Our latest Afternoon Discussion looked at how we support and care for those suffering chronic conditions including emotional health issues. What should I not say? I want to be helpful but I don’t want to put my foot in it either. You can watch the discussion below and here are some quick notes. Often the… Continue reading What not to say when someone is suffering
Category: Discipleship
Praying for healing (Will God heal me? part 3)
How should we go about praying for healing? Do we need to go to a special healing service and follow a set process? Here’s some notes and then the #AfternoonTea conversation on praying for healing and also our response when the prayer is answered. Anyone can pray for healing for themselves and for others. The… Continue reading Praying for healing (Will God heal me? part 3)
When God doesn’t heal (Will God heal me part 2)
This is part two in our look at the question “Will God heal me?” You can find the first discussion here. What do we do when we long for healing, have prayed for healing and it doesn’t seem to happen? Here are some notes from the discussion which you can watch below. This can be… Continue reading When God doesn’t heal (Will God heal me part 2)
Marks of a healthy Church – Humility
I’ve also suggested that a number of other marks will flow out from this one. The first I want to look at is humility. 1 Corinthians 8:1 says that love builds up others whilst knowledge (without love) puffs up, in other words it leads to arrogance and complacency on the part of the speaker whilst… Continue reading Marks of a healthy Church – Humility
Being filled with the Spirit and not drunk on wine (Sealed with the Spirit 5)
What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit. I have often heard two illustrations for this. That we are like jugs and the Holy Spirit like water. Just as the jug may lose water as it is drunk or spilt, so we can lose some of the fullness of the Spirit and need… Continue reading Being filled with the Spirit and not drunk on wine (Sealed with the Spirit 5)
Healthy Church – marks that flow out from the one mark (love)
I argued in a previous post that when looking to see if a church is healthy, there is one essential, governing mark presented in the Bible and that is love. A few years back, Mark Dever wrote “9 Marks of a Healthy Church.” In it he proposed a list of marks that were important to… Continue reading Healthy Church – marks that flow out from the one mark (love)
Rival Kings (Matthew 2:1-12)
Herod saw Jesus as a rival to his power. However, Jesus was the rightful king and Herod was no match for him. We can allow idols to become rivals for our affection for Jesus. These can be things we enjoy like food, relationships, sport etc, good things like going to church, serving, charity or things… Continue reading Rival Kings (Matthew 2:1-12)
What does the Bible say about giving?
The Prosperity Gospel deal is that if you give the right amount of money to the right pastor and he gives it the right blessing then you will be blessed in your personal finances. In other words you should tithe. I think that well-meaning Evangelicals come unstuck on the question of tithing. Or to go… Continue reading What does the Bible say about giving?
So should we talk about money in church?
There are all sorts of reasons why, as a pastor of a church in urban Britain I feel uncomfortable talking about money and particularly about giving. These include It’s just not the done thing in polite circles! To an English man, talking about money is like talking about politics and religion. I can’t avoid one… Continue reading So should we talk about money in church?
The Scandal of the Evangelical Heart
In 1994, Mark Knoll wrote “The scandal of the Evangelical Mind” in which he protested at what he perceived as a lack of willingness to think deeply and carefully among evangelicals. He identified an anti-intellectualism within our movement. Rachel Held Evans became a notable doubter/sceptic of evangelical faith and in 2013, she wrote: The questions… Continue reading The Scandal of the Evangelical Heart
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