Life Issues

Did you know horses, chickens, guinea pigs- even fish can be used in animal-assisted therapy? In this week’s Life Issues with Vicky Gibbens, she finds out about the journey of one Christian Mum, Ali Colley, who was unexpectedly called by God to train in this area of mental and emotional wellbeing. Her daughter, Hope, at seven years old, was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer.

We may have many dreams & expectations for our children, yet most of all we want them to be healthy. But for Karen & Gordon Palmer they discovered before their first daughter, Jennifer Grace, was even born, that she had multiple, life-threatening abnormalities. In this Life Issues episode with Vicky Gibbens, they share how God stepped in and carried them, as they carried Jennifer.

How much of our time do we focus on the here and now, and dealing with the everyday challenges, rather than looking to the future? Is eternity about our happiness, or God coming home to be truly with us? Is it even possible to live a heaven-soaked life now? The Right Reverend Professor N.T.Wright, a world-renowned Bible scholar and the former Bishop of Durham joins Vicky Gibbens for this Life Issues.

Around the world 1 in 7 Christians face persecution, so what is the hope we can offer to them – and given what the bible says about the expectation of persecution could their example, experience and theology be more in tune with biblical Christianity than our “comfortable” freedom based, western experience? In this week’s Life Issues, Hope for and from the Persecuted Church Paul is joined by Henrietta Blyth CEO of Open Doors UK and Ireland.

Do you ever struggle with inconsistency of the Christian Walk? What if our “relaxed”, “I can pray anytime” attitude, towards spending time with God, that much of modern faith has come to inhabit, contributes to that?
In years gone by, the monastic rule of life provided a framework and focus through the day, that pointed towards our Father in heaven. So given that the bible tells us to Be still & know…. What if we could embrace a “rule” for life, that balanced the best of that history with the freedom of spontaneous spirituality?

This week’s Life Issues - A spiritual rule to make good faith habits.