What about generational curses -can you inherit a demon?

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In his forward to Deliverance by John Thompson, JohnMark Comer writes: “For over thirty years my wife lived with chronic illness. We saw every type of doctor we could imagine…Then we discovered a generational curse. Four generations ago, a shaman In Mexico City had been hired to curse the firstborn daughters of her family line.”[1]… Continue reading What about generational curses -can you inherit a demon?

Haunted: Demons in the House?

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One of the things that has intrigued me over the years has been various accounts of suspected evil spirit presence in particular buildings.  Some people have reported seeing phenomena or detecting the presence of evil in a place and some people practice deliverance ministry with regards to houses and buildings, exorcising spirits just as you… Continue reading Haunted: Demons in the House?

Developing pastoral care systems

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One of the things that I’ve been thinking quite a bit about recently is how a church develops pastoral care as it grows from being a small church plant, a group of young friends that know each other well to being a medium to large sized established multigenerational and multi-cultural church. You can listen to… Continue reading Developing pastoral care systems

Dealing with demons and demonic posession today

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It is perhaps a generalism that there is a high expectation and reports of demonic possession in non-Western contexts. There may be a couple of reasons for this.  First, that we see what we expect to see.  Western-secular societies are more likely to see events and phenomena through that lens and so provide natural explanations. … Continue reading Dealing with demons and demonic posession today

Separating the legal bit of the wedding from the celebration

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The Times observes that people are increasingly separating the legal civil registration of marriage from the celebration, sometimes with a significant period of time in between.  Steve Kneale picks up on this here and argues that it is s good thing and will help The Church get a better and more Biblical view of marriage. … Continue reading Separating the legal bit of the wedding from the celebration

How we live affects what we believe

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The tagline of this site is “What you believe affects how you live” The opposite of this is true as well though.  Our beliefs shape our thoughts, emotions, words and actions (at least if we are being consistent) but not only do those actions demonstrate what we are believing, showing the fruit but they can… Continue reading How we live affects what we believe

How do we help people bring their lives into the light?

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I’ve been reflecting a little more on the topic of brining our lives out into the open and into the light.  Luke 8:16-18 says: 16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in… Continue reading How do we help people bring their lives into the light?

You are usually at war before you think you are

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Two things from two fields of conflict have struck me recently.  First the military strikes by Israel against Iran have been described as preemptive.  However, from Israel’s perspective, there are already hostilities with Iran through the Iranians’ proxies in Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houtis. Secondly, I noted an observation in the media recently that Russia… Continue reading You are usually at war before you think you are

Buried he carried my sins far away

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It’s a line in the hymn “living he loved me”.  The chorus goes Living he loved me, Dying he saved me, Buried he carried my sins far away. Rising he justified, freely for ever. One day he’s coming, oh glorious day. I’ve written recently about life between death and resurrection. I’ve talked about the way… Continue reading Buried he carried my sins far away

Pastoral Counselling – can we do it? 

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I’ve been sharing some videos on YouTube recently to help you think through approaches to pastoral counselling. However, I’m still aware that for some, there will be a question about whether or not we should be even attempting this kind of thing In fact, there are, I think two risks.  On the one hand, there… Continue reading Pastoral Counselling – can we do it?