I’ve always enjoyed Doctor Who, but there was a moment when David Tenant’s character wanted me to shout “No” at the screen and that’s the moment when he declares himself lord of Space and time. There is only one person who owns that title, The Doctor is just an ordinary alien. Here we see the… Continue reading The Lord of Space and Time (Mark 2:18-35)
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Who needs a doctor? (Mark 2:13-17)
We now begin to see why sharp divisions were growing between Jesus and the Pharisees. There was a clear line drawn between “us and them”. That line was between those who were considered to be faithful or at least trying to be faithful to YHWH by keeping Torah, by seeking to be pure, clean, hol… Continue reading Who needs a doctor? (Mark 2:13-17)
The call of the kingdom (Mark 1:14-20)
We now begin to see what it means for Jesus to preach about the Kingdom and call people to repentance with a series of examples. – It means calling people to follow him and leave behind other priorities (1:16-20 and 2:13-17) – It means calling evil spirits out of people. Captives are set free (1:21-28)… Continue reading The call of the kingdom (Mark 1:14-20)
The problem of the non-voter
I thought I’d write a little bit more about the problem of the non-voter and who it is a problem for. My friend who is passionate that we all must vote shared this graphic with me as part of our conversation. This kind of graphic is often favoured by political parties when they are in… Continue reading The problem of the non-voter
Mark’s Gospel – a bit of background
Over the next couple of months I’m going to be working through Mark’s Gospel here. This coincides with a teaching series that our church are doing on the book but I also hope that the resources will be helpful to others seeking to read or teach through the book. Often it is impossible to cover… Continue reading Mark’s Gospel – a bit of background
Planter speed up – the core team isn’t coming
Dan Steel has written on the Acts29 site encouraging church planters to slow down and work more on building a healthy core team before they plant. I’m loath to disagree with Dan, he’s an experienced pastor and planter who knows what he’s talking about. I also think that there is much in his article to… Continue reading Planter speed up – the core team isn’t coming
If you can’t hypothetically consider taking a break from something then you may well have dependency issues
The other week, I proposed in this article that the different Christian festivals should agree to take a two year sabbatical. Now, you may or may not have agreed with my assessment of particular Christian holiday weeks. To be clear, when I write about our own love-hate relationship with them I know that I don’t… Continue reading If you can’t hypothetically consider taking a break from something then you may well have dependency issues
In the end it’s not reviews and reports that will protect you
I was reflecting with someone the other day about the horror of recent scandals within the church and the ongoing challenge for the many of us who are concerned about how such scandals have been made possible and may reflect other deeper cultural challenges. My friend expressed concern that we may be seeing the growth… Continue reading In the end it’s not reviews and reports that will protect you
Gospel touch points
What are the key things you would want to cover in a conversation about the Gospel with people in your local community? I would suggest that there are five things we would want to talk about in any given situation. Now, how we talk about them, and even the order in which we talk about… Continue reading Gospel touch points
Gethsemane
For Good Friday, here’s a little Bible study, formally used at our old Sunday Night Church. I thought this might be a useful thing for people wanting something to work through reflectively. I’ll also be sharing a study on the crucifixion For Starters Have you ever made a New Year’s Resolution or similar commitment/promise? What… Continue reading Gethsemane
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