The start of Lent is an ideal time to pause, reflect and remember how much we need to rely upon God.

The Transfiguration is a peak moment in the life of Jesus and the growth of the disciples' understanding of Him. Despite this, it stands at the start of the road to the cross revealing how God's glory and the experience of suffering often go hand-in-hand together.

We are reminded this week, that the Christian hope - the biblical hope - is is not about going to heaven when we die, but the full restoration of God's world. A new creation for which this world groans.

We all have periods of our life where we feel overwhelmed by chaos and turmoil. Whatever the storms we face, Jesus is able to bring rest to our souls.

All of us will have pivotal moments in our lives when we are prompted to recognise that we're going down the wrong track, or making decisions that hurt others. The question is whether - like Saul - we listen to the voice of Christ.

At the start of this week of prayer for Christian unity, John the Baptist sets an extraordinary pattern of what it looks like to point people towards Jesus. He sets his own ego aside to recognise the One who is greater than himself.

Matthew's Gospel jumps straight from the Magi's visit to the infant Christ straight to his Baptism over thirty years later. This sets an example to the rest of us, we are called to shine God's light to the world and follow the calling he has for us.

After Jesus' born he is visited my some mysterious astrologers and magicians from the Persian East. In this we see how, although there is something special in God's election of the Jewish people, His redemptive plan for humanity goes beyond all ethnic or national borders.

Like playing with bubbles, some of us prefer to watch Christmas from afar, but children remind us that if there is one word to sum up the Christmas spirit, it's 'joy'. But joy is far more than just being happy when things go your way. It's a deep-seated sense of hope and contentment, knowing Jesus came to be with us.

Children remind us that if there is one word to sum up the Christmas spirit, it's 'joy'. But joy is far more than just being happy when things go your way. It's a deep-seated sense of hope and contentment, knowing we are not alone.

If there is one word to sum up the Christmas spirit, it's 'joy'. But joy is far more than just being happy when things go your way. It's a deep-seated sense of hope and contentment, even in the tougher times.

In the final talk looking at some of the first few people in Jesus' family tree, Hannah reflects on how we all fall short, and the idea that our 'smallest' sin no less wrong than David's actions of rape, adultery and murder. The good news though is that for all sin, Jesus offers forgiveness.