As part of our church weekend we considered Jesus’ command: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37-38) I don’t think ‘workers’ is limited to those who get their employment from Christian activities. Nevertheless, it is the […]
I came away encouraged from our recent church weekend. As ever, I was struck by people’s willingness to work hard and serve (special mention to Jenny, Hannah and the team who did the children’s work, to Steve and Jane and the team who oversaw the catering, to Samantha, our resident ‘Parkinson’ and to Long Crendon […]
Over the last few years I have enjoyed reading “The Week”- a weekly magazine that pulls together the best articles from around the world that have been published in the last seven days. A few weeks ago this article, originally published in the Guardian, caught my attention. Stephen Gough, known as the Naked Rambler, has […]
At some point in the next few weeks, the elders will be discussing sermon series at the church for the next year or so. I thought this might be a useful point at which to outline some of my thinking and convictions on how to go about this. 1. The value of consecutive exposition We […]
The last two posts have been an attempt to give a biblical basis for my contention that the Sabbath is fulfilled in Christ. In this last post I want to offer some pastoral reflections. Right at the outset I said that this was an issue where those with differing positions needed to respect each other. […]
In my first post I argued that the key question to be answered is this: How is the Sabbath fulfilled in Christ? This is the main issue- because the whole of the law is fulfilled in Him. I intend to address that question in this post before I turn to some practical and pastoral reflections […]
Those who know me well will appreciate that I don’t relish controversy. So, if I’m honest, my heart sank as I started to prepare my sermon on Isaiah 56 a couple of week ago. I was eager to talk about the inclusion of the foreigner and the eunuch in the people of God but I […]
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 […]
Those who have listened to enough of my sermons will know that Tim Chester is a modern author I tend to quote frequently. I’ve read many of his books and have always appreciated his engagement with Scripture and challenging application to the church today. Both of these qualities are evident in his book based on […]
John Newton, the converted slave trader and author of Amazing Grace,described it as the part of Jesus’ teaching that has been most neglected by his own people. The passage he had in mind was Luke 14:12-14: “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives or […]