Last week I wrote about Sundays and gathered worship. I argued that the whole of life is worship and that means that yes, Sundays are part of our worship, not because the church gathers to worship in a way cut off from our daily lives but exactly because the whole of life is worship and… Continue reading What should (and shouldn’t) the gathered church be like?
Tag: communion
Active Remembrance
Today is Remembrance Sunday. In the UK we take time to pause and remember the sacrifice of those who fought in some of the terrible wars of the past. They gave their lives for the freedom of others. I’m more and more captivated by what remembrance is. You may have picked up on some of… Continue reading Active Remembrance
If Sunday is a meal or feast then ….
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus sat down with his disciples to share the Passover meal. At that meal, he insisted not only that he was the host at the meal but that he was the meal itself. Jesus was the new Passover. This was significant for his hearers. It would have been obvious… Continue reading If Sunday is a meal or feast then ….
“This is my body” … what exactly do we eat at communion?
I want to return to something we looked at a bit earlier this week. What was it that Jesus said at the last supper and what does this mean for when we take communion today? Mark 14:22-25 reports: 22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave… Continue reading “This is my body” … what exactly do we eat at communion?
A meal with Jesus
Throughout the Gospels, some of the great encounters with Jesus happen at mealtime. We are coming to the close of Mark’s Gospel and the last meal in his account is no ordinary supper. Jesus and his disciples are in Jerusalem for the Passover. The Passover meal commemorated the night when the people of Israel prepared… Continue reading A meal with Jesus
The pandemic elephant in the room. What happened to our reformed theology?
This is a little bit of a lament. I come from the Reformed tradition theologically. We pride ourselves in this tradition on deep theological reflection. This theological reflection is meant to be rooted in detailed exegesis of the text set within two important theological disciplines, Biblical Theology which enables us to see how God’s redemptive… Continue reading The pandemic elephant in the room. What happened to our reformed theology?
The solution to toxic culture? – a meal with Jesus
Has there been anything in history comparable to the horrific things reports of abuse, bullying and toxic culture coming from evangelical churches over the past few years? Well, yes there has. Right back in the first century, the mission of the church could have almost been undone by the antics of the Corinthian church. There… Continue reading The solution to toxic culture? – a meal with Jesus
We need to do better at deep and charitable theological engagement (another lesson from COVID)
You are a church leader and you’ve just been told by the government that due to a pandemic ripping through the population, you will now need to suspend public services as part of a national lockdown. You know that schools, pubs, restaurants, theatres and sports stadia are being closed. You know that people are being… Continue reading We need to do better at deep and charitable theological engagement (another lesson from COVID)
George Floyd, justice and why the optics do matter
I woke yesterday to the news that George Floyd’s killer, Derek Chauvin has been convicted. This is good news because it means justice for Floyd’s family, but it does not deal with the issue of racism. In fact, it is concerning that some people are still trying to separate out the race issue here and… Continue reading George Floyd, justice and why the optics do matter
Should children take communion?
I’m reposting a couple of articles from a few years back about baptism and communion -especially as it relates to children. I’m doing this partly because these are topics that are always worth revisiting but also because I’m currently preparing some articles following up further on the question of church culture. In some of the… Continue reading Should children take communion?
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