How do you respond when others seem to be favoured over and above you? Are you happy for them? Does it spur you on to do better or does it cause resentment and jealousy? God has accepted Abel’s sacrifice, the younger brother preferred to the older being a theme that will develop throughout the Old… Continue reading Bloodshed
Posts
A little more meditation
On Sunday, I wrote about the phrase “place me like a seal over your heart” (Song of Songs 8:6) and suggested an approach to meditation where we take time to chew over a verse or even a short phrase. It is possible to work through a longer passage, especially a Psalm or a series of… Continue reading A little more meditation
Do we gather to worship?
Robert Strivens has reviewed William Taylor’s book “Revolutionary Worship” here. Taylor, following Vaughan Roberts and David Peterson argues that for the believer, worship language in Scripture is primarily about our everyday lives. Taylor’s primary aim seems to be to encourage people to think of their day to day activities in the home, workplace, school or… Continue reading Do we gather to worship?
Worship, faith and offering
Genesis 3 describes the fall of humanity into sin. Judgement comes, God had warned that death would be the consequence but at the same time, God has not done with his creation or with humanity. The story continues and we will continue to see both God’s grace at work and evidence of the deepening depravity… Continue reading Worship, faith and offering
Signs of life or evidence of death?
We want there to be signs of life, signs of hope. It’s hard to give the message that there are none and hard to receive such a touch message too. Our temptation is to keep looking for glimmers of hope. This is true when we are talking about churches. It is hard to tell a… Continue reading Signs of life or evidence of death?
“Place me like a seal over your heart”
Our engagement with Scripture includes both taking in and understanding significant sections of Scripture and focusing on the small details. It’s about studying God’s Word and thinking it through but it is also about applying it practically. A crucial part of this is meditation. Christian meditation is not about emptying your mind or even focusing… Continue reading “Place me like a seal over your heart”
Reason, rationality and irrationality
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The missing endorsement
Every so often, I pick up a book with it’s hot new take on this or that particularly theological issue. The author claims to have a fresh, new perspective that will enable us to understand a Bible passage or book, or a doctrine in a new way. I’m wary of such claims, novel ideas rarely… Continue reading The missing endorsement
“Don’t you tell me what to do”
The Guardian reports Trying to stop friends and relations from making certain life choices such as whether to take a new job or start a family could “violate a crucial moral right”, according to a new paper by a Cambridge philosopher. Dr Farbod Akhlaghi, a moral philosopher at Christ’s College, argues that everyone has a… Continue reading “Don’t you tell me what to do”
Grace and banishment
Genesis 3 is perhaps the darkest and bleakest of Bible chapters. Is there any hope to be found here? Read Genesis 3:20-24 Adam now names the woman. He calls her “Eve” which has the idea of “life” and “living”. Notice that here in the darkness of the Fall is a ray of light. There is… Continue reading Grace and banishment
