Biblcal Theology and Isaiah

Biblical Theology helps us to see God’s big story of redemption unfolding on the pages of Scripture.  There are a couple of aspects to this.  First of all, authors such as Graeme Goldsworthy and Christopher Wright have identified three themes running through Scripture.  We can talk about The story that the Bible tells us the… Continue reading Biblcal Theology and Isaiah

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints

Today we lay to rest my mother’s body. It’s part of the process of saying goodbye.  We as a family had the opportunity to say our goodbyes to mum in those last few days and hours.  Mum is already present with Jesus, which means in the words of Scripture that she is “absent from the… Continue reading Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints

How does a Christian doctrine of suffering affect counselling of the bereaved?

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In June 2005, my Great Aunt was mugged and knocked unconscious.  She died in hospital two days later.  As a family we went through the full range of emotions; shock and sadness at the tragic loss, anger at those who did it, guilt at our failure to visit “Auntie” more often.  Whilst each bereavement is… Continue reading How does a Christian doctrine of suffering affect counselling of the bereaved?

Happy Christmas or mere escapism?

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I’d like to wish all of my readers a Happy Christmas but does this mean that I’m deluding myself.  To get caught up in a celebration about peace and joy may feel like a little trip into escapism. We talk about hope but there doesn’t appear to be much of that around. This year started… Continue reading Happy Christmas or mere escapism?

Hope in the aftermath of grief

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This is a guest article from my dad, Roger Williams. Dad was due to preach at a little church north of Bradford last Sunday and was preparing his sermon whilst my mum was in hospital. After mum died, dad felt strongly that he had been given a message to bring and that he should fulfil… Continue reading Hope in the aftermath of grief

Do you know where you are going? Does everyone else know where you are going?

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Back when mum and dad were living in Shenzhen, I went out to visit them a few times. On one occasion we went up to Beijing. We got a taxi from the airport to our hotel.  After a little while we began to think that the journey was taking far longer than it should.  Then… Continue reading Do you know where you are going? Does everyone else know where you are going?

He is going ahead of you

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When the women are looking for Jesus at the empty tomb, the angels reassure them that Jesus is not in the tomb, not because the body has been stolen but because Christ is risen and he has gone ahead of them.  In that immediate context, it meant that Jesus had gone ahead back to Galilee… Continue reading He is going ahead of you

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? 

Is it possible to know what happens after death?

Remember the social media thread I shared the other day about the supposed lack of curiosity from evangelicals and how we don’t have questions.  Well, the follow on conversation was fascinating. As is often the case, people who insist that there is no place for certainty appear to become very certain about that. Take this… Continue reading Is it possible to know what happens after death?