A goal from returning hero Paul Scholes set Manchester United on the way to a comfortable 3-0 win over Bolton at Old Trafford as they continue to pursue league-leaders Manchester City, who play Wigan this evening.

North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham both struggled: Tottenham lost ground on the Manchester clubs after only managing a draw against Wolves at White Hart Lane and Arsenal lost 3-2 away at Swansea.

Dutchman Christian Kist won the BDO World Darts Championships final against Tony O’Shea on Sunday. The unseeded qualifier who was making his first appearance in the competition knocked out two-time champion Ted Hankey in Saturday’s semi-final before winning Sunday’s final 7-5 to take home the title and £100,000 in prize money, reportedly 50 times his career earning to date.

Ronnie O’Sullivan knocked out defending champion Ding Junhui in the first round of the Masters at London’s Alexandra Palace while Mark Williams beat Stephen Maguire. O’Sullivan will face Judd Trump, who defeated Stuart Bingham this afternoon.

Both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer registered first round wins in the first round of the Australian Open, both winning in straight sets. Andy Murray begins his campaign against Ryan Harrison at midnight tonight.

The first time I entered a church for a ‘typical’ Sunday service, I was scared. Don’t get me wrong; I had been to weddings, christenings and remembrance services before, but going to church for no reason was something different.

It all happened around eleven years ago, and by this point, my wife Shelly had become a Christian at Holy Trinity Church in Ripon.

Unbeknown to me she had been taking our two children to Sunday school. However, this particular Sunday she was going shopping and wanted me to take them to church instead.

To be honest, I was reluctant to do this, but for our children’s sake, I agreed.

I can remember planning a strategy of how not to spend much time in church. My plan was to drop the kids off quickly, head to the nearest pub to read the paper, and pick the kids up afterwards.

I thought it was a foolproof plan but didn’t count on a fiery blond-haired woman welcoming me when entering the church. I entered the building with much unease. It didn’t help that my two children Tayla and Curtis ran off downstairs leaving me to be led by one of Shelly’s friends to a seat inside. I couldn’t refuse. It was so awkward. I would have felt more at home entering an adult shop or a casino in all honesty.

During the nest two months I witnessed the change that God had made in Shelly’s life. I knew I had got to the point where I also wanted to give my life to God. The walk towards God wasn’t an easy one, and the decision to follow Jesus wasn’t easy either, but now I wouldn’t want to be on any other path than the narrow one.

I soon learnt one of the most popular teachings in the Bible for myself. As the angel said to Mary: “Do not be afraid” so did the Lord whisper that same thing to me. Everyday I am discovering more and more what it means to live with God on my side. The Bible says that because I gave my life to Jesus, God is now “For me and not against me.”

I am sure that many more guys would jump at the chance to know more about this God.

Why not join us on the 21st of this month at the Forum Hall, Wythenshawe, Manchester, for a National Men’s Day in partnership with New Wine. It would be a great place for any blokes to take their first steps with their creator. It will also be a cracking event for Christian men to develop their walk with God.

Get yourself booked in here.

See you there guys.

Deano.

This year I’ll be reading the entire Bible. I say ‘reading’ but what I mean is ‘listening’ due to a quirky little programme on my iPhone. So, before I go to sleep I’ll be listening to a man with a deeper voice than Gandalf read to me. (That sounds a little bit weird but I can assure you it’s already the highlight of my days.) So far I’m just passed the story of the first families in Genesis.

I’m not going to boast, but I have read it before. I know what happens, when it happens and how it’s going to happen. However, the Bible has a unique ability to draw your attention to certain teachings which are stunningly apt for you at specific times.

I highlighted three big hitters and will be unpacking them over the next three weeks. The first lesson I was reminded of was at the heart of the tragic story of Cain and Abel.

Both brothers worked hard for God. Both brothers knew God was God. Both brothers made sacrifices to God.

However, Cain’s attitude was rotting inside his heart like a carcass abandoned in the wastelands. The thing that strikes me about Cain’s attitude also scares me. It scares me because I see this attitude in my own life and the life of many men around me. It’s the attitude that says: “I know”.

It’s the man who has every answer sewn up in his mouth before the other person has even stopped talking. It’s the man with a solid exterior and a glaze behind his eyes. It’s the man who always needs first mention and the last word. It’s the man who will not humble himself, yet speaks a lot about his weaknesses.

And yet God gave Cain a phenomenal opportunity to change things around. However, you can see in the short account below how Cain’s attitude was impenetrable.

Genesis 4:2-9

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favour on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favour. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

I prayed three prayers on day one of this year. The first was a result of reading the story of Cain and Abel.

My prayer was this: “Father, I have seen so much of Cain’s attitude in my own life, and in the lives of men around me. I want to be like Abel. Help me follow you closely, and point others to you.”

Peace.

I have always been fascinated by the way men store money. Some men shove it loose in their pockets, some put it in wallets in their back pockets, my Dad had this funny little holder that stored pound coins. I loved the sight of that little holder and the chance that I might receive a pound coin from it. However, I’m a wallet man. I like a wallet big enough to accommodate all my money – notes and coins, and it always goes in a side pocket not the back one!

I have spent a lot of time, probably too much, thinking about the way we store our earthly treasure, but not enough about my heavenly treasure. The Bible tells me my body is Temple of the Holy Spirit, and to be honest my Temple has got a bit of an extension that it probably doesn’t need. Surely the Holy Spirit requires more room in the heart than it does in the belly. (Not that I’m massively overweight but there has been a noticeable expansion in the gut region in recent years.)

CVM’s Codelife contains twelve codes for life and one of them is about being fit and free from addictions. And it’s the fit bit that worries me. Don’t get me wrong I don’t want a washboard stomach and bulging biceps, but less Michelin man would be nice. And I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to suggest that our physical well-being can have an influence on our spiritual well-being. Certainly one of the reasons I am not as trim as I should be is my lack of self discipline.

Despite all of this I am not about to sign up to a ten week fitness plan or anything like that. It’s interesting that when we commit to working on our spiritual life we can do so in secret and even fake the results to some degree, if we commit to a fitness plan our success (or more likely failure) is on display for all to see. Although I am not committing to anything, I would like to be more thoughtful about my body and honour God with it. So if you bump into me after Christmas, come up and gentle slap my belly, if a wobble greets you would you kindly whisper ‘You shouldn’t be there mate.’

Matthew Ch. 2 v 16-18.

Narrator.

A  rival to the throne
Somewhere unseen,
Unknown.
This would mean
All little boys must die
Who had been
That same night
Of visitation,
Under the flame-bright
Night sky
Of that star’s illumination;
Strange light

To identify
The World’s light
And those who’s plight
Became a dark abomination.

What’s a score
Of babes, or more?
Small thing
For a king

From hell to face,
A simple case
Of damage limitation.
It was just a few
And rather little
Boys that died,
A mere mini-genocide.

But guided by another dream,
It would seem,
The star King
Had by then gone,
With father Joe
And mother Mary
Already become one
More refugee
Family.

So in fact
The killing proved unnecessary.

But, fooled and ignored!
As king
From hell.
No lesser thing
Could so bring
Fear-blown pride
From its hide
And make it ring

The death knell
From a sword.
Yet a diff’rent sound
Was really made
As the blades
Cut each round
Angelic head
From trunk and limbs.
Just sounds of dripping
As they bled.

No note from steel was rung,
The only note heard sung’s
A mother’s scream
As over roofs it skims.

In this history
This mystery
This partly gory story,
Of joy and dreams,
Of lies and schemes,
Of fools and wise
And starry skies,

There’s one thing more,
Deep and terrible
That even wise men
Back then
Never saw.

Before this Truth,
Despite all schools
Of all wisdom’s worldly rules,
All wise become as fools.

That by this birth
The king of life
He came to Earth
To hell on Earth,
To bring a life
That’s otherwise unknown to you and I.

But to bring this life,
An innocent must die.

Manchester City regained their two-point lead at the top of the Premier League after rivals Manchester United briefly led the table on Sunday afternoon.

United won 2-0 at QPR in the lunchtime game but City restored their advantage with a 1-0 victory at home to fifth-placed Arsenal, David Silva netting a close-range effort.

Tottenham returned to third with a 1-0 defeat of Sunderland after Chelsea, who dropped to fourth, were held to a 1-1 draw at Wigan.

Sixth-placed Liverpool won 2-0 at Aston Villa, Newcastle drew 0-0 with visiting Swansea, Stoke were 2-1 winners at Wolves and Norwich took a 1-1 draw from their trip to Everton.

Fulham beat basement side Bolton 2-0 and second-from-bottom Blackburn lost 2-1 at home to West Brom.

In Rugby Union, Saracens remained the only English side to lead their European Cup group although Leicester and Harlequins boosted their quarter-final prospects with wins.

Visiting Saracens held off Ospreys 16-13, Leicester beat Clermont Auvergne 29-13 at home but the performance of the weekend came from Quins who won a stunning game at Toulouse 31-24.

In the same group Gloucester saw off Connacht 23-19 but will still struggle to progress, as will Bath who lost 52-27 at defending champions Leinster. Northampton thrashed Castres 45-0 but remained a long shot for the last eight.

In the Challenge Cup Exeter and Wasps led their groups after beating Bayonne and Newport-Gwent Dragons respectively. Worcester and Sale were second in their pools following wins, as were Newcastle who lost to a Toulon side featuring former player Jonny Wilkinson who last week retired from internationals.

In Golf there were wins for two Englishmen: Lee Westwood took the Thailand Open by seven shots and Ian Poulter the Australian Masters by three.

England’s Luke Donald became the first man to top Golf’s US and European money lists by finishing third in the Dubai World Championship.

Having sealed the American prize in October, Donald needed to finish in the top nine in Dubai to secure the European equivalent. He did so with a final-round 66 to end 16 under par, three shots behind the winner Alvaro Quiros of Spain.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy was the only player who could deny Donald the European title, if he won in Dubai and the Englishman finished outside the top nine. McIlroy’s challenge faded and he ended 10 shots adrift of Quiros.

An Englishman also held off a Northern Irishman in Snooker as Judd Trump beat Mark Allen 10-8 to win the UK Championship title in York.

Allen led 3-1 but Trump took the next seven frames. Allen won five of the next six but Trump, who took his first ranking title in China earlier this year, held on.

In Football’s Premier League, Manchester United closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to two points although it could be temporary with City playing at Chelsea on Monday evening.

United saw off Wolves 4-1 thanks to braces from Nani and Wayne Rooney. Third-placed Tottenham lost ground with a 2-1 defeat to Stoke, former Spurs winger Matthew Etherington scoring both City goals.

Arsenal broke into the top four, again possibly temporarily with Chelsea is action on Monday, thanks to a 1-0 win over Everton. Liverpool went sixth with a 1-0 victory against QPR and Newcastle losing 4-2 to Norwich.

Wigan moved off the bottom with a 2-1 defeat of West Brom and Bolton taking their place courtesy of a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa. Sunderland beat struggling Blackburn 2-1 in new boss Martin O’Neill’s first game in charge. Swansea saw off Fulham 2-0.

In Rugby Union’s European Cup Saracens beat Ospreys 31-26 at Wembley to stay top of their group, the only English side in such a position.

London Irish defeated Racing Metro 34-14, Northampton lost 41-22 to Castres, Bath were beaten 18-13 by Leinster and Leicester lost 30-12 to Clermont Auvergne. Gloucester and Harlequins, who are in the same group, respectively beat Connacht 14-10 and lost to Toulouse 21-10.

In the Challenge Cup there were wins for Worcester, Exeter, Sale and Newcastle but not Wasps.

Manchester City kept up their five-point lead in the Premier League table with a 5-1 thrashing of Norwich City thanks to five different scorers.

Manchester United stayed second courtesy of a 1-0 win at Aston Villa, defender Phil Jones getting the first goal of his senior career. Tottenham remained third via a 3-0 victory over Bolton.

Chelsea moved up to fourth by beating Newcastle, who dropped two places to sixth, 3-0 and Arsenal went fifth with a 4-0 triumph at Wigan, who went bottom. Blackburn moved off the foot of the table as Yakubu scored all four in a 4-2 defeat of Swansea.

Stoke beat Everton 1-0, Wolves defeated Sunderland, who named Martin O’Neill as Steve Bruce’s successor, 2-1 and Queens Park Rangers drew 1-1 with West Brom.

The draw for the third round of the FA Cup was made with Man City versus Man Utd the tie of the round to be played on January 7 and 8.

England Rugby Union hooker Steve Thompson has been forced to retire due to a neck injury. The 2003 World Cup winner did likewise in 2007 but returned to playing and featured in this year’s World Cup.

Shane Williams, as expected, played his last game for Wales and scored a try in the final move but could not prevent a 24-18 defeat to Australia in Cardiff.

In the English Premiership Harlequins kept up their 100% record courtesy of a 22-16 win at Wasps. Second-placed Saracens saw off London Irish 15-11.

Exeter went third with a 15-9 win over Worcester, Sale moved to fourth thanks to a 16-13 victory at Bath, Leicester beat Northampton 30-25 and bottom side Newcastle defeated Gloucester 26-25.

In Golf Rory McIlroy won the Hong Kong Open to keep alive the Race to Dubai contest with Luke Donald. The US Open champion shot a closing round of 65 to finish on 12 under par, two shots ahead of Gregory Havret.

England’s Lee Westwood defended his Nedbank Golf Challenge title at the Sun City resort in South Africa, finishing two shots clear of Robert Karlsson while world number one Donald was 10 shots behind.

Stubbington, near Portsmouth, was recently CVM’s port of call for yet another fun-filled, packed out Regional Day. The night before a Regional Day, the team usually stays in a Travel Inn close by to chill out, eat food and frequent a local pub. This evening was no exception.

What followed a good meal of ribs in barbecue sauce was a nice glass of Baileys and some good friendly chatter. As Carl and I sat there on one side of the pub, parallel to us was another duo of mates. They were debating giving up smoking and suddenly we became involved in the conversation. As time went on, not only did we get an offer from one of these blokes for a drink, but ended up talking about life and the challenges brought on by the recession.

The conversation moved from politics to religion, which should rarely be brought together over a few tipples of the strong stuff. But things didn’t go the way you think they might have.

One of our newly made friends began opening up and telling Carl and I about how he was struggling to make ends meet He explained how he was having to downsize his business and make a real lifestyle change. He was finding it hard as the main breadwinner to have failed to bring in enough to keep his family in the life they were accustomed to.

He soon concluded his thoughts with: “It’s all about the money”. Carl and I simultaneously replied “No its not, it’s about family’.

We didn’t pull any punches in mentioning that we were Christians and that we ran a national men’s ministry. We carried on making our faith known and being open to the Holy Spirit as I shared my failings in business as well.

And as a man’s man, I decided to talk to him about Mary Poppins. When I was in London with my family a while back, we caught the West End show of the Disney feature film live on stage. And what jumped out for me whilst struggling to make ends meet and being in so much debt, was that I could take refuge in a scene from this show. The scene is when the father loses his job due to the children causing havoc at the bank and then realizing that they are about to lose everything. But suddenly, the reassurance of the mother comes in the middle of a particular harrowing moment. She quite boldly exclaims that: “As long as we are together, that is all that counts”.

This scene helped me through the time of uncertainty. And amazingly, it somehow hit home for the bloke in this bar who was struggling. He opened his eyes to the fact that there was more to life than money and material things.

We mentioned Jesus on numerous occasions that night and now have to leave it with God to follow it through. But hopefully, with Carl and I unashamedly making Him known with everything we do and say, we planted a seed in this chap’s heart. We now pray that something has happens because we didn’t back down from the basic stuff of Jesus. We hope that what we said, even though it included a scene from a fairytale, changes his life. Only God knows. But we do that know that Jesus loved to use stories to point people to the truth, so let’s not be afraid to do the same.

Cheers.