution continues to change the way men and women communicate around the world, there have been some who bemoan the lack of interest in written words: many traditional libraries have either disappeared or morphed into internet cafes; older people complain that young people are too “glued to their phones” to do any serious reading; a sharp drop in the use of Christmas cards, postcards and private letters all suggest that the written word doesn’t hold the same importance as once it did.

A wet February night at 10:15pm. YES at 10:15PM!! The
latest showing at a cinema I’ve ever been to...and probably ever will. Despite the time of night you
never really noticed 1. Because the film was superb
and 2. Because the VIP seating in Maghera is excellent. Quiet, Reclining seats, armchairs and its only an extra £1! the only downfall is that it’s in Maghera.... I’m sure Maghera is lovely but it’s a wee bit off the beaten track. However, would highly
recommend the VIP cinema its superb at no extra cost.

This film like the other follows famous detective Hercule Poirot, this time to a wedding. Not just any wedding though, a wedding for the illustrious and wealthy Simon and Linnet Doyle. Poirot is attending a destination wedding (the worst kind!) in a small village in Egypt. The wedding reception and festivities, however, are aboard a luxurious boat steaming up the Nile River.

DISNEY’S LIVE-ACTION remake of classic tale Beauty and the Beast has been one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2017. Such an enduring, enchanting tale could hardly fail to bring in the big bucks, and so it was little surprise that, in its opening weeks at the box office, it became the biggest film on the planet.

A 21-year-old Paul Simon would lock himself in the bathroom, sit alone with the lights off and play his guitar. It was while playing his guitar in the darkness he first sang, “Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again”. 

If you listen to Imagine Dragons lyrics, especially “Night Visions,” they are very honest about the nature of human existence. As we listen, it rings true with our own experience. But as we’ll see, the hope clung to is more sentimental and not so grounded in reality. The Bible shows us our problematic reality as well but also reveals God’s way of salvation from it.

It is an uncomfortable, painful, and sometimes even embarrassing experience to be a witness to the extremities of human emotion. In a culture where we are very guarded about our feelings and expression of them we can be lost for words when the agonies of someone’s heart are displayed. It is hard to understand and empathize. There is the fear that we will amplify the pain by trying to offer whatever inadequate comfort we can summon …

Rachel Platten had a dream to become a successful singer-song writer. For over a decade she tried to make this dream come true. She wrote a lot of songs. None of them were hits. She travelled across America and sang in small venues sometimes with an audience of just 20 people. She made many CDs of her music, but sold few. What was she doing with her life? She was 32. Most of her friends had solid jobs, houses and families while she was struggling to get by! She had written over hundred songs that no-one seemed to want to hear. Should she give up or keep on singing?

This film deserves a whole lot of attention, and a lot more viewers. It will break your heart (and put it back together again). It’s powerful, moving, beautifully made, and will leave you thinking for days. If you haven’t yet seen it, go no further with this review: just go watch it

A few weeks ago I grabbed a bag of popcorn and a bottle of water and was ready to settle down to enjoy another film in the Avengers franchise! Yes, you’ve guessed - Captain Marvel! This film is similar to most Avengers films in that it’s aimed primarily for late teens to young adults. With plenty of action-packed scenes, witty jokes and a star-studded cast, what’s not to love!

Bruno Mars released this simple but very catchy song on his first studio album in 2010. In an interview, Bruno Mars talking about the song, said he was trying to capture the feeling “when you’re in Vegas, and you’ve had way too many drinks, and you love everybody, and you want to do something that you probably shouldn’t do and you’ll regret in the morning.” In the song that ‘something’ is to spontaneously marry someone.

As most of you will know with this pandemic going on the cinemas have not been that easy to get to. So, I have taken this version of the messengers review to an Amazon prime movie. I realise not everybody has Amazon prime, but you can't get this movie through other means either by buying as a DVD or renting it or whatever floats your boat. The movie I have chosen Is ‘Knives Out’.

A desire for freedom is inherent in man. A yearning for liberty is part of the very soul of mankind. We can see it if we look through any history book. Tale after tale of people struggling to free themselves from oppression.

Twenty minutes of mindless scrolling YouTube on my phone and I can’t even tell you what I’m watching anymore or why. It’s amazing how quickly time slips away without any purpose - films, music, video games, TV, books, magazines, social media, podcasts. We have more control over how we curate our content than ever before, so why does it often feel like we’re still failing when it comes to what we listen to and watch?

Did you know we are in the grip of another pandemic? An anxiety pandemic. Anxiety is part of our lives at the best of times. But the Coronavirus has created a perfect storm of worry. Worries about loneliness, failure, change, monotony, anxiety about work, health, finances and the future can overwhelm us. Anxious thoughts fill our minds. “What if this happens?” “What if this doesn’t happen?” Are you worried you read this?

In this fourth article attention is drawn to what happened after Messiah’s suffering and death. The fact of his ‘passion’ is captured in the ‘Messiah’ with words from Isaiah 53:8 “… he was cut off out of the land of the living … .”

The Bible has one central person in focus – the Messiah. After Adam and Eve sinned their only hope lay in the ‘seed of the woman’ promised in Genesis 3:15. God affirmed that this ‘seed’ would crush Satan and redeem his people through suffering and death. That seed is the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One.

George Frideric Handel is given all the accolades for the oratorio, ‘Messiah’.  He is indeed worthy of the highest praise for this musical masterpiece, a masterpiece as popular today as when it was first performed in Dublin in April 1742.  Handel, however, was only responsible for the musical score.  It was Charles Jennens who was the mastermind behind the arrangement of the Scripture texts.  These are arranged to show how the Old Testament is perfectly fulfilled in the New.  In a wonderful way these texts depict the person and work of Christ.  This article will concentrate on the Birth of the Messiah.

This article introduces the second part. Through the texts identified the discerning listener can easily glean the purpose of Messiah’s suffering. It was not because of sin he had committed, because Jesus was “without blemish or spot”, but because of the sins of his people. That will become crystal clear as some of these texts are considered.