My sadness may commend the Gospel

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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?

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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?

Continuing to trace the rainbow

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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

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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

What I need for Christmas

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Mariah Carey sung: I don’t want a lot for ChristmasThere is just one thing I needI don’t care about the presents underneath the Christmas treeI just want you for my ownMore than you could ever knowMake my wish come trueAll I want for Christmas is you Songwriters: Mariah Carey / Ellis Williams / Robert Allen… Continue reading What I need for Christmas

For him

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Let’s return to that question of what happens when we see people fall either due to false teaching or to moral failure.  I’m thinking specifically of religious leaders here.  Some people have argued that because Romans 11:29 describes God’s gifts and calling as irrevocable that even when a leader falls, they can and should be… Continue reading For him

Finding joy – an answer to exhaustion

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I recently shared a few articles about the Christian Sabbath. In one, I talked about how we shouldn’t be looking at how many meetings a person attends on a Sunday but whether the Sabbath is fulfilling its intended purpose.  My dad who has served as a lay pastor (unpaid whilst continuing in secular work), itinerant… Continue reading Finding joy – an answer to exhaustion

Joy, enjoyment and singing

In my article on singing the other day, I talked about the importance of enjoyment and joy when we are singing.  I wanted to expand on a little footnote I included in the article.  There I commented that: Incidentally, when I talk about joy and enjoyment here, I don’t think that means we are meant… Continue reading Joy, enjoyment and singing