Yesterday our dog Mika did something which was just beautiful. I want to tell that story for two reasons. First, it’s a great story, and who doesn’t love cute dog stories? Second, it encapsulates something of the beauty of what Jesus has done. (And I guess third, it’s a story about limping, so how could I not?) […]
If you were to read through the comments on last week’s post, ‘A warning to Christian followers of @RickyGervais’, you’d see they fall into three main areas of discussion. It’s not surprising these three areas relate to the three challenges I made to Christians seeking to engage with non-Christians, particularly followers of Ricky Gervais on […]
This is the final part of my ‘Advent Series’ looking at the openings of the four Gospels. Matthew had a Christmas list, Mark forgot about Christmas and Luke reminded us we have to say yes to Christmas. Now, what about John? John is very different indeed, and gets to the real meaning of Christmas. Behind […]
It’s Advent, and I have a plan. Each Sunday in Advent, I’ll post some thoughts on the beginnings of the four Gospels. Each Gospel introduces the arrival of Jesus in strikingly different ways, and it’s worth a look! Today, Matthew! What a way to start a book… Have a look at the opening verses of Matthew’s […]
I know I shouldn’t but I worry sometimes. I worry about whether I’m going to do well at things. I worry what other people think of me and my work. I worry about letting God down if I mess up or fail at something. I worry about failing instead of succeeding. I don’t want to […]
Tonight is Halloween. There is lots flying around the internet at the moment about how to engage, or whether to engage. This post – which will be a bit more theological than most of mine – is my contribution to the debate. My thoughts hinge around this word: eschatology. Esch-what-ology?! Eschatology is the whole area […]
There are a few verses from Luke 4 which I (and lots of other people) really love! They are part of a passage in Luke’s gospel commonly known as the Nazareth Manifesto, where Jesus heads to the synagogue, opens up the scroll of Isaiah and quotes these words. Then he preaches, starting with the words: “Today […]
A week ago, I posted an article called ‘Politics, Jesus and Us’. It was sparked by the first half of a document called ‘The Lies we Tell Ourselves: ending comfortable myths about poverty‘. I was basically saying it is a good thing – though a sadly rare thing – that major Christian denominations were speaking […]
I am halfway through reading a document put together jointly by the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist Church, the Church of Scotland and the United Reformed Church. It is called ‘The Lies we Tell Ourselves: ending comfortable myths about poverty‘. The full document can be found here. Like I said, I’m only halfway through. […]
On Sunday, The Independent newspaper published an article by Amber Dillon entitled ‘Christianity is not the problem. The Bible is.’ (The full article can be found here) On Sunday, I also preached a sermon which – in part – was about boldly standing for truth even where it is unpopular. I struggled a lot with […]