“How can we re-start better?” The last 18 months have seen a whole load of activities paused, not least within the church. That’s been difficult, but it has provided an opportunity to ask the question that we would never have considered but for the compulsory break- “Can we shape our church life in ways that […]
I went for a walk a couple of weeks ago. Truth be told, I was in a foul mood. I was preparing for the following week’s Sunday morning service and, being honest, the thought of having to announce once more “Let’s try to engage with this song as others sing it,” and “Please limit the […]
Amongst other things the last 18 months have represented a significant philosophical discussion. How many restrictions should be imposed in order to preserve life? It is the backdrop to the decision that the Government will make today to extend the current regulations. And it is almost certain to rumble on- given that vaccines are not […]
How do you imagine God? For all of us the danger is that the God we have in our minds is different to the God who is really there. Truth be told, that’s true all the time. I remember a comment from Julian Hardyman in a sermon- “None of us have ever had an adequate […]
A few weeks ago I was thinking about the church in the autumn, hopefully when normality has returned. What should be our goal? Instinctively my mind went to programmes and activities. How could we look like a bustling and vibrant church? And then I reflected a bit. As I wrote last week, a reputation for […]
I’m currently doing some work on Revelation 2-3 for an event that I am speaking at this summer. It is the section where Jesus addresses seven churches and speaks into their spiritual condition. Often we look at each of those churches in isolation. But as you put them together it is hard to escape one […]
There are lessons to learn from the last year. Perhaps the most obvious is that as humans we are not in control. A tiny virus can stop the world in its tracks. That should give us a sense of humility before our Creator for He alone knows the future. Having said that, we are slow […]
Towards the end of his life John Stott, one of the great church leaders of the 20th century, said this: “I am sometimes asked whether at my age I have any ambitions left. I always now reply, “Yes, my overriding ambition is that I may become a little more like Christ.” God’s purpose is to […]
I wonder what you see as you look at the cross. It was hideous ugly- the “supreme penalty” according to Cicero. And yet throughout Jesus’ ministry he never seems to regard it as a place of shame. Three times in John’s Gospel Jesus uses the same description of the cross- it is the place where […]
One year on. It is a year to the day since the Prime Minister told us that we must stay at home. We still live under the same command. In the meantime the equivalent of the non-student population of Oxford has died of coronavirus in the UK. At noon the nation will fall silent to […]