Tag: preaching

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

Moving out of lockdown – update

Over the summer we have been opening up the Chapel building every Sunday morning for a few people to come along and watch the service together. We have continued to provide a live stream service from different homes over that time. Today, we had our first go at running a live service from the building… Continue reading Moving out of lockdown – update

I don’t feel fed (part 2) – how do we feed the church?

Yesterday I wrote about the problem when people don’t feel fed in church. I highlighted that 30-40 years ago, many churches would have provided quite a programme in the week for teaching including services, adult Sunday schools and midweek ministry. Given that feeding has a wider dimension than just intellectual content, we might add to… Continue reading I don’t feel fed (part 2) – how do we feed the church?

Church health check (Revelation 2-3)

Last time, we talked about the pressures that we face which might discourage and even overwhelm us. We saw that the churches, John was writing to were under intense pressure too. They were the minority in a cruel, Godless empire.  They faced opposition and persecution. We will see some of that this week. However, you… Continue reading Church health check (Revelation 2-3)

Attention Span – three questions

During lockdown, one of the big questions for pastors and preachers has been about if and how to adapt our preaching. Can we just carry on as normal, preaching to a camera instead of a congregation, or do we need to adapt? A specific example of this, is sermon length. There is some suggestion that… Continue reading Attention Span – three questions

Preaching shorter sermons (Do we need to in lockdown online?)

One question that keeps coming up during lockdown is whether we can preach the same length of sermons during lockdown or whether we need to shorten them. At a recent FIEC webinar, research by  educationalists was referenced suggesting that our attention span when viewing online content is about half that of when listening to or… Continue reading Preaching shorter sermons (Do we need to in lockdown online?)

Suppression

A significant conversation at the start of the coronavirus was about the distinction between seeking to manage the virus and seeking to suppress the virus. Along with most other governments, the UK took the suppression route because of the expected higher death tolls from management only,] It is therefore important to think carefully about what… Continue reading Suppression