Skin Deep? (Matthew 5:17-48)

“It doesn’t apply to me though.”  That seems to be the general attitude of British people to laws we don’t like. If you need to pop up to Durham for a few days and the lockdown rules say no, then you can probably find an exception. Rules about unnecessary journeys don’t apply to me if… Continue reading Skin Deep? (Matthew 5:17-48)

Simple

God is simple. That might be a surprising thing to say, shocking even.  We tend to use the word pejoratively.  In our world, simple is associated with inferiority and stupidity. In our world things move from simple to complex. So we had better sort out quickly what we mean by simple and complex in this… Continue reading Simple

Recovering from Biblical manhood and womanhood – a review

I finally sat down to read Aimee Byrd’s book Recovering From Biblical Manhood and Womanhood today (birthday present). You may recall that a few weeks back I had written in defence of Aimee following some rather unpleasant goings on in an online facebook group. Well I thought it was important to sit down and read… Continue reading Recovering from Biblical manhood and womanhood – a review

Stopping a virus from spreading

As churches we have made every effort these past few months to prevent a virus from spreading. We have self isolated, we have washed our hands, we have closed down our buildings for a while and when we have reopened we have been so careful to socially distance and wear masks. It is good that… Continue reading Stopping a virus from spreading

Be Salty, submit to the authorities, love your neighbour

For my birthday this year, Boris Johnson has changed the law and imposed a new restriction to do with Coronavirus. From today, it will be a legal requirement for people to wear face-masks in shops. Now, whilst some people have been wearing face-masks already and want to know why it hasn’t  been made law sooner,… Continue reading Be Salty, submit to the authorities, love your neighbour

It was the Russians

Finally we have had the report about Russian interference in elections. If I understand things right, there’s some evidence of attempted interference in some campaigns and none or little for others. However where there is no evidence of interference that proved that there must have been interference and the government have intentionally looked the other… Continue reading It was the Russians

What if the vaccine never comes?

There have been encouraging signs over the past few weeks. We are hearing reports that trials with vaccines are having some successes. Meanwhile, we appear to be over the peak here in the UK and cases of COVID-19 have continued to decline even as society has started to open up again. However we continue to… Continue reading What if the vaccine never comes?

Being Salty – Taste and See

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?”[1] “Taste and see that the Lord is good;”[2] Salt has a number of qualities, with regards to food, it acts as a preservative, but it also acts to enhance flavour.  I think it is helpful to think of… Continue reading Being Salty – Taste and See

A need that has not gone away during lockdown

One of my concerns is that we have short attention spans. We hop from topic to topic. Last year we were talking about Brexit, then thete were the climate extinction rallies. For Christisns they were eclipsed by some serious spiritual abuse cases hit the headlines. COVID-19 hit the headlines and suddenly all the things we… Continue reading A need that has not gone away during lockdown