RT Kendall’s book used to be considered the classic textbook for Christians on forgiveness. One of his main arguments was that forgiveness was primarily about the heart attitude of the offended. One of his key bits of advice was that if someone had offended you and you had truly forgiven them then you would not… Continue reading Does forgiveness need to be expressed to the other person?
Posts
Specifically Wrong
Today asked about the Government’s Brexit policy, a minister, Brandon Lewis stated that yes the Government would break international law … in a specific way. You heard that right. A minister acknowledged intention to break a law. Not only that, the slightly weird defence was introduced that it was only in a specific way. That… Continue reading Specifically Wrong
Dog whistle racism is still racism
In the early hours of Sunday morning a major incident unfolded in Birmingham city centre. A man stabbed a number of people resulting in several critical injuries and one death. A manhunt followed and police circulated CCTV footage of him. He was caught and arrested. As is not unusual the suspect has not yet been… Continue reading Dog whistle racism is still racism
Curiosity and coronavirus
I have argued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that two gaps in our skill set as a society have been identified. The first is an understanding of how statistics work as figures have been thrown around without much understanding of what they tell us. The second has been that we have show a lack of curiosity.… Continue reading Curiosity and coronavirus
Forgiveness and reconciliation may not always mean a return to normal
A boyfriend completely forgets his girlfriend’s birthday and goes out with his mates for a drink instead. It’s not the first time he has let her down. She decides to break off with him. At the time he expresses sorrow, buys her flowers, chocolates and concert tickets but she sees through the remorse, this isn’t… Continue reading Forgiveness and reconciliation may not always mean a return to normal
Do pastors need their own sabbath?
Many pastors have something in their contracts to the effect that they should take one complete day off each week. Funnily it often sounds like this is an obligation on them rather than what it is in fact which is provision for them! It is sometimes suggested that this is to be their sabbath. Now,… Continue reading Do pastors need their own sabbath?
Why we will be cutting back on our online output
When the COVID-19 restrictions began to kick in, like many others we began to ramp up our online content. My personal involvement included restarting Faithroots, uploading short videos to Youtube and opening a Facebook account so that I could broadcast regularly. At the height of the pandemic, I was running twice daily prayer services and… Continue reading Why we will be cutting back on our online output
Moving out of lockdown – update
Over the summer we have been opening up the Chapel building every Sunday morning for a few people to come along and watch the service together. We have continued to provide a live stream service from different homes over that time. Today, we had our first go at running a live service from the building… Continue reading Moving out of lockdown – update
Does forgiveness remove the need for church discipline?
In my ten years at Bearwood Chapel, we’ve only felt the need to pursue full church discipline in line with 1 Corinthians 5 on one occasion. However the need to remove membership due to persistent, unrepentant and serious sin will sadly arise from time to time in church life. We’ve been talking about the importance… Continue reading Does forgiveness remove the need for church discipline?
Home (Proverbs 14)
One of my favourite places to visit is Blenheim Palace. It’s an impressive tourist attraction, an elegantly designed building set in acres of beautiful parkland. As well as being a tourist attraction, it’s actually the home of the Marlborough family. However, a number of commentators have observed that it wasn’t so much designed to be… Continue reading Home (Proverbs 14)
