I recently saw someone complain on social media about Christians using euphemisms for death such as: passed away, gone home to be with the Lord and promoted to glory. “why can’t we just say that they have died?” They asked. Well having both pastored people through bereavement and experienced it myself, I thought I would… Continue reading Can’t you just say “they died”?
Category: pastoral-care
Divorce and Re-marriage
One of the big questions I’ve been asked frequently is what the Bible teaches about divorce and what the implications are for divorced believers. This paper surveys the different approaches taken and offers some practical advice.
What do we do with our fear?
One of the criticisms made of the Church by some is that we allowed fear of the virus and dying from it to overwhelm us and so, we lost sight of the hope we have in Christ. The implications of such critiques is threefold. First, it suggests that the primary problem was fear of the… Continue reading What do we do with our fear?
Faith, suffering and healing
One of the most common questions we tend to ask is to do with faith, suffering and healing. That’s probably because our health can be so often where we face suffering and where faith is tested. Even if we don’t face persecution, we are likely to face ill health at some point and will know people… Continue reading Faith, suffering and healing
Grieving Together
We have experienced a significant amount of bereavement as a church family recently. A few of us have said goodbye to precious family members. In some cases it was something we were preparing for but in others it came as a total shock. Last week, we were hit with the news that someone who has… Continue reading Grieving Together
The problem with that Titanic illustration
I want to pick up an illustration which I suspect most of us from conservative evangelical backgrounds have used at some point (or something similar). Andy Prime uses it in a sermon on the Gospel in a new book. He gets us to imagine the scene in the aftermath of the Titanic hitting the iceberg. … Continue reading The problem with that Titanic illustration
Pastoral and unpastoral pastors?
The Southern Baptist Convention has recently made waves by deciding to add to its rules that associating churches must not include women pastors on their staff. This links in part to the decision by Saddleback Church to appoint female pastors and Rick Warren’s change of mind on complementarianism. However, the decision has caused consternation not… Continue reading Pastoral and unpastoral pastors?
Going Home: death, grieving and life in between
It’s something we all have to face at some point. This last year we were hit with the double whammy of seeing my father in law and then my mum die within a few weeks if each other. But we do not grieve as those without hope. Here is some teaching on John 14 from… Continue reading Going Home: death, grieving and life in between
Facing Depression
A few years ago, I was completely knocked flat by depression. Whilst at the time, it seemed to come at me from nowhere, in fact, the warning signs had been there for some time. In this little video series, I talk about what depression is, spotting the warning signs, understanding the causes, trusting God through… Continue reading Facing Depression
Re-preach your sermon
I’ve picked up on a little debate between preachers recently about whether or not you should reuse sermons when speaking at other churches or prepare a fresh sermon every time. I suspect this has been prompted, at least in part by this brilliant article from Tim Wilson. There are a couple of things I’d differ… Continue reading Re-preach your sermon
Faithroots 