I’ve recently commented that having been in a position for most of my life where I’ve attended church at least twice on Sunday, sometimes more, that now being in a place where we are only attending once, it feels in some ways that for the first time, the Christian Sabbath is doing its job. Now,… Continue reading Why stripping back Sundays is helping me to think about Sabbath
Posts
Removing barriers (Mark 10)
We are travelling with Jesus to Jerusalem to the Temple and towards the time of Jesus’s death and resurrection. On route Jesus will encounter those who seek to block and oppose him. We will also see the barriers that others face. First, we see Jesus confronted by the religious leaders seeking to test him. We… Continue reading Removing barriers (Mark 10)
Why the dollar/pound exchange rate matters
Just some quick notes about what has been happening with the currency and what that directly has to do with us. Let’s simply things down for explanation. Supposing the £1 is trading at $2. It obviously affects when you go on holiday because you want to get as many dollars when you go so you… Continue reading Why the dollar/pound exchange rate matters
The pastor’s Sabbath?
Most pastors have something in their contract to the effect that they should have one day a week completely clear of work. Some contracts will refer to it as the pastor’s sabbath. I’m deeply uncomfortable with that language because it suggests that the pastor should have his sabbath away from God’s people. It also begs… Continue reading The pastor’s Sabbath?
Generation Hymns
At our old church, we used to run a Sunday evening cafe style church using MP3 and YouTube mainly for the music. Primarily the songs were aimed at a younger generation and we went louder and more contemporary. However, I’ve always loved the older hymns and I think there’s a rich heritage of wonderful praise… Continue reading Generation Hymns
On younger pastors and preachers
I preached my first sermon when I was 19, I preached for a few years in our small Brethren Gospel Hall in Bradford and a couple of other local churches including a struggling AOG church which I helped out with getting my first experience of revitalisation/replanting. The elder there wanted to try and use some… Continue reading On younger pastors and preachers
Trusting God in troubled seasons
You can now listen to some of the Faithroots Podcasts on Spotify. A while back I did a series on the book of Habakkuk. As well as working through verse by verse, I also included three short reflection talks. I think that the content is particularly helpful as we face tough and even fearful days… Continue reading Trusting God in troubled seasons
What is Sabbath rest?
We associate the idea of a Sabbath with rest for three reasons. First of all, in terms of the big Biblical picture, Sabbath practice looks back to Genesis 2:1-4 where we are told that God rested on the 7th day after 6 days of creation. Note, that whilst God rested after completing his work, that… Continue reading What is Sabbath rest?
Further reflections on Trussonomics
I’ve been reflecting a little more on the debate around the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s statement last Friday and what is now becoming referred to as “Trussonomics.” You will remember that my assessment was that it was economically illiterate and politically stupid. Perhaps you thought that harsh. Perhaps not given the even stronger assertions from… Continue reading Further reflections on Trussonomics
What shall we do with Sunday?
Earlier this week, I wrote a little article about Christian students starting University. One other things I responded to in that article was the recommendation that students should seek to attend church twice on Sunday. I want to delve a bit more into the question about what we should do with Sundays and how we… Continue reading What shall we do with Sunday?
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