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
Tag: exegesis
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
Is three a magic number?
You’ve probably heard people quote these words from Matthew 18:19-20 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” And you’ve probably heard them used to suggest… Continue reading Is three a magic number?
Return of the King -download
I love the book of Revelation. The imagery in the book is vivid, the plotline exciting and this book keeps pointing to our certain hope in Christ and the wonders of future new creation. However, it’s an often misunderstood and misused book. Revelation has become the scene of many unseemly scraps between Christians becoming dogmatic… Continue reading Return of the King -download
The hermeneutical spiral
One of the things we’ve been exploring is the challenge that comes when reading Scripture. The problem is that although God’s Word is objectively true, infallible, inerrant and clearly revealed, we are finite, affected by The Fall, conditioned by our own culture and experience. The result is that we bring all of those things into… Continue reading The hermeneutical spiral
When your argument proves more than you want it to…
I’m going to try and start to wrap up my mini-series about baptism -which is more correctly about good Biblical exegesis.* Right back in my first article I said that putting the phrase “for you and your children” back into context “makes it clear that the promise is for those it is proclaimed to not… Continue reading When your argument proves more than you want it to…
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?
Faithroots 