Author Archives: Risen Webmaster

Blog November 9th Gaza

There is very little I can say about the conflict in Gaza and Israel- the horrific images on our tv screens says it all.

The featured video was meant for Ukraine, but I trust it to be just as relevant for the Palestinian and Israeli people.

Quote of the week


Jesus Christ

Blog November 2nd Matthew Perry


“Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled” featuring Ben Morris from the album Risen! The Musical recorded and produced by Joffy Girling

I know that this has been “doing the rounds” on social media but I still thought it worth sharing.

Matthew Perry, the US actor famously known for his role as Chandler in the sitcom Friends, has revealed how he experienced a breakthrough in his battle with alcohol addiction after a prayer.
He said: “God, please help me, show me that you are here. God, please help me…”
“I started to cry. I mean, I really started to cry – that shoulder-shaking kind of uncontrollable weeping. I wasn’t crying because I was sad. I was crying because for the first time in my life, I felt okay. I felt safe, taken care of. Decades of struggling with God, and wrestling with life and sadness, all was being washed away, like a river of pain gone into oblivion.”
“I had been in the presence of God. I was certain of it.”
Perry says he stayed sober for two years based “solely” on that encounter with God.
“God had shown me a sliver of what life could be. He saved me that day, and for all days, no matter what. He had turned me into a seeker, not only of sobriety, and truth, but also of him”.

Quote of the week


Morrie Schwartz/Jack Lemmon

Blog October 26th Gaza


Love Is The Way featuring Lucy Stimpson-Maynard from the album Love Is The Way recorded and produced by Bob Ross.

It is said that a picture paints a thousand words and I believe that this is true of today’s featured photo.
Yes, I am aware that this and similar images have been staged and so could be regarded as “fake”, however can I put this thought to you? “If fake, does the message become even more powerful than if true”? In other words, is the desire for it to be true more powerful than if it were true?

Quote of the week

Blog October 19th Marcus Smith

England’s Marcus Smith kicks a conversion during the Summer Series match at Twickenham Stadium, London. Picture date: Saturday July 10, 2021.


There’s More Than One Way Of Saying I Love You featuring Lucy Stimpson- Maynard from the album Uplifted recorded and produced by Bob Ross.

I am not sure if you have been watching the Rugby Union World Cup, but for those that are not enthusiasts this week we have the semi- finals with Argentina taking on New Zealand and England taking on South Africa.
I am not a fan of the style of rugby that England are playing at present- it is not adventurous enough and that is one reason why my favourite player Marcus Smith is unlikely to be in the starting line -up. He is a fly half, but the problem is Owen Farrell, the England captain also plays in that position. To accommodate Marcus in the last game against Fiji Marcus played full back, but because of tactics he is unlikely to play there against South Africa.
Anyway, in addition to being a brilliant young rugby player Marcus is also a Christian. An extract from an interview with “Square Mile” is below:
Fuelled by his unwavering faith, strong family values, and an insatiable drive for success, Marcus Smith, the England fly-half, has swiftly ascended to the pinnacle of rugby.
Born in the Philippines, this exceptional talent reflects upon the challenging journey that has led him to the upcoming Rugby World Cup this autumn.
He said “Obviously, that season wasn’t all plain sailing. Around November-December time, I was on the bench a few times at Quins. I wasn’t in contention with England, I wasn’t playing my best rugby.
“My mum is massively religious herself, so she always used to encourage us to pray with her. I wanted a solution. I wanted to try something different because what I was doing wasn’t working, and therefore I trusted my mum and listened to her and started praying with her regularly.
“Through that I felt more at ease with myself. I felt more able to deal with the ups and downs of professional sport and life as well.
It allowed me to understand that everything happens for a reason and everything is meant to happen. As long as you are good and do the right things and you work as hard as you can, that’s all you can ultimately do.
“And so I surrendered all the outcomes, everything that I can’t control to Him and worked as hard as I can at the sport I love dearly. It’s definitely brought me very, very close to God and I believe strongly in Him.

Quote of the week

Blog October 13th Putting the other guy first


Yours Is A Jealous Love featuring Lucy Stimpson-Maynard from the album Precious recorded and produced by Ross Gill.

I recently read this in the “Word For Today” and thought it well worth sharing.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, ‘There is no limit to what can be accomplished if it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.’ Most people know about Isaac Newton’s famed encounter with a falling apple; how he introduced the law of universal gravitation and revolutionised astronomical studies. But few people know that had it not been for a man called Edmond Halley, the world may never have heard of Newton. Halley was the one who urged Newton to think through his original theories, corrected his mathematical mistakes, and formulated geometrical figures to support his discoveries. It was Halley who persuaded a hesitant Newton to write his great work The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. And it was Halley who edited and supervised its publication and financed its printing, even though Newton was wealthier and could better have afforded the cost.
Historians have called Halley’s affiliation with Newton one of the most selfless cases in science. Newton began almost immediately to reap the rewards of prominence, but Halley received little credit. He did use the principles Newton established to forecast the orbit and return of a comet that would later bear his name. But since Halley’s Comet returns only every seventy-six years, relatively few people still hear his name. However, Halley didn’t care who got the credit as long as the cause of science was advanced. He personified what it means to live by this scriptural principle: ‘Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.’ Anytime God gives you an opportunity to put others first and yourself second, grab it and run with it.

Quote of the week

Blog October 5th Bear Grylls Baptism

Give Us A Heart On Fire featuring the Portsmouth Gospel Choir from the album How Great Are His Signs recorded and produced by Joffy James.

 

I have already shared the faith of explorer and TV presenter Bear Grylls e.g. https://risen.org.uk/?p=1343 and it is now reported in Christian Premier Media that he has fulfilled a lifelong dream by being baptised in the Jordan River, the same sacred place where Jesus received baptism from John the Baptist.

Grylls shared a picture (as featured) of this significant moment on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “It had always been a dream of mine to get in the water that Jesus was baptised in by my hero John the Baptist. The story is so amazing, & it seems wherever Jesus went, that new birth, new life, a new vision followed. Luke (in the bible) was probably a Syrian doctor before he met Jesus. He writes a reliable, poignant account of his life. It’s short. I like it.”

The Gospel of Luke tells the story of Jesus Christ’s life, teachings, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension and it is often used to help new believers understand Jesus’ teachings and how to live the new life in Christ.

Grylls has often been open about his faith and is an ambassador for the Alpha Course, which introduces people to Christian basics.

Earlier this year, the adventurer made headlines after he said he believes “Jesus would struggle with 99 per cent of churches nowadays” during an interview with the Christian Post.

For him, Christians should prioritise a personal relationship with God over religious rituals.

He said: “Our job in life is to stay close to Christ and drop the religious, drop the fluff, drop the church if you need to because that means so many different things to different people anyway. Keep the bit of church which is about community and friends and honesty and faith and love. All the masks, performances, music and worship bands and all of that sort of stuff—I don’t think Christ would recognize a lot of that.”

Grylls was also famously seen praying for former president of the USA, Barack Obama during an episode of his TV show Running Wild with Bear Grylls.

 

Quote of the week

Blog September 28th Theophilus The Musical Staged Concert Act Two

 

Although I have shared a highlights video of the staged concert version of our “Theophilus- The Musical” I have not shared the complete show. Last week I shared Act One and this week it’s Act Two. Once again, I am a tad embarrassed that the title is Theophilus By Ken Shearsmith – it should have read “Mustard Seed Songs Present Theophilus The Musical”.

The Cast were:

Theophilus + Priscilla- Natasha Bain
Luke + Aquila – Edward Baker- Duly
Peter – Richard Mellion
Paul – Mark Bernard
Mary Magdalene- Katie Forge
John and Ananias – Andrew Dovaston
Crippled man and Simon the Sorcerer- Casey Lloyd
Stephen the first Martyr and Julius the Centurian- Sam Townsend
Philip the Evangelist and Barnabas – Adam Collins
Tabitha- Mei-Ling Thomas
Lydia – ChiChi Uzodinma
Woman from Ephesus – Amy Millar
Imprisoned woman – Evieanna Mullane

Musical Director – Joffy Girling
Tech team led by – Adam Kemp

The Staged Concert took place on May 14th 2023 at Bay House School and Sixth form and was filmed and edited by Tom Clark

Quote of the week.

Blog September 21st Theophilus- The Musical Staged Concert Act One

 

Although I have shared a highlights video of the staged concert version of our “Theophilus- The Musical” I have not shared the complete show. So here is Act One – I am a tad embarrassed that the title is Theophilus By Ken Shearsmith – it should have read “Mustard Seed Songs Present Theophilus The Musical”.

The Cast were:

Theophilus + Priscilla- Natasha Bain
Luke + Aquila – Edward Baker- Duly
Peter – Richard Mellion
Paul – Mark Bernard
Mary Magdalene- Katie Forge
John and Ananias – Andrew Dovaston
Crippled man and Simon the Sorcerer- Casey Lloyd
Stephen the first Martyr and Julius the Centurian- Sam Townsend
Philip the Evangelist and Barnabas – Adam Collins
Tabitha- Mei-Ling Thomas
Lydia – ChiChi Uzodinma
Woman from Ephesus – Amy Millar
Imprisoned woman – Evieanna Mullane

Musical Director – Joffy Girling
Tech team led by – Adam Kemp

The Staged Concert took place on May 14th 2023 at Bay House School and Sixth form and was filmed and edited by Tom Clark

I will share Act Two next week.

 

Blog September 14th Allie Sherlock Part Two

 

So today’s video features Allie Sherlock aged 11- 16  (in last weeks video she is 18)

Here are a few facts about her:

Allie Sherlock (born 7 April 2005) is an Irish singer, guitarist, songwriter, and busker. A video of her performing a cover of Ed Sheeran‘s “Supermarket Flowers” went viral on YouTube in June 2017. She appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2018.

Sherlock began busking in Cork and later, from the age of 11, began performing almost weekly on Grafton StreetDublin. Her father, who is her music manager, is also present and remains “on guard when people are inappropriate”. He films and uploads her YouTube videos.

In 2014, Sherlock’s YouTube channel was created and, as of April 2023, had over 5.73 million subscribers and generated over 1 billion views.] She later started a Patreon channel,[10] and (as of April 2023) had over 2.3 million Instagram followers and 3.5 million on Facebook.

In 2017, she was on the twelfth series of Britain’s Got Talent and advanced to the second round.  In August 2017, she performed at the 2017 Miss Universe Ireland pageant.

In early 2018, she performed the song “Million Years Ago” by Adele on ABC‘s The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran on RTÉ One‘s The Ray D’Arcy Show. Later in 2018, Sherlock signed a five-year contract with Patriot Records, owned by OneRepublic lead vocalist, Ryan Tedder.

Live concerts by Sherlock in Ireland have included performances at the Cork Opera House (December 2016), Cyprus Avenue in Cork (December 2018),  and at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin in April 2019.  She performed at the Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall in Hamburg, Germany in early 2020.  During their European tour in March 2020, Sherlock supported OneRepublic at concerts in Paris (France Cologne (Germany), Utrecht (Netherlands), and the London Palladium (UK).

In February 2020, she released a first extended play (EP) of a cover of “At Last” by Etta James.  In June 2020, she performed with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra as part of the final episode of RTÉ‘s Home School Hub. Also in 2020, Sherlock was part of a collective of female artists called “Irish Women in Harmony“, that recorded a version of Dreams in aid of a domestic abuse charity.

In December 2021, Sherlock performed on Virgin Media Television on Dave Fanning‘s Fanning at Whelan’s show.[28]

On 4 June 2022, Sherlock performed at the AO Arena in Manchester (shown on ITV) for the Queen of the United Kingdom‘s 70th Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

On 7 April, 2023, Sherlock celebrated her 18th birthday and released the album “Allie”, including 11 cover songs

 

Quote of the week

Blog September 7th Allie Sherlock Part One

I have just arrived in Scotland during a two- week holiday with Caroline my wife and our two doggies Genna and Dylan.  As I was not sure about the internet connection quality up here, I had “pre – recorded” today and next week’s blogs which feature Irish busker Allie Sherlock.  Ill give a bio of her next week but today is just about enjoying her and the young Ed Sheeran lookalike sing Leonard Cohen’s classic “Hallelujah”.

Quote of the week