Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. I A common line of concern amongst Christians is that our faith become a matter of the mind alone.Continue reading “A mind renewed“
Category Archives: Church
The Holy Scriptures and the Divine Word
In the first instance, I do not believe that ‘God’s word’ means the Bible. I know that will outrage some, probably many, of my readers, and rightly so. For what makes those of us labelled ‘evangelicals’ distinctive within the wider sphere of those professing Christ is our conviction that the Bible, as God’s authoritative revelation,Continue reading “The Holy Scriptures and the Divine Word”
On Mental Health
A critique of contemporary thought I It’s impossible to start an article of this kind without the token clichés. So I’ll keep them short. We all know, as we certainly can’t avoid being told, that today mental health problems abound. I’ve heard countless sermons that cite statistics indicating as much, and doubtless my readers haveContinue reading “On Mental Health”
A Fairy-Tale Ending; or, Shrek as a Paradigm of the Eschaton
The First Discourseman The beautiful princess leant on the balcony wall and gazed into the distance. For years she had suffered a lonely imprisonment in the castle, patiently awaiting the day when a knight in shining armour would come to slay the dragon, set her free and take her hand in marriage. She knew itContinue reading “A Fairy-Tale Ending; or, Shrek as a Paradigm of the Eschaton”
Christianity, conservatism, and the tyranny of the present
The Fourth Discourseman Our age has a uniquely modern understanding of time. How we view the world around us, how we tell our own stories, how we grapple with social and ethical issues – all these are infected with what I want to call “the tyranny of the present”, the assumption that what is modernContinue reading “Christianity, conservatism, and the tyranny of the present”
The Name of the Sheep: Reflections on John 10
The Second Discourseman What does Jesus mean when he says that the shepherd ‘calls his own sheep by name’? I have no idea whether first century farmers named their sheep, but we humans have names, so we might assume that this is just a picture of Jesus’ personal call to each of his flock. OurContinue reading “The Name of the Sheep: Reflections on John 10”
The danger of working too hard at the Bible…
The Third Discourseman As a way of covering my own back, I’d like to state at the outset that the ideas in this post are ones I’ve only considered recently. I think they have enough merit to be considered, but I certainly wouldn’t die on any of the hills I’m about to make a standContinue reading “The danger of working too hard at the Bible…”
Matthew 5 and the Law of Christ
The Third Discourseman Since there might eventually be people who support me in my ministry-training looking at this blog, and seeing as I write a couple of talks a term, either for the sake of practice/receiving feedback or actual talks I deliver for the sake of teaching, I thought I’d start uploading some of themContinue reading “Matthew 5 and the Law of Christ”
Wandering Thoughts on the Personhood of Christ
The Second Discourseman ‘The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth cameContinue reading “Wandering Thoughts on the Personhood of Christ”
Jonah 3 and the End of the World
The Third Discourseman Since there might eventually be people who support me in my ministry-training looking at this blog, and seeing as I write a couple of talks a term, either for the sake of practice/receiving feedback or actual talks I deliver for the sake of teaching, I thought I’d start uploading some of themContinue reading “Jonah 3 and the End of the World”
The Four Discoursemen 