I wrote last week about the many things for which we could give thanks as a church over the last year. So what have we got planned for 2016? The first week of January sees our week of prayer. We saw so many answers to prayer from the equivalent week last year. Any encouragements that […]
I noted last week some of the developments on the issue of same sex marriage and associated issues in the last year. For those wanting help to hold to an orthodox position the publication of Ed Shaw’s book The Plausibility Problem earlier this year was a particular encouragement. It is excellent- a combination of theological […]
There have been various encouragements over the past week. It has been great to visit various people, including briefly catching up with a Christian friend I haven’t seen for about 15 years. Things like that are always good- a reminder of the Lord’s ability to keep hold of us. One of the highlights of the […]
I really enjoyed speaking at Oxford Brookes Christian Union last week. In my former life working with UCCF I spent four years going to Brookes CU meetings so it was great to be back and see the CU really flourishing. I owe a huge amount to the CU movement- as do many at Woody Road. […]
It’s time to complete this brief survey of the life of the 19th century pioneer missionary that I started before Christmas! Throughout these posts we have seen something of Hudson Taylor’s service- his passion for souls, willingness to embrace suffering and so on. In the last post I want to pose this question: how was […]
Last weekend saw our first services as a church back in St.Edward’s School Chapel and Summertown Hall in order to create space for our building project. I missed them as I was having a thoroughly enjoyable time with Magdalen Road Church on their weekend away. It was lovely to see the south coast again (although […]
Let’s be honest- that’s not the most gripping title in the world (those who have listened to me enough will know that titles are not my strong point…). However, I do think understanding the difference between these two things and how they work together is helpful in understanding and living the Christian life. I’ve been […]
Yesterday at Woodstock Road Baptist we had our first Sunday in temporary venues whilst building work takes place in our usual premises for the next six to nine months. There are one or two things that we need to tweak for future weeks but, for the most part, I was thankful for how it went. […]
Sometimes friends ask me what I have been reading recently. Often my mind goes blank- I know I have been reading books but I can’t for the life of me remember what they were about. So I’m hoping that writing up lessons that I have picked up from my reading will at least be of […]
On Saturday I (along with Peter, Alison and Anna who were doing the children’s work) had an enjoyable time with Marston Neighbourhood Church on their away day. MNC is a church that was planted from Woody Road almost nine years ago. It was great to be able to see some old friends again as well […]