Here are my notes from a sermon preached at Bearwood Chapel, Smethwick. Introduction We recently spent an evening at the Commonwealth Games athletics. One standout moment was the 3k women’s Steeplechase. As the frontrunners competed for medal positions, one poor lonely athlete was well back from everyone else and struggling. I wonder what was going… Continue reading Press on with the Gospel – Regardless (Acts 21:1-25)
Category: Discipleship
Did Paul disobey the Holy Spirit? (Lessons on guidance in Acts 21)
In Acts 21, we are told about Paul’s final journey to Jerusalem. It’s an illuminating case study on interacting with God’s guidance through the Holy Spirit. Paul travels from Miletus where he has met with the Ephesian elders and given them the commission to provide for and to protect the flock. He has spoken there… Continue reading Did Paul disobey the Holy Spirit? (Lessons on guidance in Acts 21)
For those getting your A Level results today … this isn’t the one day that defines everything
It’s A Level results day. These days, most A Level students will have already checked in online to confirm they’ve got into their Uni of choice, probably received an e-mail from their school with the results and unless they are wanted for the “jumping in the air” photoshoot probably gone back to bed. We are… Continue reading For those getting your A Level results today … this isn’t the one day that defines everything
She finished the race
The Commonwealth Games are known as “The friendly games”. It is probably true already of athletics that you see things at such events that you wouldn’t at something like a football tournament (much as I love football). There is much less tribalism. Imagine for example English football fans standing politely for the national anthem of… Continue reading She finished the race
Make God your dwelling place
Audio
You have to choose what to keep hold of
One of the challenges of moving house is the realisation that you’ve accumulated so much stuff. When we began to prepare for moving to Great Barr, we realised two things. First, that there were things we had put straight into cupboards back in 2010 when we moved into our old house and never unpacked or… Continue reading You have to choose what to keep hold of
All the single ladies?
I’ve written before about how men in the church should talk to and shouldn’t talk to and about women. Sadly, there was a horrific example of how not to talk about women in an interview between Doug Wilson and Michael Foster posted recently online. The conversation is primarily about singleness but I want to pick… Continue reading All the single ladies?
Can we manage our risks?
It was much easier when COVID rules were in place. We knew that we were to Keep a two-metre distance from others Wear face masks in doors Stay home for at least 10 days after testing positive and then only begin mixing again when we had tested negative on two consecutive days. At various times… Continue reading Can we manage our risks?
Good immunisation
I’ve written a couple of articles reflecting on the way that we have built up immunity to COVID-19 and how this reminds me of the old adage that we can “give people just enough religion to inoculate them against the real thing.” Well, of course we are meant to think about vaccination and immunisation as… Continue reading Good immunisation
The problem with allowing any old nonsense
I wrote two articles the other day which reflecting back on, I think they are more closely linked than I realised at the time. In the first, I responded to a rather bizarre article in Premier Christianity Magazine asking if Jesus might have been married. In the second, I wrote about the way that COVID… Continue reading The problem with allowing any old nonsense
Faithroots 