Tag: love

Preparing that delicious (spiritual) meal

In a recent article, I suggested that people sometimes feel like they aren’t fed in church because it is like raw, bloodied meat, substantial but unappetising. Others feel unfed because the meal is all sauce and no meat.  So I thought I’d double down on that imagery! I want to suggest to you that whilst… Continue reading Preparing that delicious (spiritual) meal

Exploring Forgiveness and Repentance

I’ve been writing a little recently about forgiveness. It arises out of our recent studies from the Sermon on the Mount. It also relates to some other things I have written recently about our pastoral responsibilities to victims of abuse and to those accused. So, I was interested to see the other day that my… Continue reading Exploring Forgiveness and Repentance

The Good of the City (Proverbs 11)

Why does it matter how our politicians, celebrities and business leaders behave? Why the tabloid obsession with their misdemeanours? Partly it’s just gossip. But a big part of it links to a sense of justice – that good people should do well and when they do, we all do well. It’s why we get behind… Continue reading The Good of the City (Proverbs 11)

Was Billy Graham right? Is it just my job to love?

This is one of those quotes that sounds brilliant at first but after a little bit of reflection leaves one feeling uneasy. I guess that when Billy Graham said it, he had Matthew 7:1-6 in mind. In that sense the quote should warn us against the harsh judgementalism that we too often see -especially on… Continue reading Was Billy Graham right? Is it just my job to love?

How should we talk about the Father and the Son (concluding thoughts 2)

In yesterday’s post I said that I believed that it is possible to make application from our Doctrine of the Trinity to life now.  We should do it cautiously and carefully. However, it is possible to do so all the same. If we see that the incarnation reveals the Son relating to his Father in… Continue reading How should we talk about the Father and the Son (concluding thoughts 2)

“If we cannot learn about relationships from the Trinity then where can we?”

This is a quote from my article on Ware and Grudem the other day. It was picked up by Liam Goligher who argued that the statement was flawed because first of all there is a creator/creature division and secondly because the members of the Trinity are persons not people, there is no partition on God… Continue reading “If we cannot learn about relationships from the Trinity then where can we?”

Skin Deep? Love your enemies

A man comes to Jesus and asks him “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus asks him what the law says. He responds with the two greatest commandments “Love God” and “Love your neighbour.”  Jesus confirms that he has answered correctly. The man however isn’t satisfied. “Who is my neighbour?” He asks. Then… Continue reading Skin Deep? Love your enemies

Skin Deep? What if we took Jesus seriously about divorce?

Jesus says: 31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. As you can see, the culture of his day said… Continue reading Skin Deep? What if we took Jesus seriously about divorce?

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