Author: faithrootsdw

In his name

Quite a few worship songs talk about “the name of Jesus.”  Classics include:  “There is power in the name of Jesus” “There is a name, who reigns without contention …” “What a wonderful;/beautiful/powerful name it is.” “I speak Jesus” There is a risk with these kinds of song lyrics that they could be perceived superstitiously… Continue reading In his name

Welcoming visitors to church

The primary purpose of a Sunday church service is to enable God’s people to gather together to worship God, hear Scripture, pray, receive teaching and use their gifts to encourage and build one another up.  I say this because in recent years there’s been a bit more debate about what The Church is trying to… Continue reading Welcoming visitors to church

A meal with Jesus

Throughout the Gospels, some of the great encounters with Jesus happen at mealtime.  We are coming to the close of Mark’s Gospel and the last meal in his account is no ordinary supper.  Jesus and his disciples are in Jerusalem for the Passover.  The Passover meal commemorated the night when the people of Israel prepared… Continue reading A meal with Jesus

How did complementarianism end up becoming a boundary marker?

This was a question asked the other day on twitter. It was expressed I believe as a lament as much as a question. There are Christians who stand foursquare with other evangelicals. They believe the Bible to be God’s inspired word, without error. They confess that Jesus died on the cross to bear the penalty… Continue reading How did complementarianism end up becoming a boundary marker?

Betrayed, Denied, Accused (Mark 14)

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)

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