The imagery throughout Mark 4 is centred on this small seed which gets planted, buried in the ground and begins to grow. Yes there’s this period of time when it’s hidden from sight, when n-one knows what happens, yes there are the obstacles: birds, rocks, thorns but growth and fruitfulness is inevitable. That’s what we… Continue reading God’s Growing kingdom (Mark 4:26-34)
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Revealed (Mark 4:21-25)
“Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? Mark 4:21 This is perhaps one of the best known sayings of Jesus. It’s often described as a parable but had a more proverbial feel. Also, it seems to have been used in different contexts. … Continue reading Revealed (Mark 4:21-25)
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)
Goodbye Harvest Road
Well, it’s time to move on. After 12 happy, eventful years, we are leaving the cul-de-sac. It was just before Easter 2010 when we found our house. I’d agreed to join Bearwood Chapel as their pastor. At that stage, we were not sure whether it would be a two or three year contract and Sarah… Continue reading Goodbye Harvest Road
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)
