Posts

Festival of the Local Church

Usually at this time of year, there would be a number of Christian festivals and holiday conventions happening. All have had to be cancelled. It looks like this will apply to summer conventions too. Personally I’m a little disappointed, we were looking forward to joining the Keswick Convention having had a few years away. We… Continue reading Festival of the Local Church

Learning the wrong lessons – A vaccine and the mark of the beast

Whilst some people are working hard to find a vaccine for coronavirus, the scare stories are already doing the rounds even before the drugs are available. The vaccine will lead to other illness, will cause autism, etc – the same kinds of worries raised about MMR. At the same time, Christian speakers with a focus… Continue reading Learning the wrong lessons – A vaccine and the mark of the beast

Pastoring in a pandemic

One of the most read, most quoted, most promoted books amongst Christian leaders is “The Reformed Pastor” by Richard Baxter.   Baxter was a minister who served in Kidderminster at the time of the English Civil War.  The book describes his methods in seeking to care spiritually for his parish. It is also one of the… Continue reading Pastoring in a pandemic

Watch out false teachers (2 Peter 2:1-3)

He was popular on the preaching team, able to put things forward clearly and simply in an engaging way.  Then something began to shift. We noticed a change of emphasis. Then he began to speak with individuals and tell them that he wasn’t so sure. He did not come out directly and say that he… Continue reading Watch out false teachers (2 Peter 2:1-3)

Fulfilment in Matthew 1-4

Fulfilment of Old Testament Scripture is a key theme throughout Matthew’s Gospel.  Prophecies are quoted and old testament images alluded to. It is not just that some prophecies specifically predict things that will happen, rather, Jesus takes on the history of the Old Testament, the identity of the people of Israel and makes complete in… Continue reading Fulfilment in Matthew 1-4

Bullies – a personal story

a bruised reed he will not break,    and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;    he will faithfully bring forth justice (Isaiah 42:3) I arrived at primary school aged 4, one of the youngest and therefore smallest in my class, to add to that I came with ginger hair and asthma, by aged 10 I had… Continue reading Bullies – a personal story

Learning the wrong lessons (2) The Sweden factor and panic time

“It’s all too complicated, it’s going to go massively wrong, we’ll lose money, jobs will go, national security could be put at risk. Others are handling this differently. We need to change course.” That was the gist of the conversation I had a few time with my bosses. It was back in 1999 and we… Continue reading Learning the wrong lessons (2) The Sweden factor and panic time

Loneliness

There’s a good chance someone in your congregation, indeed in your home group is struggling with loneliness right now. Indeed it is highly likely that you have struggled with it yourself. However, it’s a topic we don’t really talk about. My comments here are prompted  by a helpful twitter conversation with Rebecca McLaughlin which you… Continue reading Loneliness

Preaching to yourself

During the Coronavirus Pandemic, we’ve used a mix of Facebook, Youtube and Zoom to help people gather for prayer, praise and Bible teaching. Preaching for a Facebook or Youtube audience is a fascinating experience. You cannot see the congregation, your best indication of whether or not people are present and engaging is if they add… Continue reading Preaching to yourself