It’s been well established for some time now that Mary did not give birth to Jesus in a stable. The word translated “inn” by most of our versions of Luke 2 more likely refers to an upper guest right on. Jesus will have been born in the central living area where humans and animals mucked… Continue reading Home for Christmas: No room?
Category: evangelism and mission
Driving home for Christmas … Make sure you know the way
This Christmas our theme for all of our Christmas outreach events has been Home For Christmas. Unsurprisingly our theme tune has been Chris Rea’s driving home for Christmas. Today we heard the sad news that the singer had died aged 74 after a short illness. One of my earlier articles connected the home theme to… Continue reading Driving home for Christmas … Make sure you know the way
The less obvious opportunities of Christmas
Most of us will be coming towards the end of our Christmas special events. I wonder how things have gone. Some of you just be feeling super encouraged. You will have had a fantastic time with lots of visitors coming. Maybe you have even seen people put faith in Jesus. You may have at least… Continue reading The less obvious opportunities of Christmas
Why that Christmas talk may have been more expository than you think
The other day I talked about breaking the Conservative Evangelical rule that every sermon has to be expository. Here is the paradox, you may have ended up being at least as if not more expository by relaxing the rule. I say potentially more expository first, because what happens when we try to force fit an… Continue reading Why that Christmas talk may have been more expository than you think
Something bigger and better than Giant Santa.
It’s good to see a happy story from our neighborhood make it into the local papers. This story is about a family who live in the road where our church meets and they have opted to decorate for Christmas with a giant inflatable Santa Claus It certainly brightened up our morning when we first saw… Continue reading Something bigger and better than Giant Santa.
Preparing to preach at Christmas? … First break all the rules
Or at least two of them… One of my favourite books is by Marcus Buckingham and it’s called First Break All the Rules. It’s about how leaders are taught a whole load of conventions or rules but truly successful ones break those rules. In effect Buckingham is seeking to discover a better set of leadership… Continue reading Preparing to preach at Christmas? … First break all the rules
Worthy -Christmas E-Book
If you are looking for something evangelistic to share with friends to read over Christmas, why not have a look at our E-book “Worthy: What are you worthy of this Christmas”. The book traces links between the lost sheep, coin and son to the story of Bethlehem.
Why do we do Carol Services?
This year our church will have three main Christmas events, an evening Carol’s by Candlelight, a family Carol service and then a Christmas Eve all age event. We don’t have access to a building for Christmas Day unfortunately. I thought it might be helpful to share a few thoughts about how we do them and… Continue reading Why do we do Carol Services?
Why attempts to ban Islam are self defeating
I’ve seen a number of suggestions that countries like the UK should respond to the perceived threat of Islamisation with force. Not, of course physical force but a muscular legal, cultural and political response. I tend to disagree with these suggestions because as a Christian, I’ve got different priorities. My concern is to see God’s… Continue reading Why attempts to ban Islam are self defeating
What does it actually mean to love your Muslim neighbour
One thing that struck me about the reactions to my video on loving your Muslim neighbour is that noone bothered to ask what I meant by love. I wonder how many assumed it was to do with soppy feelings. I wonder how many assumed it meant caving in to others without challenging them. What if… Continue reading What does it actually mean to love your Muslim neighbour
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