Tag: 1 Peter

The Harrowing of Hell and the filling of silence

Over the last few years, I’ve noticed two particular trends at Easter and I suspect they are linked. The first, that seemed to start earlier was that some Christians began to start making a bigger deal of the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  Comments include that we shouldn’t be in a rush to… Continue reading The Harrowing of Hell and the filling of silence

Looking for Utopia?  Seeking the Good of the City as apologetics

We seek the good of the city not because we believe that we can achieve utopia but exactly because we know that we will not.  What I mean by this is that some Christians have a confused and unhelpful view about the role of the church in public life and social action. Some people speak… Continue reading Looking for Utopia?  Seeking the Good of the City as apologetics

Does Baptism save?

Generally speaking, most paedobaptists would stop short of teaching baptismal regeneration.  That’s the belief associated primarily with Catholicism that it is the act of baptism itself that objectively brings about salvation.  The closest we have got to that idea has been from  some Federal Vision proponents who insist that baptism does objectively do something and… Continue reading Does Baptism save?

In the Darkest Hour (1 Peter 3:8-22)

“In the darkest hour, when I cannot breatheFear is on my chest, the weight of the world on meEverything is crashing down, everything I had knownWhen I wonder if I’m all alone” These are the opening lines of Lauren Daigle’s song “Remember.”  What do we do when we face “the darkest hours” of our lives?… Continue reading In the Darkest Hour (1 Peter 3:8-22)

Cornerstone: From rejected to chosen (1 Peter 2:4-10)

Here’s the outline for my sermon at West Smethwick Congregational Church last Sunday Introduction Our context   Pandemic Increasing hostility to the Gospel local church feeling small and fragile Personal challenges  Big Picture … an Exodus/exile people (1:1)  But chosen and called by God to be different and distinct from the world around them. It was… Continue reading Cornerstone: From rejected to chosen (1 Peter 2:4-10)

Refugees – Blessing or burden?

Thinking back to a conversation I had with two other Christians about the Home Office’s approach to processing asylum claims, I was struck again by how much our perception of the asylum system is shaped by our view of asylum seekers themselves. If I think that asylum seekers are very likely to be fake, just… Continue reading Refugees – Blessing or burden?

How are we going to get through the next six months?

“Not another six months of this?” That was the reaction of most of us to this week’s latest COVID-19 announcements wasn’t it. Something that we hoped would be sorted in a matter of weeks or maybe months is likely to be the dominant issue at least for a whole year and probably longer. We had… Continue reading How are we going to get through the next six months?