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Questions to ask when considering church revitalisation

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to get involved in a few church revitalisation initiatives.  Now the word revitalisation is potentially broad in its definition and could it could be suggested that every church will need an element of revitalisation from time to time if it is to stay fresh and relevant.  So, when… Continue reading Questions to ask when considering church revitalisation

Established

We tend to associate the early stages of Isaiah with gloom and judgement. However, rifght from the start, warnings of judgement are framed by promises of hope. Read Isaiah 2:1-5 If the city of Jerusalem and the Temple there faces imminent destruction, this will not be a permanent state of affairs.  God promises that a… Continue reading Established

Is the protestant position on abortion contradictory?

I just wanted to pick up on this tweet. I think that it runs with a number of misconceptions and confusions.  First,  a misunderstanding of what we mean by things like original sin and Total Depravity.  The choice of wording in the tweet suggests that the doctrines require us to regard people, including babies and… Continue reading Is the protestant position on abortion contradictory?

Unfaithful

Warning, today’s reading will contain strong language from the start. We are used to a kind of gentle, nice respectability to our Christianity but the prophets were prepared to deal directly with root problems and unashamedly use shocking language to get their point across. Read Isaiah 1:21-31 Israel is compared to a prostitute. Sexual immorality… Continue reading Unfaithful

Death and resurrection – applying Jonah through Jesus

We want to apply the Old Testament to our lives today but how do we best do that.  There’s a risk that if we just use an Old Testament character as an example that we end up with legalism.  The message of Jonah gives us a helpful case study. Jonah runs away from God and… Continue reading Death and resurrection – applying Jonah through Jesus

Listen up

God spoke to and through the prophet Isaiah about 700 years before Jesus came and so over 2700 years ago.  Yet those words spoken millennia ago still resonate powerfully today. Ultimately, it is a message of hope as Isaiah points to Jesus but he had many tough things to say too. The question today as… Continue reading Listen up

What do you want to see?

Many Christians use the 40 days in the lead up to Easter as an opportunity for prayer, fasting and reflection in order to grow their love for the Gospel. The season is known as Lent.  I belong to a less liturgical strand of Christianity so I don’t tend to follow church calendars.  There is nothing… Continue reading What do you want to see?

Names

When the writer provides the generational records for Noah’s sons, he reverses the expected order.  We are told first about Japheth’s sons the Hams.  The line of Shem is delayed into chapter 11 and before that we have some further detail about what Ham’s descendants get up to. This will enable Moses to go on… Continue reading Names

Asbury and why we don’t have to label everything immediately

I studied law at university, followed by manufacturing management and a gear shift career change into manufacturing engineering.  AS both cause and consequence of those decisions, I tend to be keen to label, define, organise. It’s how my mind is wired and so I was one of those people during COVID who got through it… Continue reading Asbury and why we don’t have to label everything immediately