We are approaching Good Friday. As we consider the cross of the Lord Jesus we know beyond question that He loves us. “The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal 2:20). “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” (1 John 3:16) Rightly […]
How should churches be structured and governed? I am aware that is probably not the most immediate question anybody asks when they rise in the morning- but churches do have to make decisions. So I wanted to write a couple of pieces to explain why I believe Woody Road’s approach is biblical- and not simply […]
Normally this blog contains my vague ramblings. However, this week I wanted to post a document that the church elders here at Woody Road put together. It is on the topic of baptism. The intention is not to launch an internet discussion on the subject so much as to help church regulars understand our convictions […]
Last weekend I was on the Cumbrian coast speaking at St.John’s/Claytonbrook Whittle-le-Woods Church Weekend. It was a joy to spend time with a warm hearted group who had the additional benefit, being from Lancashire, of speaking properly. And I loved returning to my favourite theme for a church weekend- Union with Christ. Now it appears […]
When the great theologian Jonathan Edwards was 18 he had a fascinating experience- it may well have been the moment when he became a Christian. He had come across the description of God in 1 Timothy 1:17- the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God. He thought to himself- “how excellent a Being that […]
We have an annual tradition at Woody Road. Once a year we devote an evening service to a significant figure from church history. This year it was the turn of Martin Luther. You can listen to the talk here. However, I like to tell people’s stories in their own words so those present were given […]
As well as building up to Christmas this is the time of the year when we nostalgically look back on the past twelve months. We had our staff team Christmas lunch a couple of weeks back and reflected back on the past year. I came up with some highlights such as baptisms whilst my colleagues […]
“It’s Christmas, we’ll sing any old nonsense,” is a flippant comment that I recall passing my lips a few years back. Indeed there are some notorious lines in carols that we often sing. “The little Lord Jesus no crying he makes,” may not be the best line ever written to describe the full humanity of […]
I’ve been reading through the first few chapters of 1 Kings recently. The theme of 1 Kings 6-7 is the building of the temple- you have a long list of measurements in chapter six and, after a brief interlude to describe the building of the palace, a significant section on the temple furniture in chapter […]
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 […]