Kingdom The theme of God’s kingdom is significant to all of the Gospels but particularly stands out in Matthew and Mark. Matthew refers to it as The Kingdom of Heaven, this links to a Jewus reluctance to even speak out God’s name so that other words are used in place of “God” or “YHWH.” Heaven… Continue reading Some big themes in Mark’s Gospel
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Postscript to my correspondence with Premier Christianity
A little update to the issue I raised with Premier Christianity about serious concerns a number of us have had about their editorial approach. You can read the letter I sent to Premier here. Today, I received this response. Dear Dave, Thank you for taking the time to email. As you quite rightly state below,… Continue reading Postscript to my correspondence with Premier Christianity
The nature and purpose of Mark’s Gospel
It is worth thinking a little bit more about the nature and purpose of the book by considering its style and structure as well as comparing it to other examples of literature both ancient and moder. This will help us consider how we should approach it in terms of preaching and teaching. One recent obsession… Continue reading The nature and purpose of Mark’s Gospel
Good immunisation
I’ve written a couple of articles reflecting on the way that we have built up immunity to COVID-19 and how this reminds me of the old adage that we can “give people just enough religion to inoculate them against the real thing.” Well, of course we are meant to think about vaccination and immunisation as… Continue reading Good immunisation
Life after life
I’ve just finished watching the 4 part drama series “Life after life” adapted from Kate Atkinson’s 2013 novel. I found the premise fascinating but Sarah reckons the book isn’t all it’s made out to be, so this seemed like the easier way of getting a better feel for the story. The story focuses on the… Continue reading Life after life
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
Healthy Biblical Counselling
In previous articles I’ve shared my concerns regarding some aspects of Biblical Counselling. Some approaches lead you towards what risks being harsh and legalistic counselling. This arises out of an assumption that we can resolve a problem by identifying and stopping the sin that caused it. This leads, in my opinion to a shallow engagement… Continue reading Healthy Biblical Counselling
COVID -a very occasional update
Being confined to quarters with a dose of COVID-19 means I’ve had a bit of time on my hands. So, I thought I’d have a quick look at what the current data is on the virus in the UK. As you may recall, there’s been significant changes to regulations and guidance in the last month.… Continue reading COVID -a very occasional update
Bad theology plus complacent thinking = dangerous pastoral care
I’ve been writing a little about Biblical counselling recently. I’ve been particularly picking up on some of the dangers with certain strains of it but I do so as someone who believes that properly used, Biblical counselling does have a crucial place. I intend to write a little bit more about this shortly. However, first… Continue reading Bad theology plus complacent thinking = dangerous pastoral care
The problem with allowing any old nonsense
I wrote two articles the other day which reflecting back on, I think they are more closely linked than I realised at the time. In the first, I responded to a rather bizarre article in Premier Christianity Magazine asking if Jesus might have been married. In the second, I wrote about the way that COVID… Continue reading The problem with allowing any old nonsense
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