Sometimes’ a football team’s strategy is to hit the ball long, consistently bouncing it between defenders and strikers so that the midfielders become passive observers. The middle of the pitch is excluded. There are ways in which we can exclude the middle too. There is a tendency I think for churches to think in terms… Continue reading Prophecy and the excluded middle
Tag: Prophecy
Precursors
Mark and John both launch straight into the adult ministry of Jesus whereas Matthew and Luke both commence with birth narratives, although picking up on different aspects of the nativity. There has been a tendency by some to over make much out of this difference between the Gospels with the implication being that because the… Continue reading Precursors
On the frequency of dreams and visions in the early church
I wanted to pick up on something I saw in a recent article looking at the question of dreams and visions. I’m not going to unpack the whole question of dreams and visions here except to say that I believe that these are available for Christians today. As I’ve mentioned previously, we talk about God… Continue reading On the frequency of dreams and visions in the early church
Silence will Fall: An orderly Church 1 Corinthians 14:26-40
We used to run an After School Club. -excitable kids want to play with the toys, run off steam, tell us all about their days and what was going on in their lives. Sometimes this was very chaotic and we had to work hard to get some peace and quiet in which they could listen.… Continue reading Silence will Fall: An orderly Church 1 Corinthians 14:26-40
A prophetic church (1 Corinthians 14)
Paul has argued that the proud, divided church in Corinth needs some crucial things to correct those problems. They need love in all that they do and they need the gifts of the Spirit to be exercised by the whole body. Here he focuses in on one specific gift, prophecy. Especially Prophecy (v1-5) Paul says… Continue reading A prophetic church (1 Corinthians 14)
An excellent church (1 Corinthians 13)
At the end of 1 Corinthians 12, having talked about many of the problems and troubles in Corinth and having given some time to talking about things like gifts and unity, Paul says: “And yet I will show you the most excellent way.” Excellence is something we all crave. Schools covert the “outstanding” status whilst… Continue reading An excellent church (1 Corinthians 13)
A receiving church (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Having discerned that it is God’s Holy Spirit at work and not an evil Spirit, we can move to see what the Spirit is doing and saying. One of the key things that the Holy Spirit does is to give gifts to the Church. Prioritise the giver (v4-6) We can become focused on the gifts… Continue reading A receiving church (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Services saturated with Scripture
My friend, Richard Baxter makes this important point. I think there are a few reasons why church services can feel like they’ve been shorn of Scripture reading. Daniel Blanche raises one possibility here. I agree with Daniel but I want to add a couple of other reasons here in order to help us think practically… Continue reading Services saturated with Scripture
How Reading Proverbs has helped my understanding of the rest of the Bible
I love the Proverbs but my appreciation of them has grown when I’ve spent time reading them as a book of the Bible, not just selecting memorable ones to quote. You see, whilst we tend to treat them as a source book for lots of anatomised wise advice, I believe that we are meant to… Continue reading How Reading Proverbs has helped my understanding of the rest of the Bible
Eschatology and Isaiah
Isaiah frequently employs imagery that looks back to Eden to envisage an ideal world where there is peace and harmony not just between humans but also between creatures. A classic and well known example of this would be 11:6-9 where famously, lions, wolves, leopards, lambs and calves can live side by side and small children… Continue reading Eschatology and Isaiah
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