Sadly, there has been another horrific shooting at a US school. Far too frequently we hear of such terrible and tragic events in the United States and this prompts debate about gun controls. One of the arguments frequently made for not bringing in tighter controls is that Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms. … Continue reading Guns, rights and exegesis
Tag: exegesis
When Scripture asks the questions
Steve Kneale has written helpfully here about what to do when a Bible passage doesn’t seem to be answering your questions. As Steve observes, it can often be the case that the passage simply isn’t intended to answer the question that you and me are asking. Indeed, it may well also be the case that… Continue reading When Scripture asks the questions
Stop saying that the preacher will explain the passage
I’m going to fess up to one of my bug bears. It really irritates me when a service leader announces that such and such a person is “now going to come and explain the Bible passage.” Please can we get out of the habit of doing this. First of all, it gets the idea into… Continue reading Stop saying that the preacher will explain the passage
What do you do with difficult Bible passages?
Our church have been working through Mark’s Gospel both in our Sunday morning services and at our midweek life group. Most of Mark feels like plain sailing (well, there is the occasional storm). However, there are a couple of more challenging texts. I suspect that the ones that stand out are Mark 10 which raises… Continue reading What do you do with difficult Bible passages?
Is expository preaching “all that”?
I saw this little twitter thread this morning. It’s worth a read, just to pick up on how some people perceive what is considered the gold standard approach to preaching among conservative evangelicals It’s important because I suspect that a lot of us will consider expository preaching as the norm and will be surprised that… Continue reading Is expository preaching “all that”?
The tone and application of the passage is not always what the congregation need to hear
Here’s a confession. I really struggled with Chapel services at Theological College. It wasn’t the Anglican liturgy I struggled with. Although I’m a free church guy and wouldn’t use Common Worship in my church context, I’ve actually appreciated the prayer book for time to time. We even used it for a daily Facebook slot during… Continue reading The tone and application of the passage is not always what the congregation need to hear
Wanted: A few Prophet Nathans
King David had committed the most horrendous sin. He’d taken and violated Bathsheba. He’d then had her husband murdered under the cover of battle. His sin will have been an open secret. Even as he sought desperately to cover it up, he drew others into his sin. Why didn’t they speak up? I suspect fear… Continue reading Wanted: A few Prophet Nathans
How not to apply Song of Songs (or any part of the Bible) to Jesus
Last week, I shared some blog articles on the Song of Songs talking about whether and how we could/should apply it to Christ and the church. You’ll notice that whilst I’ve been writing that the Song is meant to be about Christ, that I’ve been careful to distinguish things like prophecy, metaphor and typology from… Continue reading How not to apply Song of Songs (or any part of the Bible) to Jesus
Which came first – Scripture or culture?
Yesterday I wrote about God, gender, pronouns and the church. Now, the classic response of liberal theology is to argue that the language we use about God and the church with Christ as groom and church as bride is somewhat arbitrary so that we could reverse it. Then, it is further suggested that the reason… Continue reading Which came first – Scripture or culture?
It’s okay to go off-piste when preaching … providing you signpost it clearly
There’s been a few occasions when I’ve been preaching where something has struck me and I’ve felt it particularly relevant and helpful but it hasn’t been something that the passage specifically addresses. Rather, it’s been a question arising perhaps out of something the passage leaves unaddressed. There have been other occasions where I’ve drawn an… Continue reading It’s okay to go off-piste when preaching … providing you signpost it clearly
Faithroots 