A couple of weeks ago I preached a sermon on election that provoked a fair number of questions. However, last Sunday evening’s sermon produced questions of a different sort. I included a long piece in it talking about the blessings that are ours in Christ. A few people asked me why I did that and […]
There are certain sermons that you know are going to produce questions. I very much had a sense of that when I preached on Sunday from Romans 9. Essentially it covers the doctrine of election- that God in His sovereignty has called and chosen His people. There are various reasons why I think this is […]
Ukraine. Gaza. Iraq. The last few weeks have brought chilling news on a regular basis: pictures of grieving families with children being massacred. The persecution of Christians and other minorities in the Islamic State has mostly happened away from cameras but the reports of beheadings and crucifixions are hard to read and comprehend. A number […]
Last Sunday evening we held a Guest Event looking at the perennial question- “Why does a loving God allow suffering?” You can listen to my talk plus a helpful interview with Helen here. I was conscious that the talk didn’t include much Bible- and rather a lot of CS Lewis! In preparation I had worked […]
Just over a year ago I wrote a series of posts on the subject of singleness and promised a review of Barry Danylak’s book Redeeming Singleness. It is described as giving a biblical theology of singleness. Let me be honest: it is not the easiest read in the world. There are reasons why it has […]
I had a very encouraging time last weekend. I was down in Kent teaching around eighty people for Oak Hall’s Unlocking the Bible weekend. Oak Hall does a terrific job of providing fellowship and teaching to Christians- especially a number who were there from smaller or struggling churches. A number of things excited me- meeting […]
Last week I spent 24 hours with three friends who are pastors of different churches- Speke Baptist Church (just outside Liverpool), Avenue Community Church (in Leicester) and Hockliffe Street Baptist Church (in Leighton Buzzard). We meet up like this three times a year. We’ve known each other for a while now so our times are […]
I’ve been reflecting on sin recently. A number of things have made me ponder the subject: 1. Preparing for last Sunday with Jesus’ diagnosis of the world as evil. 2. Writing up my notes on Paul Tripp’s book A Dangerous Calling. This is his book on the nature of pastoral ministry and it is painfully […]
Don Carson has written a helpful chapter on the subject of church and state in his book Christ and Culture Revisited. He refers to the “rich complexity of biblical norms.” In other words- this is not a straightforward issue. The fact that God is creator of the world indicates that His values and priorities cannot […]
The case against strong Christian intervention- or the reasons why you may not want to sign the latest petition- in the non-Christian state need to be heard. There is a danger that we simply assume that it is the right thing to do. Groups such as the Christian Institute and Christian Concern make the case […]