In the second half of 2024 our church has been digging into some of the post exile Biblical literature. Specifically, we’ve been working through Haggai and Nehemiah. In the first book, God raises up a prophet to exhort the people when enthusiasm is flagging for the Temp le rebuilding project. In the second book, Nehemiah… Continue reading God’s perfect timing
Tag: faithfulness
Longevity is not the same as faithfulness (and why grace matters)
A friend of mine frequently points out the nonsense of saying that something has “stood the test of time”. It’s not really a test that tells you anything more than that the specific thing has been around for a long time. As Christians, we rightly value faithfulness and this does mean that believers, leaders and… Continue reading Longevity is not the same as faithfulness (and why grace matters)
Reputations, assumptions and missing the important questions
“Oh we have x number of people coming to our church” boasted one of the group of people walking towards the convention tent. Then they turned to me “oh Dave, how many people are at your church now”. I wasn’t keen on the numbers feel to the conversation and I didn’t actually know the person… Continue reading Reputations, assumptions and missing the important questions
Why does Proverbs focus so much on two commands “honour your parents” and “Do not commit adultery”?
The wisdom literature, including both Psalms and Proverbs provides reflection and meditation on the Law, helping us to think through God’s commands and apply them to our circumstances. You may notice, as you read through them that there seems to be a heavy focus on two commands “Honour your parents” and “Do not commit adultery.” … Continue reading Why does Proverbs focus so much on two commands “honour your parents” and “Do not commit adultery”?
Walking with God
Genesis 5 opens with the second occurrence of the statement “These are the generations…” We are now opening up a new section, act 2 if you like, in Genesis. We begin to trace “what became of Adam and his family?” Notice that, Cain’s line has been dealt with separately in the previous chapter. So, Adam’s… Continue reading Walking with God
Abandoned? How do we square the difficult bits of Song of Songs?
I keep coming back to the question that Mike Ovey frequently asked his students at Oak Hill, “Will you let God disagree with you through his word?” The point he would make was that we can tell the difference between an imaginary friend and a real friend by whether or not the friend disagreed with… Continue reading Abandoned? How do we square the difficult bits of Song of Songs?
Has God broken his promise?
Can we really rely on God to keep his word? We are told that his promises are “yes and amen” but that is sometimes hard to trust when we are going through tough times. The question of God’s faithfulness is central to Paul’s argument in Romans, especially when we get to chapters 9-11. The big… Continue reading Has God broken his promise?
Leaving faithfully
So, what happens when it is necessary to leave your current church? This may be because: You are having to move due to work or family reasons There’s a specific opportunity to serve God in a new context You disagree with the church over a significant issue in terms of doctrine, direction of travel etc.[1]… Continue reading Leaving faithfully
Sticking with church through tough times
It’s one thing to stick with a local church when everything is going well. If the church is growing, there’s a great music group, you relate well to the pastor and there are so many encouragements. What happens when the church is struggling though? What happens when there’s been falling out, the praise isn’t great… Continue reading Sticking with church through tough times
What our Afghan friends need right now
Yesterday I wrote about where the battle for Afghanistan was lost. I argued that the fate of the Afghan people was sealed at Doha when the US signed a deal with the Taliban. Consider the impact of that. The people knew well what a return of the Taliban would mean: torture, rape, slavery, death. Yet… Continue reading What our Afghan friends need right now
Faithroots 