Forgiveness, reconciliation, trust and what you choose to remember

Forgiveness does not always lead to reconciliation. It is possible to say “I forgive you” but rebuilding broken trust is difficult, takes time and may not be possible.  This may leave us feeling hopeless, helpless and despairing.  What hope is there for the married couple where there has been a breakdown in the relationship, they’ve… Continue reading Forgiveness, reconciliation, trust and what you choose to remember

Lockdown -an opportunity to relearn how we do forgiveness and reconciliation

Lockdown -an opportunity to relearn how we do forgiveness and reconciliation In Sunday’s Zoom talk I talked about moving from submitting to the ruler of this world to submitting to Christ.  One aspect of this was that we should move from holding onto bitterness and hate to learning to show compassion and forgiveness. This led… Continue reading Lockdown -an opportunity to relearn how we do forgiveness and reconciliation

Breakfast with Jesus – John 21(The Truth about Cats and Dogs 3)

An incomplete picture –The problem of o…………. s…………… – How ……………………………………………………………….? An invite to come and eat Meals with Jesus Our responsibility …………………… and  ………………… Meals are ……………………………   (cf 1 Corinthians 12) A commission to Go Feed Difficult conversations Restoration includes ………………. This is not an a…………… of g…………..  Future Grace protects us from thinking… Continue reading Breakfast with Jesus – John 21(The Truth about Cats and Dogs 3)

How (not) to be a guilt driven church (The truth about cats and dogs 2)

The book we bought and the book we read Bridging the gap – Ephesians 2:8 -10)  For by grace….To do good works Useless and harmful bridges L……………….. L………………… M………………. Solving the problem Two reasons why we don’t boast                S……………..                N……… C……………………………… It’s g……….. all the way To think about When I am challenged… Continue reading How (not) to be a guilt driven church (The truth about cats and dogs 2)

The thing we don’t talk about (The truth about cats and dogs 1)

This is the first of three talks/studies. I will include a handout followed by a video talk The thing we don’t like to talk about – but probably should (Psalm 51) The difference between cats and dogs What is guilt? Often when we talk about guilt we really mean s……………. g….. and s………… Shame is… Continue reading The thing we don’t talk about (The truth about cats and dogs 1)

The Shaming of the Shrew

This is the third in a little series of articles reflecting on the controversy surrounding Dominic Cumming’s trip to Durham. I guess it also relates to the issues that came up with Professor Neil Ferguson and Catherine Calderwood, the former Scottish Chief Medical Officer I am more concerned with the lessons we learn for our… Continue reading The Shaming of the Shrew

The Scandal of the Evangelical Heart

In 1994, Mark Knoll wrote “The scandal of the Evangelical  Mind” in which he protested at what he perceived as a lack of willingness to think deeply and carefully among evangelicals. He identified an anti-intellectualism within our movement. Rachel Held Evans became a notable doubter/sceptic of evangelical faith and in 2013, she wrote: The questions… Continue reading The Scandal of the Evangelical Heart

Do we have grace?

I first heard of Vernon Higham when Wesley Aiken, pastor at Rochester Baptist Church came back from a holiday. Higham had been the visiting speaker at the church where Wesley’s family went on their holidays. Wesley described this frail elderly man taking to the pulpit and preaching a gospel sermon about the grace of God… Continue reading Do we have grace?