“Who are we to judge?” It’s one of those argument ending killer phrases isn’t it? Usually the phrase is then followed up by two other phrases. “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.”[1] “let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”[2] The deployment of these phrases are designed to… Continue reading “Do not judge…”
Posts
The Father and the Son
This is a second extract from “Who is God?” thinking a bit more about The Trinity What sort of Father? Some of us might find it hard to think of God as Father. It holds too many negative connotations. For some, it will bring them face to face with their own failings and inadequacies as… Continue reading The Father and the Son
The Shaming of the Shrew
This is the third in a little series of articles reflecting on the controversy surrounding Dominic Cumming’s trip to Durham. I guess it also relates to the issues that came up with Professor Neil Ferguson and Catherine Calderwood, the former Scottish Chief Medical Officer I am more concerned with the lessons we learn for our… Continue reading The Shaming of the Shrew
Listen very carefully
Here’s today’s Afternoon Tea discussion. As it is Sunday, we have a first look at the Sunday Night topic which this week is “Listen carefully” (Hebrews 2:1-4). Here are the key points: 1. The context is that Jesus is greater than the angels. 2. Although Jesus’ revelation is greater, it does not replace the OT… Continue reading Listen very carefully
Cummings and Goings
As promised, here is part two of my thoughts on the Dominic Cummings case. I want to focus here on the question of how we interact with rules. The key question for DC’s future is whether or not he did break any rules. If he broke lockdown rules, then this is serious because he has… Continue reading Cummings and Goings
Should we sympathise with Dominic Cummings?
On Saturday May 23rd news broke that Dominic Cummings (Boris Johnson’s chief of staff) had allegedly broke the lockdown rules to visit his parents in Durham. Over the day, the story changed several times. The explanation was given that he went because he and his wife were beginning o show symptoms of COVID-19 and that… Continue reading Should we sympathise with Dominic Cummings?
God is love and God is Trinity
This is an extract from “Who is God?” available from our publications page. In Matthew 3, when Jesus gets baptised, we see the Father speaking and the Holy Spirit hovering over Jesus in the appearance of a dove. In other words The Trinity is present. So what does it mean for Christians to believe that… Continue reading God is love and God is Trinity
Application Overload
Yesterday I wrote about attention spans and suggested that the important question was not to do with how we felt people were doing at staying with us for the duration of the sermon but three key questions. How much do they take in? How long are they able to retain it for? How are they… Continue reading Application Overload
Attention Span – three questions
During lockdown, one of the big questions for pastors and preachers has been about if and how to adapt our preaching. Can we just carry on as normal, preaching to a camera instead of a congregation, or do we need to adapt? A specific example of this, is sermon length. There is some suggestion that… Continue reading Attention Span – three questions
Coronavirus and the battle of three fridges
Here is the latest Government ad campaign in the battle of Coronavirus. You get the message don’t you. We are meant to keep our distance when out and about. We should be around about two metres apart from each other, that’s obviously not meant to be a precise measurement. It’s a rough distance. There are… Continue reading Coronavirus and the battle of three fridges
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