Author: faithrootsdw

Three Types of Depression

In our morning prayer, Psalm reflections, I recently commented that the Psalmists often express experiences that seem to give voice to the experience of those experiencing depression. This can include sadness leading to tears, deep heartache and longing and insomnia. I took  a little bit of time to describe the three types of depression that… Continue reading Three Types of Depression

The Holy Spirit guarantees the promises of God

In our second look at what it means to be “sealed with the Holy Spirit” we look at the wider context. To understand what a phrase means we need to see how it fits within a passage and a book. So have a read of Ephesians 1:1-14. God the Father is worthy of praise and… Continue reading The Holy Spirit guarantees the promises of God

Why talking about virtual church is unhelpful

My friend John was in the later stages of Motor neurons disease. Each Sunday he would come to church and each Friday to our home group. He’d had surgery on his throat and so was no longer able to speak. He relied on one of these voice synthesizers made famous by Stephen Hawking. Several of… Continue reading Why talking about virtual church is unhelpful

Food from around the worldwide web

When facing fear and anxiety – Look for hope is a site set up to help people find hope during the coronavirus pandemic in the Gospel . Here is an article from Andy Weatherly We had hoped – a reflection on the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Are you experiencing dashed hopes at… Continue reading Food from around the worldwide web

Sealed with the Holy Spirit

Sealed with the Spirit A few articles back I began an in depth look at the work of the Holy Spirit. This was prompted by a provocative article by Matthew Mason where he argued that Conservative Evangelicals suffer because they lack a functional doctrine of the Holy Spirt and a meaningful experience of him. I’ve… Continue reading Sealed with the Holy Spirit

#Coronavirus – why do the rules have to be so strict?

You are driving down the street and you see one of those road signs, it has a red outer circle and on the inside it says 30. What does the sign mean? That’s obvious isn’t it? It means you could probably get away with driving at 40 miles per hour! There is something about our… Continue reading #Coronavirus – why do the rules have to be so strict?

Justice and Salvation (2 Peter 2:4-10)

Introduction Last time, we saw that we have to be on the look out for false teachers.  However we also saw that despite their sneakiness and arrogance, false teachers cannot avoid God’s judgement. However, how can we be sure that they will receive justice and how can we be certain that in the meantime and… Continue reading Justice and Salvation (2 Peter 2:4-10)

If it feels like excommunication, you are probably doing it wrong

At the start of the Coronavirus lockdown when we began discussing what we should do as churches, one of the main areas of debate was about whether or not we could and should still share the Lord’s Supper (communion). All sorts of reasons were given on both sides of the debate. As you know, I… Continue reading If it feels like excommunication, you are probably doing it wrong

Learning the wrong lessons: virtual church and remote pastoring

What happens to church during lockdown?  There are essentially * answers to that question Option 1: Physical gathering never mattered much, the spiritual was always what mattered and therefore virtual online church is great. It is at least the equal if not better than physical gathering in buildings. Option 2: It is impossible to physically… Continue reading Learning the wrong lessons: virtual church and remote pastoring