God is love and God is Trinity

This is an extract from “Who is God?” available from our publications page. In Matthew 3, when Jesus gets baptised, we see the Father speaking and the Holy Spirit hovering over Jesus in the appearance of a dove. In other words The Trinity is present. So what does it mean for Christians to believe that… Continue reading God is love and God is Trinity

Be Alert … Be Ready

“Destined for greatness … pacing myself” says one of Sarah’s favourite T-shirts. Personally, I’m not good at the whole pacing thing. I don’t like to be at events on time, I like to be there early and I like to see people involved there in good time too. The closer we get to the start… Continue reading Be Alert … Be Ready

Messy Church in a Messy World

This morning I’m resharing the first ever article from the original faithroots blog. It helps explain some of the assumptions behind what I write. It is also the first chapter in “How do you know?” which is available from the publications page. A dirty word for a messy world This blog is for people living… Continue reading Messy Church in a Messy World

Trusting God for the long-haul (2 Peter 3:1-7)

Have you noticed the consistent theme that has come through the recent government briefings. Within that umbrella word “government” I am including the road map document, civil servants, science officers and the devolved governments in Scotland. I know there were some controversial issues, some confusing messages and some disagreement. However, everyone was agreed that we… Continue reading Trusting God for the long-haul (2 Peter 3:1-7)

Spatial Awareness

One of the little spin off controversies during lockdown has been around the question of where to live-stream church services from. Initially some churches broadcast from their buildings. The aim was to give a sense of continuity for unsettled congregations. In some cases, it also made sense because prior to the full, tighter lockdown it… Continue reading Spatial Awareness

Does the Bible talk about money more than it talks about love, heaven and hell?

The short answer is “No.”  If it did, then you would notice it as a recurring theme when you are part of a church where expository preaching is practiced.  You would either notice that the preacher kept, accurately and transparently showing how the text applied to your wallet, or you would wonder why the preacher… Continue reading Does the Bible talk about money more than it talks about love, heaven and hell?

Foxes in the garden #SummerIsComing

This morning as I was making breakfast I spotted our local family of foxes out on our law.  WE had seen a glimpse of one heading over the fence a few days ago, then on Saturday night there had been a banging on the patio door window as one of them tried to get in… Continue reading Foxes in the garden #SummerIsComing

The Holy Spirit guarantees the promises of God

In our second look at what it means to be “sealed with the Holy Spirit” we look at the wider context. To understand what a phrase means we need to see how it fits within a passage and a book. So have a read of Ephesians 1:1-14. God the Father is worthy of praise and… Continue reading The Holy Spirit guarantees the promises of God

Who is the Holy Spirit?

Whilst working through Mark’s Gospel in early 2015 at Bearwood Chapel, we kept coming  back to some questions that followed a theme: “What stops me?” “What stops me from seeing God for who He is?”                                                                   “What stops me from worshipping?” “What stops me from truly knowing God?” “What stops me from trusting and taking God… Continue reading Who is the Holy Spirit?

Have we lost the Holy Spirit?

Matthew Mason has set out the provocative suggestion that conservative evangelicals in the Church of England have neither a functional doctrine of the Holy Spirit nor a meaningful experience of the Holy Spirit and that has led to a number of deficiencies in their churches. I intend to interact with his proposition over a number… Continue reading Have we lost the Holy Spirit?