We are now reaching the culmination of the Gospel. Jesus is about to be betrayed and handed over to death. The leaders are hesitant, not wanting to cause a disturbance during the festival, and yet the focus on Passover is exactly the time when God has planned these events to come to pass (14:1-2) It… Continue reading Betrayed, Denied, Accused (Mark 14)
Author: faithrootsdw
On boycotting the World Cup and judging others
This winter, the FIFA World Cup will happen in Qatar. The decision to host the World Cup there has proved seriously controversial. There were all the practical questions about it happening at a time of year when major national leagues are mid competition and about the implications of playing in that climate. However, those concerns… Continue reading On boycotting the World Cup and judging others
Hearing the Holy Spirit
At our Life Group this week, we picked up on the theme of God sending the Holy Spirit from Sunday’s service. We focused in on these words from Acts 2:17-18 where Peter quotes the prophet Joel: ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and… Continue reading Hearing the Holy Spirit
Helping one another worship – why we chose our words carefully
I thought I’d add a little bit more to my comments the other day about how we handle worship song and hymn lyrics. It’s worth me emphasising here that I’m personally very cautious about changing and adapting things not least because it’s often been done badly. However, I believe there is a case for adapting… Continue reading Helping one another worship – why we chose our words carefully
Mutiny over the Bounty: Why it’s not a good idea to make decisions by popularity contest
The big controversy of the week is Mars’ decision to take bounties out of the Celebration variety tins and increase the numbers of other sweets. It could have been worse. They could have taken out one of the truly great sweets in the selection, the Malteser, the Galaxy (solid chocolate option not the caramel filling… Continue reading Mutiny over the Bounty: Why it’s not a good idea to make decisions by popularity contest
God did not make you a pastor to keep you going to church
I want to pause and think about a type of comment that I’ve heard a few times over the years. It goes something along the lines of. “Perhaps the reason that God made me a pastor was to keep me in church.” Such comments are perhaps tongue in cheek but personally I’m not convinced they… Continue reading God did not make you a pastor to keep you going to church
Warning … Danger! What was going on with Ananias and Saphira?
It’s one of the most shocking and disturbing events in the New Testament. Ananias and Saphira, two early Christians turn up to make a donation to the Jerusalem church coffers, neither return home alive. They are struck dead by the Holy Spirit. What is going on there? At one end of the spectrum are those… Continue reading Warning … Danger! What was going on with Ananias and Saphira?
Refreshing our vision for youth and children’s ministry
Two cheers for this tweet from Michael Bird. Bird is engaging with the problem about why young people too often walk out of church and Christianity as soon as they can. He correctly identifies some significant issues with age based ministry. His primary concern is that what we do with kids and teens can become… Continue reading Refreshing our vision for youth and children’s ministry
When the Holy Spirit breaks in
In Acts 2, when is seeking to explain what has happened, he quotes from the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even… Continue reading When the Holy Spirit breaks in
We can’t expect higher standards from politicians and then stick them on game shows
Matt Hancock, the disgraced former health secretary has been revealed as a contestant on “I’m a Celebrity, get me out of here.” He follows other politicians into reality TV prepared for ritual humiliation and hoping for a bit more name recognition and celebrity status. At the tamer end of things we’ve seen Ann Widdicombe, Ed… Continue reading We can’t expect higher standards from politicians and then stick them on game shows
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