Tag: preaching

What is the preacher meant to do … and how should we introduce them?

The other day, I wrote about one of my bugbears which is the way in which sometimes preachers are introduced as being about to explain God’s Word.  You can read here why I don’t like that phrase. This prompted the legitimate question “then how should the service leader introduce the speaker?” My answer would be… Continue reading What is the preacher meant to do … and how should we introduce them?

Crucified (Mark 15)

Jesus is handed over to Pilate because the Jewish leaders don’t have the authority to order his execution. Given their hesitancy around a public showdown with Jesus themselves, it also neatly hands the problem over to the Romans.  Note the cowardice of a night trial and then passing the issue so that they don’t get… Continue reading Crucified (Mark 15)

What do you do with difficult Bible passages?

Our church have been working through Mark’s Gospel both in our Sunday morning services and at our midweek life group.  Most of Mark feels like plain sailing (well, there is the occasional storm). However, there are a couple of more challenging texts. I suspect that the ones that stand out are Mark 10 which raises… Continue reading What do you do with difficult Bible passages?

The tone and application of the passage is not always what the congregation need to hear

Here’s a confession. I really struggled with Chapel services at Theological College. It wasn’t the Anglican liturgy I struggled with. Although I’m a free church guy and wouldn’t use Common Worship in my church context, I’ve actually appreciated the prayer book for time to time. We even used it for a daily Facebook slot during… Continue reading The tone and application of the passage is not always what the congregation need to hear

Wanted: A few Prophet Nathans

King David had committed the most horrendous sin. He’d taken and violated Bathsheba. He’d then had her husband murdered under the cover of battle.  His sin will have been an open secret. Even as he sought desperately to cover it up, he drew others into his sin.  Why didn’t they speak up? I suspect fear… Continue reading Wanted: A few Prophet Nathans

On younger pastors and preachers

I preached my first sermon when I was 19, I preached for a few years in our small Brethren Gospel Hall in Bradford and a couple of other local churches including a struggling AOG church which I helped out with getting my first experience of revitalisation/replanting.  The elder there wanted to try and use some… Continue reading On younger pastors and preachers

How do we approach studying Mark’s Gospel?

It is possible to work through the Gospel in one of a few ways. This might include  Picking up a number of themes and tracing them through the Gospel as a series of sermons on The Kingdom of God, The Son of Man, Suffering and the Cross etc. A longer and detailed series might have… Continue reading How do we approach studying Mark’s Gospel?

Tales of the Kingdom -new publication

My introduction to teaching and preaching on Mark’s Gospel is now available on the Publications page. Tales of the Kingdom – Teaching and Preaching Mark’s Gospel Mark’s Gospel is foundational to our understanding of what the good news is about Jesus, his life, death and resurrection. This is in many respects a stripped back account… Continue reading Tales of the Kingdom -new publication