Most pastors have something in their contract to the effect that they should have one day a week completely clear of work. Some contracts will refer to it as the pastor’s sabbath. I’m deeply uncomfortable with that language because it suggests that the pastor should have his sabbath away from God’s people. It also begs… Continue reading The pastor’s Sabbath?
Tag: Sabbath
What is Sabbath rest?
We associate the idea of a Sabbath with rest for three reasons. First of all, in terms of the big Biblical picture, Sabbath practice looks back to Genesis 2:1-4 where we are told that God rested on the 7th day after 6 days of creation. Note, that whilst God rested after completing his work, that… Continue reading What is Sabbath rest?
What shall we do with Sunday?
Earlier this week, I wrote a little article about Christian students starting University. One other things I responded to in that article was the recommendation that students should seek to attend church twice on Sunday. I want to delve a bit more into the question about what we should do with Sundays and how we… Continue reading What shall we do with Sunday?
Why were there leftovers at the feeding of the 5000?
We know the answer don’t we? It’s obvious. Ny providing an abundance, Jesus was demonstrating his ability to provide all that his people needed. The Twelve baskets meant that each disciple had something to take away. More than that, they symbolised the 12 tribes, so that we saw Christ’s abundant provision for his people. However,… Continue reading Why were there leftovers at the feeding of the 5000?
What should the Chancellor do about recession?
Today, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is making a special announcement about his fiscal plans. We are not allowed to call it an emergency budget though. He does so, primarily to give a bit more detail about how the Government are going to help with the energy crisis. This is part two following on from… Continue reading What should the Chancellor do about recession?
Life or Death? (Mark 3:1-6)
At the end of Mark 2, Jesus presents himself as the Lord of the Sabbath and further announces that the Sabbath Law was given for our benefit. This pushes the question back into our court. How will we use the time that God has given us? Jesus is in the Synagogue on another Sabbath Day.… Continue reading Life or Death? (Mark 3:1-6)
A day made for you
When challenged about what his disciples are doing by picking and eating corn on the Sabbath, Jesus says: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27 At the time Jesus was speaking, the Jewish Sabbath was in force. Jews observed Saturday as a day of rest from work remembering that God… Continue reading A day made for you
Picnic (Mark 2:23-28)
Do you remember when the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, was asked what the naughtiest thing was that she’d ever done? Struggling to think of anything particularly heinous, she gave the since much mocked answer that she had once skipped through a field of wheat. Well, here we find Jesus and his disciples in trouble… Continue reading Picnic (Mark 2:23-28)
If you can’t hypothetically consider taking a break from something then you may well have dependency issues
The other week, I proposed in this article that the different Christian festivals should agree to take a two year sabbatical. Now, you may or may not have agreed with my assessment of particular Christian holiday weeks. To be clear, when I write about our own love-hate relationship with them I know that I don’t… Continue reading If you can’t hypothetically consider taking a break from something then you may well have dependency issues
Having to walk to church would not be persecution!
I can’t believe that I’ve found myself writing that headline – but you’d be surprised at the number of times that the obvious needs spelling out. For context, the IEA have been setting out some recommendations about how to tackle the current energy crisis which is expected to get worse as a result of the… Continue reading Having to walk to church would not be persecution!
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