In my ten years at Bearwood Chapel, we’ve only felt the need to pursue full church discipline in line with 1 Corinthians 5 on one occasion. However the need to remove membership due to persistent, unrepentant and serious sin will sadly arise from time to time in church life. We’ve been talking about the importance… Continue reading Does forgiveness remove the need for church discipline?
Category: Church life
Sabbath Rest -Do we need to keep Sunday special?
When I was growing up, there was still a strong emphasis on keeping Sunday as a special day, the Christian Sabbath. In a lot of church cultures, the expectation was that you attended church at least twice, wore your Sunday best and that activities during the day were limited to those considered spiritually edifying. Sunday… Continue reading Sabbath Rest -Do we need to keep Sunday special?
COVID-19 Safety and Attending Bearwood Chapel
We want to let you know that you are very welcome to join us for worship at the Chapel. This Sunday there will be a service beginning at 10:30am with doors open from 10am. We also want to reassure you that we are complying with the latest advice from the Government and from Sandwell’s Director… Continue reading COVID-19 Safety and Attending Bearwood Chapel
Grace Culture – the importance of swift repentance and forgiveness
I believe that a grace culture is one where we are quick to seek forgiveness, express sorrow and repentance, to offer forgiveness and to seek reconciliation. This reflects the teaching in the Sermon on the Mount which is all about what it means to be saturated in God’s love and grace so that we enjoy… Continue reading Grace Culture – the importance of swift repentance and forgiveness
Fear, Faith and Coronavirus
As we continue to move out of lockdown, it is important that we have an honest conversation about fear and faith as we move into this next phase of the global pandemic. COVID-19 is likely to be with us for some time to come. We need to be ready for the long game and as… Continue reading Fear, Faith and Coronavirus
The Last Night of the Proms and missing the point
The controversy about the Last Night of the Proms rumbles on. Apparently, Jerusalem, the National Anthem and a version of You’ll Never Walk Alone will be sung by choirs. Meanwhile, Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory will feature as orchestral pieces without singing. That doesn’t sound too bad does it? The music is… Continue reading The Last Night of the Proms and missing the point
How to spot legalism
The other night, we were looking at Paul’s passionate plea and rebuke to the Galatian church, the one where he talks about wishing that the Judaizers would go all the way and just castrate themselves. The question came up about how we spot legalism at work. In the conversation, we talked about how legalism might… Continue reading How to spot legalism
Can I be a faithful follower of Jesus without attending church? (5 Reasons why the answer is “No”)
It is actually the wrong question to start with. Church is not a venue or an event that you attend. Church is the people of God. You don’t attend a church, you are part of the church. If you belong to Jesus then you belong to his family meaning that you are a member of… Continue reading Can I be a faithful follower of Jesus without attending church? (5 Reasons why the answer is “No”)
Was Billy Graham right? Is it just my job to love?
This is one of those quotes that sounds brilliant at first but after a little bit of reflection leaves one feeling uneasy. I guess that when Billy Graham said it, he had Matthew 7:1-6 in mind. In that sense the quote should warn us against the harsh judgementalism that we too often see -especially on… Continue reading Was Billy Graham right? Is it just my job to love?
Get these two words in your regular vocabulary
This is a subject I will keep coming back to because I believe it is so important that we get this right if we are going to see healthy gospel churches. They are “sorry” and “forgive”. Elton John sung that “sorry seems to be the hardest word.” It shouldn’t be should it. We know that… Continue reading Get these two words in your regular vocabulary
Faithroots 