Ancient Israel was expected to observe sabbath years (every 7) and jubilee years every 50. Those years were meant to allow for the release of slaves, cancellation of debt, return of property to tribal/clan ownership and rest for the land with the fields left fallow. Whilst those laws were specific to Israel and so not… Continue reading Fallow Ground
Posts
COVID-19 depression and suicide
There has been some discussion about the affects of COVID-19 and lockdowns on mental health. Now despite the memes that have circulated on social media about spiralling suicide rates, the data as we have it does not suggest that this seems to be the case. If there have been any increases in incidents, they reflect… Continue reading COVID-19 depression and suicide
Do we worship freedom?
When he wrote Escape from Reason, Francis Schaeffer talked about how we have divided the word in half, below the line is the natural world and above it is the supernatural, what we look to for meaning, what in effect we worship. Once we remove from God from above the line we replace him with… Continue reading Do we worship freedom?
The urban mission field is not a playground
There are a number of parachurch organisations dedicated to encouraging people to get involved in evangelism and world mission. There’s often a focus on young people and an emphasis on short term missions. Now, this is one of those articles where lots of disclaimers are needed and I’m running the risk of causing offence. So,… Continue reading The urban mission field is not a playground
Developing Robust Safeguarding policies
In a recent article, I wrote in defence of safeguarding policies and officers. Here I want to put forward some suggestions for how to have good, robust policies in place. First of all, I believe it is important to start from a Biblical basis. Elders have a responsibility to provide good spiritual food for the… Continue reading Developing Robust Safeguarding policies
Faithroots Urban Mission and Urban Training
As you know, our exact longer term future is rather up in the air. We’ve been taking time over the last couple of months to listen to options and will now be giving a lot of prayer as we seek discernment on where to follow up. We’ll hopefully be able to share a bit more… Continue reading Faithroots Urban Mission and Urban Training
After Brexit: This is the beginning of the debate not the end
The Brexit transition period is over and so today, some of those who have remained opposed in principle to the UK leaving the UK have announced their intention to re-join. This is their democratic right and Brexiteers who campaigned for many years to leave should respect their right to campaign for what they believe in,… Continue reading After Brexit: This is the beginning of the debate not the end
Lord for the years
Well, here it is, my last sermon at Bearwood Chapel. And the context is not only that this marks our last day with you but also we are coming to the end of one year, starting a new one. This new year will be very different for most people to previous ones. We usually enter… Continue reading Lord for the years
True Hope – Happy New Year from Parky and friends
Parky and friends wanted to share a last message of the year. It’s all about hope -something Bradford City supporters like Parky and me struggle with. Here’s a short video for the family talking about how we can find true hope that does not disappoint
Prioritising the non-vulnerable may help protect the vulnerable
The primary assumption with rolling out vaccines is that you want to make sure that the highly vulnerable get the vaccine first, so you start with the over 80s and then the over 70s and those with medical conditions. There is a lot of wisdom in that. However, a comment by our local Public Health… Continue reading Prioritising the non-vulnerable may help protect the vulnerable
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