The theme of When Angels Sat Down is taken from Day 61 in Footsteps in the Snow. That article focuses on two passages. The first is in Matthew 28: "An angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it" (v. 2). The second is in John 20: "And she (Mary) saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain (v. 12). Angels were present at the birth of Jesus. They ministered to Him after He was confronted by Satan in the wilderness and in the Garden of Gethsemane. Before going to the cross, Christ said He could call on more than twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53). But the Lord's work of salvation at Calvary was entirely His own: the angels could only stand in wonder as the Lord of life sacrificed His life for our redemption. Angels, however, were present to announce His resurrection. And it is at the resurrection we see them doing something they were not created to do. They sat down. Angels are the ministers of God and constantly fulfil holy activities. So to see them sitting down is very interesting. In the simple acts of sitting down on the stone that was rolled away and in the place where Jesus had been lain in the tomb we have vivid reminders of the finished work of Christ and the glory of His resurrection. This series of books was written to be read day by day or simply opened at any page to find a self-contained reflection on a Bible passage. In is intended that these bite-sized readings would stimulate daily Bible reading and encourage further study. The readings that appear on Sundays have a particular reference to worshipping the Lord in the light of His request that we remember His death (see Luke 22:19-20 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). It appears from Acts 20:7 to be a practice the early church adopted. From this place of worship, I believe we enter each new week in discipleship and service. By remembering Christ's love for us, we are inspired to serve Him and each other in love. I hope that When Angels Sat Down will encourage its readers, like the angels, to pause and reflect on the power and majesty of the Person and work of Jesus.

Gordon Kell had wanted to write a series of daily Bible readings for some time, but never expected a crisis on the scale of COVID-19 to be the catalyst for this book. When lockdown began, Gordon and his wife started a WhatsApp group called "Keep in Touch" so that Christian friends could maintain contact during the crisis. He wrote a daily post to start the day, and "Footsteps in the Snow" is a collection of the first 105 posts of these. As the days passed, he was encouraged by readers to consider publishing them as a book; so here it is! Most of the content was written as stand-alone impressions, but there are also some short series based on characters and themes. The book can be used as a daily Bible reading aid or simply picked up and read in short bursts. "Footsteps in the Snow" is intended to turn our eyes of faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. Gordon has always believed, since becoming a Christian over 50 years ago, that the power of the Christian life comes from daily communion with the Saviour. We become like Him by being in His presence. Central to this is allowing God to speak to us through daily reading the Bible and discovering Christ in its pages. If this book encourages its readers to do this, it will have served its purpose.

In this compendium of six Bible talks, first broadcast on Premier Christian Radio in June and July 2000, various members of the "Truth for Today" team consider in a practical way the message of Paul's letter to the Christians in the church at Colossae. Each speaker expounded their allotted passage as the Holy Spirit directed. Some took a verse-by-verse approach, while others a more thematic one. In bringing this collection together, the individual approaches have been retained; but, to enable the book to be used for both devotional and reference purposes, the verses under consideration are clearly indicated. George Stevens provides an overall introduction to the letter, followed by a look at the beginning of the first chapter, culminating with the great statement that Christ is pre-eminent in everything. Douglas Pettman explores the subject of reconciliation, and the secret of the Church and its future with its Head. Ernie Brown opens up the simplicity of the Christian message: nothing but Christ is necessary, for Christ is everything. This has practical implications, and George Bell looks at the reality of what it means when Paul writes that Christ is our life.Gordon Kell explores the way in which service for Christ is worked out in our families and occupations. Finally, David Anderson closes the studies, underlining the way in which prayer is necessary to under-pin actions and speech which testify that Christ is, indeed, everything.