If you check someone’s social media profile these days, then you are likely to find that they’ll tell you their preferred pronouns. The point is that we are not to assume that they want to identify with a particular gender. It is considered respectful to allow another person to let you know how they want… Continue reading God, gender, pronouns and the church
Tag: Ephesians
Jesus my king says “come and sit with me”
I was speaking at West Smethwick Congregational Church last Sunday. WSCC is a church we built connections with when they sought help with revitalisation and replanting. A few years back they were down to half a dozen people. So, it was good to visit them and see such a change. They have a pastor and… Continue reading Jesus my king says “come and sit with me”
The could and should of Psalm singing
I’ve written a couple of times about Psalm singing and whether or not we are required to sing THE Psalms. The very first time I wrote on this back in November 2020 I said that I’d like to encourage a debate. I’m not sure I’ve been very successful at that. It seems that the response… Continue reading The could and should of Psalm singing
Calvin on marriage
I’ve been sharing Calvin’s thoughts on the relationships between slaves and masters, parents and children and, wives and husbands with a little bit of commentary. I’ve been doing this because despite presumptions that the concept of mutual submission is a modern egalitarian idea, we find that Calvin writing 500 years early understood Ephesians 5:21 to… Continue reading Calvin on marriage
Calvin on parents and children
Having had a look at what Calvin has to say about slaves and masters based on Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5-6, I thought it would be worth having a look at his comments on the other two issues treated there, first on parents and children, then on wives and husbands. Calvin picks up on the… Continue reading Calvin on parents and children
Calvin on slavery
I thought it might be of interest to have a look at one of the Reformers and see how he handled the question of slavery in Scripture. So here’s some commentary on how John Calvin handles Ephesians 6. Calvin is of particular interest because as I’ve argued previously, he seems to argue from Ephesians 5:21… Continue reading Calvin on slavery
Which five Bible books have drawn you closer to Christ and encouraged you on in faith the most?
Ray Ortlund asked this question on Twitter the other day. We of course know that All Scripture is God breathed but I agree with Ray that in our experience most of us will find that there are specific books of the Bible that have particularly stood out for us and ones which we find ourselves… Continue reading Which five Bible books have drawn you closer to Christ and encouraged you on in faith the most?
Singing Lessons
In recent posts I’ve suggested we might need to be cautious about the assumption that the 19th July will immediately inaugurate the return of full churches, no masks and a return to congregational singing. I suggested that an interim step might be to encourage different parts of the congregation to sing either a whole song… Continue reading Singing Lessons
How (not) to be a guilt driven church
#TheDailyDose – Ephesians 2:8-10 The book we bought and the book we read Rick Warren’s best sellers “The purpose driven life” and “The purpose driven church” –but a lot of churches and Christian lives feel “guilt driven” …not purpose driven What do I mean …. Trying to bridge a gap “For it is by grace… Continue reading How (not) to be a guilt driven church
Complementarianism and Singleness
I want to engage a little bit further on the question of complementarianism and its implications for church life. I want to pick up particularly on a question raised by someone on twitter which was to the affect of “what does complementarianism have to say to single people?” They used themselves as an example, they… Continue reading Complementarianism and Singleness
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