Two penalties from Wayne Rooney helped Manchester United fight back from three goals down to draw 3-3 away at Chelsea in the weekend’s big Premier League game on Sunday, the first time in Premier League history that Chelsea have surrendered a three-goal lead.

Daniel Sturridge forced Jonny Evans to turn the ball into his own net in the first half and within five minutes of the restart Chelsea had increased their lead to three. Juan Mata volleyed a Fernando Torres cross home in the first minute of the second half and David Luiz directed a Mata free kick in off Rio Ferdinand for Chelsea’s third.

United rallied, though, and Patrice Evra and then Danny Welbeck won two penalties for their side which Rooney converted to set up a thrilling finale.

A header from substitute Javier Hernandez completed the comeback after in the 84^th minute but United needed a fingertip save from much-maligned keeper David De Gea to keep out a Mata free kick in injury time.

Arsenal produced the standout side from Saturday’s fixtures, demolishing Blackburn 7-1 at the Emirates Stadium. Two goals from Robin van Persie had helped Arsenal to a 3-1 lead before Gael Givet was dismissed for a dangerous tackle just before half-time.

Van Persie sealed his hat-trick just after the hour for Arsenal’s sixth and Thierry Henry completed the rout in injury time.

Manchester City moved ahead of United with a comfortable 3-0 win over Fulham. Chris Baird gave away a penalty and an own goal in the first half and Edin Dzeko scored a third late on.

In an interview with Italian broadcaster RAI, England manager Fabio Capello broken ranks to state that he disagrees “absolutely” with the FA’s decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy. “I thought it was right that Terry should keep the captain’s armband”, he said. Former FA chairman David Davis believes that the comments could constitute breach of contract.

In the opening weekend of the Six Nations, Leigh Halfpenny scored a match-winning penalty with 30 seconds left on the clock as Wales fought back to a 23-21 victory against Ireland. Wales lock Bradley Davies was sent to the sin bin on 65 minutes but has since been cited for the dangerous tip tackle and Wales coach Warren Gatland has admitted that the tackle was worthy of a red card.

England won at Murrayfield for the first time since 2004, but the match was notable for Scotland’s inability to convert chances into tries rather than England’s own attacking play. Charlie Hodgson’s converted try was the difference in a 13-6 win as Ross Rennie and Greig Laidlaw amongst others will be left to rue a raft of missed opportunities.

France comfortably beat Italy 30-12 in Paris to kick-off this year’s Six Nations. Clermont’s Aurelien Rougerie and Julien Malzieu helped France to a 15-6 lead at half-time and Vincent Clerc and debutant Wesley Fofana scored in the second half to dismiss any chances of a repeat of last year’s shock 22-21 win by Italy.

Pakistan look set to complete a 3-0 series whitewash on the fourth day of the third test in Dubai. England have been set a hefty target of 324, with Azhar Ali and Younis Khan scoring 157 and 127 respectively.

Rugby League’s Super League kicked off this weekend and it’s Catalan Dragons who lead the earliest of Super League tables after a 34-12 win at Bradford, in part thanks to the boot of Scott Dureau. Reigning champions Leeds beat Hull KR 34-16 in the season’s first game on Friday evening. Wigan lost at home to Huddersfield 20-16 and St. Helens beat London Broncos 34-24 at the Stoop.

The New York Giants came from behind to win Super Bowl XLVI 21-17 in a repeat of the 2008 season-ending match. Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady had excelled to help his side to the lead after a poor start to the match in which the Giants took a 9-0 lead.

He was unable to inspire his side to victory despite stringing together a Super Bowl record of 16 straight completed passes and his Hail Mary pass in the final seconds was knocked to the ground for the Giants to win their fourth Super Bowl Championship.

World number one Novak Djokovic successfully defended his Australian Open title by beating Rafael Nadal in an incredible five-set final in what was the longest match in the tournament’s history at five hours 53 minutes.

Djokovic won the match 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-5, just 48 hours after Andy Murray took him to five sets in Friday’s semi-final.

In the ladies final, Victoria Azarenka beat Maria Sharapova 6-3 6-0 to win her first grand slam title and displace Caroline Wozniacki as world number one.

In the weekend’s big FA Cup fourth round tie, Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-1 at Anfield. In a game of few chances, Dirk Kuyt evaded Patrice Evra to hit the winner with two minutes remaining after Park Ji-sung’s first-half strike had seen United draw level.

Arsenal came from two goals down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday evening. Richard Dunne and Darren Bent had given Alex McCleish’s side a 2-0 lead at half-time but Robin van Persie scored two penalty’s either side of a Theo Walcott goal to see Arsenal through to the fifth round.

The biggest upset of the round came at the KC Stadium where Hull City crashed out to Crawley Town of League Two courtesy of a second-half goal from striker Matt Tubbs, his 18^th of the season.

The Amex Stadium was the scene of another upset as Brighton beat Newcastle to earn a fifth-round tie away at Liverpool. An own-goal from Mike Williamson was the difference.

A controversial second-half penalty from Juan Mata put Chelsea into the next round at the expense of West London rival QPR.

An embarrassing second innings batting collapse at the hands of Pakistan’s spinners saw England lose the second test to give Pakistan an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

England required 145 runs to win after dominating the first three days, but they managed less than half that total, posting just 74.

Celtic will face Kilmarnock in the final of the Scottish League Cup after a second-half Anthony Stokes brace against Falkirk. Jay Fulton levelled for Falkirk after Scott Brown gave Celtic the lead from the penalty spot but Stokes scored what would be the winner with a superb free-kick before settling the tie with an 86^th minute tap-in.

In the LV= Cup, Joel Tomkins scored two tries in an impressive debut for Saracens as they beat Worcester 41-14, having switched codes in October.

Bath beat fellow pool leaders Northampton 46-14 at the Recreation Ground to maintain their lead over Saracens at the top of Pool 1. Leicester and Scarlets beat Harlequins and London Irish respectively to maintain their leads in their respective pools.

Nuts, a basically pornographic magazine has seen its circulation fall by 22.5%.  Zoo has fallen by 32.1% and FHM by 19.2%.

Love. Love. Love. All you need is love. If that’s the case why is it so hard for Christian men to say they love Jesus? I can understand a certain reticence to be too lovey dovey when trying to talk to non-Christian men about Jesus. I can understand focusing on different aspects of God for that. But Christian men? Christian men are often being told that they have been emasculated, that churches provide mainly for women and I wouldn’t argue with all this at all. But is there a case for reclaiming some words rather than trying to say them differently?

It seems to me that the love Jesus displayed was not a frilly, doily type of love but a love that drove Him to the cross. “Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” said Jesus, and He should know. Jesus’ love caused Him to tell His friends that they showed little faith, to call one of them satan. His love caused Him to call out hypocrites, to upturn tables, to drive crowds into murderous bloodlust. His love drove Him to complete His mission by being tortured and nailed to a tree. His love was patient but it was also true, it was gentle but it was also fierce.

Maybe if we loved more like Jesus we wouldn’t have to convince people that it’s ok to love and be loved by Him. That’s the kind of love I can sign up to. John 15:12 ‘My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.’

The weekend’s football programme was dominated by Sunday’s fixtures as Tottenham and Arsenal sought revenge for embarrassing defeats inflicted on them by Manchester City and Manchester United respectively back in August.

Mario Balotelli’s late penalty gave Manchester City a 3-2 win at home to Tottenham, but not before a stamp on Scott Parker’s head while the Spurs midfielder was on the floor which went unnoticed by referee Howard Webb.

Danny Welbeck’s 81^st minute strike gave Manchester United all three points against Arsenal at the Emirates after Robin van Persie’s second-half strike had cancelled out Antonio Valencia’s opener.

Saturday’s Premier League results meant that defeat for Arsenal did little to dent their aspirations of Champions League qualification as their rivals slipped up – Liverpool lost 3-1 at Bolton while Chelsea could only manage a 0-0 draw at home to Norwich.

Andy Murray made it into the second week at the Australian Open after his opponent retired hurt in the third set after Murray had won the opening two 6-1, 6-1. He will face Kei Nishikori of Japan, who beat sixth-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in the quarter-final.

There were few other shocks in this morning’s men’s fourth-round matches. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych all progressed.

In the women’s singles, Serena Williams crashed out in straight sets to the unseeded Ekaterina Makarova. Top seeds Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova beat Serbs Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic respectively in straight sets. Defending champion Kim Clijsters recovered from losing the first set against Li Na to win in three sets.

Neil Robertson won snooker’s Masters title for the first time as he beat Shaun Murphy 10-6 in yesterday’s final. Murphy had the better of the early frames but had only three of the first six frames to show for it and Robertson won fix of the next seven to storm into a 9-4 which proved too much for Murphy to claw back.

Saracens and Edinburgh both made it into the quarter finals of the Heineken Cup with wins over Treviso and Cardiff Blues respectively to top their pools. Saracens will host Clermont Auvergne while Edinburgh will play Toulouse at home. In the other quarter finals Munster will take on Ulster and Leinster will welcome Blues.

New York Giants and New England Patriots both won their championship matches to set up a repeat of the 2008 Superbowl in this year’s showpiece match. The Giants needed a dramatic overtime field goal to get past San Francisco 49ers, while the Baltimore Ravens came close to forcing overtime with the Patriots but Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff pulled a 32-yard field goal wide.

The book of Genesis is full of large expanses of nothingness. The theme of nothingness seems to sit at the bottom of many chapters like an anchor dragging across the ocean floor. First there was nothing, and out of nothing, God created everything. Man and woman lacked nothing, but longed for everything. Adam heard of his wife’s first sin, and did nothing. When God questioned his creation on their actions, the couple claimed it was nothing to do with them. Cain’s half-hearted attitude to generosity was nothing like his brother’s love for God, and so he killed Abel, reducing him to nothing. Eve mourned the death of her son and the wickedness of Cain, and was left with nothing. God saw that apart from Noah, nothing good was left on the Earth, and brought a flood, destroying everything.

Nothingness, emptiness, darkness and the great void cling to the creation story. I used to think it was just part of the Bible’s first book showing what God did to help steer sinners to freedom. However, the more I study Genesis, the more I see that something in God’s character longs to create his finest work out of the nothingness. He blessed Eve’s family line after they fell foul to selfishness. He restored the Earth after nearly nothing was left alive. He took ‘nothing’ and injected ‘something’. And when his creation took ‘something’ and reduced it ‘nothing’ God brought something else.

There are situations in my life where I see nothingness. There are people I’m trying to help who are addicted to nothingness. There are projects I have launched which seem to be heading into nothingness. And in my darkest hour, I am reminded to whisper; hallelujah. Because the God of the Bible rubs his hands at the murmurings of nothingness. He smiles at the great void and speaks life, in such a way that all memory of darkness becomes a punchline.

Those of us hunted by nothingness must remember that Eve rejoiced at the birth of her third son Seth. A perished Earth drenched in nothingness rose again under a rainbow of something good. And Jesus heart, pumping nothingness, beat again on the third day. Our nothingness will become a hallelujah.

In our moment of nothingness, we must remember. We must return to God’s Word which takes the notion of ‘nothing’ and smashes it across the gates of Eden. We have nothing, yet we have everything. We are hopeless, yet full of hope. We are dying, yet we live forever. To my friends who tell me they have nothing left, I can show them hallelujah.

After rediscovering the Bible’s first book, I have concluded this: Nothingness is a place where God is waiting to dance with you.

Alex

Dedicated to my brothers Lloyd and Lewis.

People love big events. You get a buzz,  big sound, big names, big crowd…you leave feeling ready to take on the world. I’ve got nothing against a big event or a mega church. Both are great for a preach! I just don’t think its where the real revolutionary work happens.

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.

Some were heroes, others were righteous, and few were wise. But only two men walked with God. The account of Genesis has become like a childhood den for me these last few days. I have burrowed in and around the chapters like a small animal hunting for food. And what a meal I have received.

It seems to me that the creator of all things allowed human beings to contribute their own brushstrokes to his already perfect canvas. Much of their work started off as beautiful patterns with the likes of Adam, Abel and Abraham striving to honour their maker. But for every step of holiness that is taken in Genesis, a marathon of sinfulness is run on the same page.

“Why did you create humanity?” I asked the Lord, as I dwelt amongst the tragedies of God’s first book. “Noah and Enoch” were the responses I got from God’s mouth, the Bible.

Something about their lifestyle drew the favour of God. And though many people may think its our actions that please him the most, I see that God gave both Noah and Enoch wonderful descriptions before any major good deed was carried out. Noah walked with God before he built the Ark. Enoch walked with God before he was taken majestically to his place of rest.

So where does this leave you and me brother? As with all the men in the first account, we’re left with our own canvas. But if we chose to live with Christ as our chief artist, we also need to pick up a brush ourselves. And as we try to follow his lead on the portrait of our lives, maybe we could have similar epitaphs carved out about us. Maybe you and I can walk with God.

As 2012 wraps around us with its unique blots and blemishes, how can we keep our eyes fixed on him who paints so well? Lets glance at the blueprint.

Philippians 4:6-10

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

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.