Category: Discipleship

When people know nothing at all about Jesus

On a Friday afternoon, a group of us from our church get together at a local pub for one of our small groups.  The approach is “Ask anything?” Sometimes one of the group will raise a question that’s been bothering them but if not, the group leader will put forward a question to get us… Continue reading When people know nothing at all about Jesus

What should we make of Russell Brand’s baptism?

Controversial comedian and celebrity opinion former, Russell Brand has recently announced that he has been baptised in the River Thames.  The news has polarised responses with some being quick to jump on the news and share it as another exciting example of God moving to bring about a form of Christian revival.  Other examples include… Continue reading What should we make of Russell Brand’s baptism?

On the frequency of dreams and visions in the early church

I wanted to pick up on something I saw in a recent article looking at the question of dreams and visions.  I’m not going to unpack the whole question of dreams and visions here except to say that I believe that these are available for Christians today.  As I’ve mentioned previously, we talk about God… Continue reading On the frequency of dreams and visions in the early church

Reading well – tips for young Christians

My friend, Alistair Chalmers, himself an avid reader, recently asked for thoughts and tips to encourage younger/newer readers to read well. So, here are a few thoughts from me.  So, there’s some starter tips for seven. What would you add? [1] Building Jerusalem – Among these dark Satanic mills  Alistair Chalmers – Chalmers’ Blog (achalmersblog.com) … Continue reading Reading well – tips for young Christians

Does believers’ baptism exclude children from the covenant?

One of the weirdest arguments for paedobaptism has become quite prominent in recent times.  It goes like this. Credobaptists (those who advocate for believer’s baptism) argue that the Bible doesn’t instruct us to baptise infants, therefore paedobaptists are arguing from silence.  However, this assumes that the burden of proof is on the paedobaptist to prove… Continue reading Does believers’ baptism exclude children from the covenant?

How might Christians enjoy a Sunday Sabbath?

I’ve argued that Christians should observe Sunday as their Sabbath day.  So, how should we go about it? I commented in my first article that one of the reasons why people turned away from the idea of Sabbath was that in many circles it had become legalistic with heavy, arbitrary rules about what you could… Continue reading How might Christians enjoy a Sunday Sabbath?

Is Sunday the Christian sabbath?

The other day I wrote about whether Christians should keep Sunday as their Sabbath day.  There are four primary objections to the suggestion.  We dealt with the first one in the previous article, the argument that Sabbath obligations no longer apply because we are under grace, not law. The other two suggest that whilst Christians… Continue reading Is Sunday the Christian sabbath?

Should Christians keep Sunday as a Sabbath day?

When I was younger, the UK still had very strict rules on things like Sunday trading and sport.  However, the Thatcher government was in the process of seeking to liberalise most rules.  There was a prominent movement seeking to resist the arrival of Sunday trading including organisations such as The Lord’s Day Observance Society (now… Continue reading Should Christians keep Sunday as a Sabbath day?