The Bible, we rightly say, is a library not one book. But unlike any other library, and unlike other religious books like the Qur’an, it has a coherent narrative from open to close. Getting to that coherence takes a little bit of work, but not much, and any Christian could be able to grasp the
You can define an organisation three ways – by its centre, which is what it holds most dear, its circumference, which is where the limits lie for what it may or may not accept, and by its cause, which is what gives it life, energy, and what it would die for. The centre for us,
I’m doing the all-age part of the service on Sunday, which includes teaching a memory verse. That word ‘memory’ is important – how do I move from teaching a verse, to teaching people to remember? And how do I get it out of short-term memory into long term recall? Choose a verse that can
A short video by Jim Packer on God’s holiness and our preaching. You’ll need to open this post to activate the link.
Thanks for stopping my my blog since August – I’ve enjoyed starting it up. The top three posts for the year were: Go away, said the welcome team What prayer and ministry of the Word can never do It’s not a sin Actually that’s a lie – the top post was the free e-book version
Apparently we live in a VUCA time. VUCA was an acronym developed by the military to summarise contexts like Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Everywhere is in a state of permanent change, and always has been, but VUCA describes something particular: Volatile. Issues can flare up suddenly, with no warning signs. Change has
Well it can be – or, at least, every week if you get your creativity working. John Piper has a brilliant book out, called Fifty Reasons why Jesus Came to Die. It’s published in the normal ways, but as usual with Piper you can get it as a free pdf
As a preacher I often find myself quite constrained at this time of year. There are some brilliant preaching opportunities coming round the corner (Carols, Christingle, Crib service, Midnight, Christmas Day), but they have quite a predictable shape to them. Carols: fifteen minute, punchy and throught-provoking evangelism. Christmas Day: fifteen minutes if I can hold
Common sense says I’ve got some work to do. Twice now I have met in a debate with the same Muslim speaker, and handled questions from a curious, polite, mostly Muslim audience. And on each occasion I have heard an intake of breath as if I have said something that has possibly stepped over the
I have a theory about why most sermons have three points. No, it’s not that two’s not enough and four’s too many. and it’s not to do with Obama’s ‘Rule of Three.’ It’s to do with the way we preachers work. You spend hours in a week staring at the Bible passage you’re preaching on,
I’m writing this eating my breakfast on the train. Which means a cup of rather weak black coffee, and a carton of microwaved stodge. Which brings me to preaching. Because I reckon we’re serving up a lot of microwaved stodge from our pulpits, and letting ourselves off the hook by quoting a bible verse or
So, you preached your heart out last Sunday, and you’re revving your engine for the next one. Prayer and the Ministry of the Word are setting your agenda, and your next sermon is an essential part of equipping the saints for their work of service. The Greek New Testament is sitting there waiting to be
“I don’t know how the church has grown. All I’ve done is teach the Bible.” The wise old Christian leader looked genuine enough, but I’m sure he was harbouring a secret. But because he’s a model for younger church leaders, they are going to think that he’s telling them the truth, and start to think
A young conference speaker was once asked how he found time to do all his studying. The clear, loud voice of John Stott replied from the other side of the room, ‘He doesn’t find time; he makes it!’ The first time the apostles would have realised that their decision to delegate in Acts 6 had
What is the heartbeat of our ministry? And what does that look like in daily life and planning? In a short series, we’re going to consider the central element, and what that means. Acts 6:1-7 was a clarifying moment for the early church. Burdened by the demands of spiritual growth and physical need, their structures
Evangelicals, of all people, are thought to be grace-less and hard, where the people who have gone soft or even abandoned the doctrine of ‘grace alone’ are thought to be loving, kind and accepting.
The Point of the Sword 4
This morning’s lecture here The Point of the Sword 4
Point of the Sword 2
In today’s lecture. point of the sword 3
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