Category: Church life

How not to be a heretic – preaching the negatives

One well known preacher allegedly once said that if we are to preach the Gospel properly, so that it’s full force is heard, then we are likely to be accused of being anti-nominans.  An anti-nomian (against law) is someone who believes and teaches that the law only applied before Christ, we are now under grace… Continue reading How not to be a heretic – preaching the negatives

The difference between heresy and error -another worked example

I’ve been talking about the difference between error and heresy and in my most recent article, I argued that Scripture and not church courts and councils is the final authority on such matters. As I was looking at Acts 15, I realised that we had a helpful case study regarding the difference between the two… Continue reading The difference between heresy and error -another worked example

The court for determining heresy is the court of Scripture

Since my last article on the difference between heresy and error I’ve had some push back. The question has come “how do we decide if it’s error or heresy?” It’s been suggested that the risk is that it becomes my opinion against someone else’s. Don’t worry though because my Presbyterian friends have offered a solution.… Continue reading The court for determining heresy is the court of Scripture

Trauma, grief and response to abuse

Over the past few years, I’ve written and spoken quite a bit about the problem of abusive cultures particularly in the context of church life. First of all, my concern is to see us doing better in letting what we believe affect how we live so that doctrines of grace lead to cultures of grace.… Continue reading Trauma, grief and response to abuse

Christians don’t (shouldn’t) bear grudges

One of the saddest things in Christian life is when you meet or hear about people, sometimes within the same church who have not spoken for years. Similarly you can even discover churches where there has been rivalry going on since a split decades ago.  Sometimes Christians will disagree sharply. The Apostle Paul disagreed with… Continue reading Christians don’t (shouldn’t) bear grudges

Why we should care about protecting each other from COVID

We probably are not quite out of the woods yet with the COVID-19 pandemic. The encouraging news is that we have fully vaccinated over 50% of the adult population and over 75% have received at least one dose. However, there are other pressures that are not such good news. First of all, the “Delta” (Indian)… Continue reading Why we should care about protecting each other from COVID

A last meal with Jesus

#TheDailyDose John 21 The problem of incompleteness A couple of things we’ve picked up on Jesus deals with sin and guilt  -I sort of get that and the objective guilt bit is easy enough but the shame less easy –how do I get on with things when people are still mocking or disowning me.  Okay… Continue reading A last meal with Jesus

How (not) to be a guilt driven church

#TheDailyDose – Ephesians 2:8-10 The book we bought and the book we read Rick Warren’s best sellers “The purpose driven life” and “The purpose  driven church” –but a lot of churches and Christian lives feel “guilt driven” …not purpose driven What do I mean …. Trying to bridge a gap “For it is by grace… Continue reading How (not) to be a guilt driven church

The truth about cats and dogs

#TheDailyDose (Psalm 51) The difference between cats and dogs                Dogs show guilt in their face                Cats cause you to feel guilt A lot of people carry a heavy burden of guilt and shame –it can cripple us as we seek to serve God. It can cripple churches too What is guilt? Often when… Continue reading The truth about cats and dogs