Have a watch of this little video clip If you are unable to access it, the person being interviewed claims Some of you might be nodding along in agreement. Pleas don’t. First, it’s not true. I’ve done the exercise to place songs in order according to subject and you will find if you do it… Continue reading Could Jonathan Edwards have preached “sinners in the hands of an angry God” after a worship “jolly up”?
Tag: joy
How do we respond to the election result?
I’m actually writing this on Wednesday, so before the polls open. This means that technically I don’t know what the result is yet. Though unlike quite a few other recent elections, we probably have a strong idea of what the conclusion will be. Over the past 15 years, votes have thrown up a few surprises… Continue reading How do we respond to the election result?
Common Grace without special grace?
I want to flesh out my thinking a little bit more on something I touched on in my comments on the M&S advert. There I engaged with the question “what were you expecting from an advert?” Was it crass, self-centred commercialism? Well yes of course. The question is whether we should have expected better. Others… Continue reading Common Grace without special grace?
A strange source of joy
It is easy to be happy and contented when things are going well, when there’s good news and obvious hope. How do we respond however, when things are not going so well? A look at the text (read James 1:2-4) James says that we aren’t only to find happiness in the good times. Instead, we… Continue reading A strange source of joy
My sadness may commend the Gospel
Jesus is described in Isaiah 53:3 as a man of sorrows,[cand acquainted with[ grief;” We would do well to pay attention to this as it provides the starting point to the other side of the coin to Lloyd Jones’ comments about the failure of unhappy Christians to commend the Gospel. Jesus himself experienced suffering, sorrow and… Continue reading My sadness may commend the Gospel
When my unhappiness does not commend the Gospel
Remember that Martyn Lloyd Jones quote I mentioned the other day? Unhappy Christians are a poor recommendation of the Christian faith.” I thought it might be worth digging a little deeper into it. As I suggested in my previous article, it probably works best as one half of a proverbial provocation. On the one hand,… Continue reading When my unhappiness does not commend the Gospel
Can you be an unhappy Christian?
Dane Ortlund, author of Gently and Lowly recently tweeted this quote from Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones. This has ironically left quite a few people unhappy. There is a risk with this kind of statement, especially without nuance and separated from context that it can give the impression that Christians are meant to walk around with… Continue reading Can you be an unhappy Christian?
A party in heaven?
On what would have been my mum’s birthday, I made this comment on twitter. Some guy saw this as his opportunity to attempt to provoke a reaction, telling me how terrible, immature and unbiblical my theology of heaven was. I’m not quite sure why he saw fit to wade into the grief of someone he… Continue reading A party in heaven?
Continuing to trace the rainbow
Back a few months back, as the news came in that Queen Elizabeth II had died, a rainbow appeared over Windsor Castle. It was a beautiful symbol of God’s goodness and promises at a time of grief. I’ve frequently talked in terms of “tracing the rainbow” based on the lyrics of the hymn “Oh Love… Continue reading Continuing to trace the rainbow
The wondrous gift
This is a short message to wish you all a Happy Christmas. What a wonderful way to celebrate the special day by being able to celebrate it on the Lord’s Day. I hope that you are celebrating with great joy and that this includes giving and receiving some fantastic gifts. All of the little presents… Continue reading The wondrous gift
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