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Praying for or praying against enemies?

My article about the UK national anthem provoked a little discussion.  Several people on social media commented that they agreed with me that it shouldn’t be sung in church.  One reason given was that the Anthem includes verses which call for the defeat and destruction of the Queen’s enemies.  Observations included that this was “more… Continue reading Praying for or praying against enemies?

Breaking up the hard ground (more reflections on Mark 4:1-20)

At Bearwood Chapel, we had a partnership with OM and over several years hosted a number of teams.  As part of that partnership I was involved in training OMers in aspects of mission.  One of the things I would sometimes do is take the team members into our car park.  I would say to them:… Continue reading Breaking up the hard ground (more reflections on Mark 4:1-20)

What next for Boris?

Yesterday evening, Boris Johnson survived a “No Confidence” vote from his own MPs by 211 votes to 148. This meant that 41% of his own MPs declared no confidence in him. However, in fact, he fare worse than that.  Between 160-170 MPs are on the government payroll as ministers/aides.  It’s possible that some of these… Continue reading What next for Boris?

A Christian country and a covenant with God?

I wanted to pick up on a comment made on Twitter by Matthew Mason who is a tutor in Christian ethics at London Seminary and honorary “Theologian at Large” for Evangelicals Now.  Matthew wrote, reflecting on the Queen’s Jubilee weekend: This provoked some sharp responses including: And Now, I’m not convinced that it is fair… Continue reading A Christian country and a covenant with God?

The condition of your heart (Mark 4:1-20)

The parable of the sower is perhaps one of the best known of Jesus’ parables.  We may however do better to call it “The parable of the soils” because it is the ground that the seed lands on which Jesus’ teaching focuses on. In Jesus’ story the farmer sows seed by scattering it by hand.… Continue reading The condition of your heart (Mark 4:1-20)

Is the national Anthem a prayer and should we sing it in church?

Before we leave behind some of the questions that have arisen out of the Jubilee weekend, I’d like to talk about one more thing.  One suggestion made has been that we could at least sing the National Anthem in our church services because it is a prayer. In fact, I’ve seen it argued that this… Continue reading Is the national Anthem a prayer and should we sing it in church?

God’s Word at work bringing growth (Mark 4: 1-34)

We now have a cluster of parables about God’s kingdom with farming imagery dominating. The most famous of these is the parable of the Sower (or perhaps more accurately ‘soils’) where seed lands on different types of ground bringing different outcomes.  There are things that prevent seed from taking root, growing and bearing fruit reflecting… Continue reading God’s Word at work bringing growth (Mark 4: 1-34)

Don’t forget Pentecost

Today, is a day of great celebration.  We are marking an important anniversary in our history.  Today is Pentecost Sunday.  This marks the anniversary of the day described in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit came. Pentecost has sometimes been described as the birthday of the church – where it all began.  At the same… Continue reading Don’t forget Pentecost

The Cost of Living Crisis – what should the church be doing?

I started writing this little series about the Cost-of-Living Crisis back in February and I began by observing that this is something that will affect the church so it isn’t something we can just ignore. Since then, we’ve talked about the political and economic challenges of responding to the crisis. We’ve also seen what the… Continue reading The Cost of Living Crisis – what should the church be doing?