It crept up on me a little. I knew I was a bit overweight and had been for a while and then in the middle of the pandemic I stood on the scales and discovered that I was not only several stone over my ideal weight but also that I was a couple of stoneContinue reading “Getting fit again”
Category Archives: Discipleship
Policing temptation with what we wear
Social media is a dangerous place to go if you are worried about causing offense. Twitter in particular is a place where the compression of communication can lead to a lack of nuance and much misunderstanding. Of course it works well if your desire is to be provocative. But plenty of pastors have come unstuckContinue reading “Policing temptation with what we wear”
Singing Lessons
In recent posts I’ve suggested we might need to be cautious about the assumption that the 19th July will immediately inaugurate the return of full churches, no masks and a return to congregational singing. I suggested that an interim step might be to encourage different parts of the congregation to sing either a whole songContinue reading “Singing Lessons”
The better prize
Football doesn’t matter. It’s just a game. Try telling that to those young lads who gave their all last night and finished the game, exhausted, drained, on the floor with disappointment. Try telling it to Sanchez and Saka who must carry the emotional scars of having missed penalties in a major tournament final and perhapsContinue reading “The better prize”
How to pray – Asking for help to know and do God’s will
I’ve been recording some little talks about how to pray based on the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6. Here’s the latest which focuses on the bit of the prayer which says “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.” What and where is God’s kingdom? How do we do the willContinue reading “How to pray – Asking for help to know and do God’s will”
The ugliness of greed
I’m following up on our study of Romans 6:15-23 where we talked about sanctification. There I suggested that in response to sin’s temptation we should ask three questions: In what ways are we tempted to see the sin as attractive and desirable? In what ways is it in fact ugly, dangerous and destructive? In whatContinue reading “The ugliness of greed”
Walking away from gossip and slander
In a recent study of Romans 6, I talked about sanctification and how we are tempted to see the Gospel in the following terms. I enjoy sin, it brings me pleasure but at a great cost, the penalty of death. Christ pays that price so I am free from hell but in return he expectsContinue reading “Walking away from gossip and slander”
The Church’s VAR
On Saturday I sat down to watch Wales v Switzerland’s second half. Switzerland took the lead and it looked like Wales were down and out, then the Welsh pulled back an equaliser. However it wasn’t much longer before Welsh dreams appeared in tatters as Switzerland took the lead again. But hold on, the referee isContinue reading “The Church’s VAR”
Talking to God as Father
Jesus starts his teaching on prayer by introducing us to the God we are to pray to. #HowToPray part 2.
The Goal
Before becoming a pastor, my role in industry was to do with process and system design implementation and improvement. One of the key thinkers or gurus in this area was a man called Eli Goldratt. Goldratt wrote a book called “The Goal” which set out his thinking in the form of a story about aContinue reading “The Goal”
