John Piper hosts a podcast called “Ask Pastor John”. Recently he was asked: ““Pastor John, why did God make some people ugly and unattractive? How can I accept the fact that God, though capable of making me beautiful or at least average looking, chose to create me in an unattractive manner?” Now I guess, Piper… Continue reading Can we talk about ugliness?
Tag: pastoral theology
How can we help?
The conversation you rather wouldn’t be having “I just don’t think we can go on. We’ve tried everything. It’s time to go our separate ways.” With those words, you are asked to give your blessing to divorce. Or, you’re sat talking with a young member. They’ve recently started dating someone who is not a Christian. … Continue reading How can we help?
The Faithroots Series
I originally started Faithroots in order to provide online teaching and training. I had two concerns. The first was to provide content that we couldn’t cover in half hour on a Sunday morning for those at our church who wanted to take things further. The second was that I’ve a particular concern for those who… Continue reading The Faithroots Series
What is happening with COVID hospital admissions?
As you know, I’ve been sharing a few articles about the COVID situation. to help us with our thinking about church life at this phase in the pandemic. Whilst pastors and leaders cannot become experts in epidemiology and whilst our primary focus is to keep people focused on Christ, it is helpful for us to… Continue reading What is happening with COVID hospital admissions?
Sexual ethics and consent
I was struck by a helpful comment made by the preacher at church recently. Their text was 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 with the focus on verse 3 which says “3 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.” The helpful comment they made was that Christians who care about sexual… Continue reading Sexual ethics and consent
Creation and work
Thinking about the Doctrine of Creation is particularly helpful as we seek to apply the Bible to the whole of our life because Creation points us both to the goodness and challenges of work. The Bible is, from the start a book for all 7 days of the week, not just one. Whilst we are… Continue reading Creation and work
Creation, Mission and worship
Because we live in a good world which a good and purposeful God has made, this helps us to understand a little bit more about why we are here and what God has made us for. The Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Confession of Faith asks the question “What is the Chief end of Man?”… Continue reading Creation, Mission and worship
Applying Creation
We started our discussion about Creation and the Fall by naming some of the lies we can believe about this Universe. It is probably worth reminding ourselves of them. That this world is just here by accident or chance. In earlier times, people saw this world as being the by-product of the wars and love… Continue reading Applying Creation
Faithroots 