Two of the best things that your preaching should do

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Let me share two stories from personal experience with you.  In the first case, I was the preacher.  Imagine the scene.  I’ve completed my second year of theological training and my home church pastor has arranged for me to do a summer internship at a little village church (Halling Baptist) without a pastor at that… Continue reading Two of the best things that your preaching should do

The Federal Vision and paedobaptism

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In the Joint Federal Vision Profession (2007), the signatories wrote: We affirm that God formally unites a person to Christ and to His covenant people through baptism into the triune Name, and that this baptism obligates such a one to lifelong covenant loyalty to the triune God, each baptized person repenting of his sins and trusting in Christ… Continue reading The Federal Vision and paedobaptism

Robert Jenrick, Krish Kandiah, Thought for the Day, Immigration and Xenophobia: Further Reflections

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The other day I mentioned the Thought for the Day piece by Krish Kandiah that was pulled and then edited to exclude a reference to Xenophobia in criticism of remarks made by the shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick. To date, apart from my own piece, I’m only aware of an article on Facebook by John… Continue reading Robert Jenrick, Krish Kandiah, Thought for the Day, Immigration and Xenophobia: Further Reflections

Why am I so exercised over Federal Vision?

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This is a question that a good friend recommended I addressed as part of my articles on the subject.  Perhaps you’ve been thinking that very question. Why is Dave paying attention to this out of all the errors and issues that beset the church?  Well, first of all, it’s worth noting that this isn’t the… Continue reading Why am I so exercised over Federal Vision?

Thought for the Day: Free Speech, Politicians and Xenophobia

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Conservative/Reform politicians and the right wing media are in uproar.  The BBC has engaged in a bit of censorship.  They made a mistake, instead of putting up the usual liberal theologian for Thought for the Day and instead of that person testing listeners to a few harmless platitudes, they only went and got in an… Continue reading Thought for the Day: Free Speech, Politicians and Xenophobia

Pick and mix? Evangelicals and the new Archbishop of Wales

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We are still waiting to find out who the new Archbishop of Canterbury will be.  In the meantime, the Church of Wales has appointed Cherry Van as its new Archbishop.  Van is in openly same sex relationship.  She has talked about having to keep her sexuality and relationship secret when serving in the Church of… Continue reading Pick and mix? Evangelicals and the new Archbishop of Wales

What was going on at Oak Hill in the noughties?

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In my introductory article about the Federal Vision controversy, I shared some autobiographical detail about my own introduction to the ideas and people. This related to my time at Oak Hill Theological College and  was really primarily about setting the scene and showing how I became aware of the issue.  However, I’ve been asked a… Continue reading What was going on at Oak Hill in the noughties?

What is the Federal Vision all about?

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I thought it would be helpful to talk a bit more about Federal Vision as a thought/movement. This will help to explain the concerns that I and others have about its potential ongoing influence.   It’s worth noting that there are numerous people that have been identified under the label.   This can make it a little… Continue reading What is the Federal Vision all about?

Why is suffering a problem for believers?

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This Sunday we are looking at the opportunity of suffering. at church Specifically we will be thinking about how we share the Gospel in response to suffering.  It seems strange to talk about suffering as an opportunity.  We tend to talk more about the problem of suffering.  This has been strikingly emphasised by an interview… Continue reading Why is suffering a problem for believers?

Overcoming the strong man enacted

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Consider this.  In Luke 11, Jesus uses the analogy of a strong man, sitting on his wealth and enjoying the security of his stronghold.  The stronger conqueror will attack and dismantle the defences before dividing up the spoils. When Jesus arrives as conquering king, the stronger rescuer in Jerusalem, it is neither against Herod or… Continue reading Overcoming the strong man enacted