Isleworth Congregational Church
Twickenham Road, Isleworth, Middlesex, TW7 7EU, United Kingdom
by Rev. Antony W. Ball This is an ultra-traditional depiction of the ascension, which St. Luke mentions twice1, but is not really described in scripture. Such artistic representations as this must inevitably be offered in a spirit of “as good a guess as any”, because we are not actually told anything about Jesus’ appearance – […]
Read on...by Rev. Antony W. Ball Trouble is, we don’t even know for sure who that ‘disciple who had reached the tomb first’ was, we’re just told that ‘he saw and believed’. We think it might have been the apostle John (the writer of the Gospel) who mysteriously refers a couple of times1 to ‘the disciple […]
Read on...by Rev. Antony W. Ball Twice in his letters in the New Testament1, St. Paul compares Jesus with Adam, but the comparison is not immediately obvious apart from the scriptural claim that neither had a human father – and there’s more to it than just that. According to the creation story in Genesis2, Adam’s disobedience […]
Read on...by Rev. Antony W. Ball In ‘free’ or ‘independent’ or ‘nonconformist’ Churches like ours we tend not to make such a ‘big deal’ out of Lent – the season leading up to Easter – as they do in Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches. I’m not sure why that should be except, of course, that being […]
Read on...by Rev. Antony W. Ball Well, at least they got the date right – we do celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th – but most of the other details on that drawing need to be taken with a very large a pinch of salt. Even if the magi (wise men or astrologers) […]
Read on...by Rev. Antony W. Ball . You know that Christmas carol, of course? No…? Oh – perhaps you know it as… Hark! The herald angels sing ‘Glory to the new-born King’ They’re two different versions of the same carol. Charles Wesley wrote it in 1739, and was apparently not too keen on it – he […]
Read on...by Rev. Antony W. Ball As another Remembrance Day approaches, war seems more “real” to me this year. I guess that never a year passes without there’s a war somewhere or other in the world, but often it’s either so far away that it doesn’t seem to affect us personally or so geographically “limited” (like […]
Read on...by Rev. Antony W. Ball In past ages He allowed all nations to go their own way;and yet He has not left you without some clue to His nature,in the kindness He shows:He sends you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons,and gives you food and good cheer in plenty. Acts xiv 16,17 NEB […]
Read on...All things were made by Him;and without Him was not any thing made that was made by Rev. Antony W. Ball Harvest is obviously an appropriate time to praise God and to thank Him for all His goodness to us – and we rightly do that whenever we sing all the traditional harvest hymns, but […]
Read on...by Rev. Antony W. Ball As a retired schoolmaster, September will always also signify, for me at least, the start of a new academic year. Let us remember in our prayers… * The children who will be starting school for the first time, especially any who will find it hard to ‘settle’. * Those, of […]
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