January/February 2026

I’ve not long come back from the seaside town of Blackpool, famous for its tower, illuminations and rock – the confectionery stick in which the name of the town runs all the way through. It’s incredible the way rock is made, melding together giant slabs of malleable white and red sugary goodness so that, when stretched out, they spell ‘Blackpool Rock’ from top to bottom. No matter where you break it, it will always say ‘Blackpool Rock’.

The old illustration is that the same can be said of the Bible; wherever you break it open, you will find Jesus. We see that more evidently in the gospels and letters, but less readily in the Old Testament. Yet, if we look carefully, we see Jesus throughout: in prophecies that foretell him, in people who are like (or opposite to) him, in pictures of his saving work, and in the plan of salvation as it develops. If we fail to see him in Scripture, we fail to do justice to God’s Word. But if we do, we are presented with the full richness of the gospel message.

As we start a new year, we want to focus on how Jesus is the main message of the Bible. John Williams takes us to the road to Emmaus, where Jesus says the Scriptures all speak of him. It would be easy when teaching children to slip into mere information or moralism, but Hannah Mitchell helps us see the vital work of spotlighting Jesus. We also have Jonathan Stephen’s article arguing that God’s appearances in the Old Testament (Theophanies) are specifically the Son of God, the preincarnate Christ.

We have some new series beginning. ‘Practically Speaking’ will look at the ‘how tos’ of the Christian life. Paula Harris begins by helping us to think about how we should respond to mockers. Elaine Macdonald starts a series where authors explore themes from their favourite hymns, and in ‘How He Met Them’, Andrew Norbury considers Jesus’ meeting with Nicodemus. We continue our series on the EMW Statement of Faith and Meet the Management Board. Besides all that, there is plenty on offer in this edition. This magazine isn’t the Bible, but as you take a bite, hopefully you’ll see Jesus within as you read.