When I was growing up, there was still a strong emphasis on keeping Sunday as a special day, the Christian Sabbath. In a lot of church cultures, the expectation was that you attended church at least twice, wore your Sunday best and that activities during the day were limited to those considered spiritually edifying. Sunday… Continue reading Sabbath Rest -Do we need to keep Sunday special?
Posts
COVID-19 Safety and Attending Bearwood Chapel
We want to let you know that you are very welcome to join us for worship at the Chapel. This Sunday there will be a service beginning at 10:30am with doors open from 10am. We also want to reassure you that we are complying with the latest advice from the Government and from Sandwell’s Director… Continue reading COVID-19 Safety and Attending Bearwood Chapel
Exploring Forgiveness and Repentance
I’ve been writing a little recently about forgiveness. It arises out of our recent studies from the Sermon on the Mount. It also relates to some other things I have written recently about our pastoral responsibilities to victims of abuse and to those accused. So, I was interested to see the other day that my… Continue reading Exploring Forgiveness and Repentance
Woke?
How did the term “woke” become the insult of choice in 2020? The word is simply an African-Americanism meaning to be awake. It has been around for many years. It came to describe those who had become awake to their subjugation. Woke people were awake to racial injustice, the historical effects of the slave trade… Continue reading Woke?
Grace Culture – the importance of swift repentance and forgiveness
I believe that a grace culture is one where we are quick to seek forgiveness, express sorrow and repentance, to offer forgiveness and to seek reconciliation. This reflects the teaching in the Sermon on the Mount which is all about what it means to be saturated in God’s love and grace so that we enjoy… Continue reading Grace Culture – the importance of swift repentance and forgiveness
Angry at God? (4) The trouble with me
What is one of the most significant root causes of anger? I want to suggest that it often comes down to my desire to be in control. We often get angry when things happen that we hadn’t planned for and that we can’t do anything about. We become frustrated because our plans for life are… Continue reading Angry at God? (4) The trouble with me
Pills, therapy and sin
US pastor Gabriel Hughes tweeted the following to his 15k followers this week. I want to spend a little bit of time responding here as quite a few people reacted strongly to what came across as an insensitive comment. Among Hughes’ followers will be people who struggle with depression, other forms of mental illness and… Continue reading Pills, therapy and sin
Do we need to learn to doubt?
Schools are returning after lockdown and the summer break, soon students will be heading off to University too. So what should they be learning? What should professors and tutors be teaching their students? Here is one suggested list. It seems a good list doesn’t it? I agree that we should be teaching students how to… Continue reading Do we need to learn to doubt?
Truth (Proverbs 13)
Pinocchio is a puppet who just wants to be a normal boy. You’re probably familiar with the story. Whenever he tells a lie, his nose grows a little longer. Most of us probably wish that this would happen to the people we were dealing with. Then we’d be able to tell if they are telling… Continue reading Truth (Proverbs 13)
Angry at God? (3) The root cause of my anger
Sometimes someone is in so much physical pain that they cannot tell where the pain is coming from. It seems to come from everywhere. When someone is in that much pain, it is very difficult to get close to help. This can be true with emotional pain too. You hurt so much, you cannot remember… Continue reading Angry at God? (3) The root cause of my anger
