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 expects… Continue reading Walking away from gossip and slander
Category: Discipleship
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 is… Continue 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 a… Continue reading The Goal
Bitter-sweet
We assume that there must be a pattern to things. If I am going through a tough time now, whether that’s in terms of family, community, work or church, then I hope there will be brighter days and better news on the horizon. Similarly we tend to assume that when things are going well then… Continue reading Bitter-sweet
When you pray
Prayer is a wonderful privilege for believers in Christ. How wonderful to be able to talk to God, to know him, to have a relationship with him. Yet often, just as some peopel end up with an unhealthy relationship with food, we can end up with an unhealthy relationship with prayer. It becomes a legalistic… Continue reading When you pray
Kindness – the undervalued evidence of knowing God
In Hosea 4:1, Yahweh brings his charge against Israel: There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; Notice that God identifies three things missing from Israel: Faithfulness Knowledge of God Steadfast love (or kindness – NLT). The description here suggests a complete absence, not I think to suggest that no-one… Continue reading Kindness – the undervalued evidence of knowing God
After COVID – let’s not forget about evangelism
During COVID-19 lockdowns, churches were forced to make greater use of online provision. Most saw significant engagement with their output beyond their regular congregations. Of course, early figures may have eld to false optimism, once we had accounted for people clicking on and off links and other Christians “church surfing” the numbers weren’t as huge… Continue reading After COVID – let’s not forget about evangelism
“I don’t just want you to survive ….”
The other day, I talked about how the stand out thing I’d learnt from Mike Ovey was to allow God to disagree with me through his word. Well, one way that God disagreed with me came through Mike’s teaching, though in this case posthumously. After Mike’s untimely death, I remember one former student sharing that… Continue reading “I don’t just want you to survive ….”
Gifted and Talented
What does that phrase make you think of? It’s frequently used to describe stand out students at school. The Gifted and talented are to be separated out for special attention at one end of the educational spectrum in order to maximise Grade 9s, A*s and Oxbridge places. Of course at the other end of the… Continue reading Gifted and Talented
Faithroots 