Category: Theology

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?

Learning the wrong lessons – A vaccine and the mark of the beast

Whilst some people are working hard to find a vaccine for coronavirus, the scare stories are already doing the rounds even before the drugs are available. The vaccine will lead to other illness, will cause autism, etc – the same kinds of worries raised about MMR. At the same time, Christian speakers with a focus… Continue reading Learning the wrong lessons – A vaccine and the mark of the beast

Watch out false teachers (2 Peter 2:1-3)

He was popular on the preaching team, able to put things forward clearly and simply in an engaging way.  Then something began to shift. We noticed a change of emphasis. Then he began to speak with individuals and tell them that he wasn’t so sure. He did not come out directly and say that he… Continue reading Watch out false teachers (2 Peter 2:1-3)

Assurance in God’s Word

1 Peter 1:12-21 In the face of false teachers and facing his own imminent death, Peter wants to ensure that the churches are fully prepared for the road ahead.  In so doing, a major priority of his is assurance. So, first of all we see assurance demonstrated by spiritual growth. Now, we also see that… Continue reading Assurance in God’s Word

What is Love?

This is the first in our new series of vlogs as we reflect on Jesus’ teaching at the Last Supper from John’s Gospel this week. Our first post asks “What is real love, what does it look like and how do I know that God loves me?” Here are the words from Scripture (John 13:1-11)… Continue reading What is Love?

The bread that divides?

A crisis situation like the one we are in at the moment can throw up the occasional bouncer, a theological issue that affects how we do church that we weren’t ready for. These issues can be controversial.  So we want to approach them carefully and with charity. We also need to be ready for the… Continue reading The bread that divides?