What do you preach during a pandemic? I’m conscious that is probably not one of the most pressing questions for many people at this time. But I have been struck by how important our online services have been for people. We have even by joined by those who don’t normally attend church. As a result […]
I’ve always enjoyed preaching. To proclaim God’s Word to people is a massive privilege. But there is another aspect of my role that I’ve started to appreciate more. To sit opposite somebody as they talk about personal issues- some of which they haven’t really discussed with anybody else- is also quite a humbling experience. I’ve […]
Those who have had to listen to my preaching a bit will know that I have a couple of hobby horses. Partly because I think they are under-taught I will tend to major on the themes of union with Christ and strength in weakness. What I have not been good at is bringing those two […]
It was a Saturday night in the summer term of 1996. I was attending the University Christian Union Bible Reading where David MacInnes, then rector of St.Aldate’s Church, was speaking on Ephesians 1. He referred to Paul’s great description of the Christian’s identity- we are those who are “in Christ”. David then made an application […]
Let me tell you a secret. Most preachers find certain types of biblical material easier to preach than others. I suspect most of us in this country find New Testament letters the simplest. Personally, I have never found Old Testament narrative easy and, perhaps curiously, have always found it difficult to open up miracles for […]
One of the privileges that I have had for a number of years now is spending an hour each week helping out at the South Central Ministry Training Course. Alongside doing occasional expositions on 2 Corinthians (what else would you teach to those who are often in the early years of ministry?!) and leading a […]
A few weeks ago I wrote on why the church here belongs to a fellowship of independent evangelical churches- essentially because we believe the Bible’s pattern for the local church is to be evangelical, independent and in fellowship with other churches that proclaim the Gospel. I made the point that each church should be free […]
It was my final year at university and I was the secretary of the Christian Union. I served alongside a great committee but there was a point when it became too much for me. That was partly work pressure but also the personal issues I’ve alluded to in the past. Spiritually I felt confused, disorientated […]
This Sunday represents a year since the first meeting of Grace Church Kidlington. We had a staggered start- three weeks of not very visible services in September to make sure we knew what we were doing before a public launch at the beginning of October. However, the events of this coming Sunday make this an […]
It is interesting to see which of the blogs that I write receive most feedback. Sadly from my perspective the accounts of various historical figures seem to attract relatively little! However, my post from a few weeks back- “Busy and Lifeless” has resulted in various conversations. In it I noted that a significant number of […]