One of my favourite Bible events is in 2 Kings 7 where some lepers discover that the siege of Samaria has been lifted and go to tell the King that there is food outside the city. The king’s officer whom he relied on for advice was sceptical, cynical even. So the prophet tells him that… Continue reading The man who got trampled to death
Tag: The Gospel
The sermon I would have preached at the Unite the Kingdom Rally
There’s been some discussion about the wisdom of attending the recent Tommy Robinson rally even if to speak and share the Gospel. I didn’t have an invite to speak and still would not have considered it wise but if given the opportunity and if I had taken it, this is probably what I would have… Continue reading The sermon I would have preached at the Unite the Kingdom Rally
Sharing your faith in the face of death, dying and bereavement
We have been working through a summer series about sharing Jesus with others at our church. One of the things we wanted to get across that this is about the whole of life and so we have picked up on a few examples of life circumstances and how to live for Jesus and speak for… Continue reading Sharing your faith in the face of death, dying and bereavement
Lessons from libraries
In Birmingham, 25 out of 35 public libraries are threatened with closure. I was thinking about this recently whilst reading this article by Steve Kneale on what Christians can learn from the death of the High Street. Steve mentions the challenge that libraries face too. I think there are some even more specific lessons to… Continue reading Lessons from libraries
First Look
It’s time for an annual invitation. In the run up to Easter, I like to encourage people, who may not have yet to give some time to considering the claims of Christianity and investigating who Jesus is. First Look provides an opportunity to do this through four interactive sessions looking at the life of Jesus… Continue reading First Look
Where is Jesus?
One of the strange things about James’ letter is that Jesus doesn’t seem to be particularly prominent in the epistle. It is perhaps this, as much as discomfort with his take on faith and works which has tended to make it one of the less popular books of the Bible to study or to preach… Continue reading Where is Jesus?
The problem with that Titanic illustration
I want to pick up an illustration which I suspect most of us from conservative evangelical backgrounds have used at some point (or something similar). Andy Prime uses it in a sermon on the Gospel in a new book. He gets us to imagine the scene in the aftermath of the Titanic hitting the iceberg. … Continue reading The problem with that Titanic illustration
For such a time as this
I’ve been working through the book of Esther but often accounts like this are best understood when we see the whole story together. Whilst we can preach sermon series on books like Esther, Ruth and Jonah, there’s benefit from time to time to getting that big picture view to understand the overall message. So, here’s… Continue reading For such a time as this
The pearl of great price -another perspective
In Matthew 13, Jesus tells two parables about valuable treasure. First he describes a man finding a a field with buried treasure in it. He sells everything in order to purchase the field and so own the treasure in it (13:44), then in the following verse he tells of a merchant who finds a pearl… Continue reading The pearl of great price -another perspective
The Truth about Cats and Dogs
This was the opening illustration and title of a series of talks I did for a church on the weekend away several years back. I asked the question “What is the difference between cats and dogs”. There are two answers. The first is : When you welcome a dog into your home, feed it, provide… Continue reading The Truth about Cats and Dogs
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