Dear Friends,

As we continue to enjoy living in the city, we have become aware of the many different types of birds around us. We have appreciated the singing of the blackbirds and the call of the wood pigeon in the trees at the back of the manse. We were amazed to see and hear the colourful parakeets in the Vondelpark and fascinated to view a large heron perched above the fish stall at the Dappermarkt, eagerly awaiting the scraps at the end of the day.

All of this reminded me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6 v 26:

“Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

And in Matthew 10 v 29-31…

Dear Friends,

A few days ago, on the recommendation of Rob Koster, Adrienne and I visited the Dappermarkt.

We were fascinated by the huge number of stalls and the many different items on sale.

We were particularly intrigued by the fruit stalls and saw some which we had never seen before. The display and quality of the fruits was first class and it was this which persuaded us to buy so many different varieties.

It brought to mind what the Bible has to say about the fruits of the Spirit…

Dear Friends,

As I have been confined to the manse over the last week or two, I have been watching the world Athletics Championships from Oregon on TV.

It was great to see two Scottish athletes, Laura Muir and Jake Wightman, win bronze and gold in their 1500m races. It has also been good to see the athletes from the Netherlands do well, with two silvers and a bronze.

What I have noticed, especially with the athletes in the field events, is that…

Dear Friends,

Last week George Meerveld very kindly took Adrienne and I on a visit to Zaanse Schans.

On our arrival we were captivated by the smell of chocolate wafting across from the factories and watched amazed as the bridge opened to allow a ship to pass through.

At Zaanse Schans village itself, we were fascinated by the old wooden houses and the windmills. We sampled lots of different cheeses, had our photograph taken wearing giant clogs and enjoyed a pancake lunch.

Having a background in textiles, I was particularly interested….

Dear Friends,

My wife Adrienne and I are really enjoying being here in Amsterdam. It was a great privilege for me to preach and conduct worship last Sunday and to enjoy fellowship with you around the Lord’s Table. It has been good for us to meet many of you and to get to know your names - although it is difficult to remember them all!

Names are very important. In Acts 4 v 36 we are introduced to …

Dear Friends,

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the Lord’s House.”

And now we are here! - Psalm 122 v 1-2

My wife Adrienne and I arrived in your beautiful city yesterday afternoon to brilliant sunshine and a warm welcome from Heleen.

We are now comfortably settled in the manse, with everything we require and I’m sure we will be very happy here.

It will be good to celebrate Communion together on Sunday and to meet many of you after the service….

Dear Friends,

The American pastor, Fred Craddock describes how he went to be pastor of a rural church in the heart of America’s mid-West. To mark the arrival of the new clergyman the congregation held a summer picnic in a forest beside a lake. As the barbecue smoke died down and the shadows lengthened the people lined up to take their farewells and to wish the new pastor every success. One by one they shook his hand and explained who they were. They also added what their particular skills were. ‘I’m a nurse,’ one woman said….

Dear Friends,

The Irish writer, C.S. Lewis, asks us to imagine ourselves as a living house. God comes to rebuild that house. At first we can understand what he is doing. He’s getting the drains right and stopping leaks in the roof. But then he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably. What on earth is he up to?…

Dear Friends,

THE TINY WHITE CHURCHES OF GREECE

If you ever visit Greece, you can’t help wondering why they have so many churches. There are big churches in the towns and villages. But out in the country and even in remote places the hillsides are dotted with little white churches. If you ever go tovisit one of them, you will find it is very small indeed. Some of them are what you might call ‘two-seater- churches, but they have candles that you can light and the holy icons which are an aid to prayer in the Greek Orthodox Church. And they always smell of incense - another aid to prayer.

Bishop John Zizioulas loves to be asked why people build little churches in remote places. ‘Have you seen the hillsides around some of our villages?’ he asks…

Dear Friends,

THE FLYING SCOTSMAN

Malcolm Guite tells the story of a journey he made by train. He was one of many passengers forced to leave their southward bound train at York station because of a broken down train further up the track.

All the passengers were annoyed and were standing around looking angry or sad or lost. Then something wonderful happened. There was a chuff-chuff-chuff sound and clouds of steam covered the platform and …