The animal kingdom is full of ‘protected species’. From the Great Crested Newt to the Giant Panda, the White Rhino to the Western Lowland Gorilla, it is a criminal offence to interfere with them or kill them. Sadly there is…
Churches (as communities of professing Christians) are meant to be safe places. But all too often this has not been the case. Revelations of widespread abuse in many churches has seriously damaged the reputation and trustworthiness of the church as…
Heaven has been splashed all over the headlines of the secular press this past week. It was, of course, because of the unexpected death of David Bowie and the way he choreographed his own departure from this world. The news…
Another year is almost over, a new one about to begin. All over the world party-goers and New Year revellers will mark the moment from the Sydney Opera House to the Paris Champs Elysees, from Trafalgar Square to Times Square.…
In the midst of all the sermon and service preparations associated with the Christmas season we often fail to appreciate the role of the Holy Spirit in the events celebrated. While we are right to focus on the wonder of…
The first Letter of John, filed among the ‘General Letters’ section near the end of the New Testament is an enigmatic, but hugely significant part of the Bible. At first glance its message seems very straightforward; but on closer inspection…
Yesterday I was with some fellow-ministers for our monthly fraternal. Our current focus for discussion is Tim Keller’s book on preaching[1] and we were looking at his chapter on ‘Preaching the Word’. Its key thought is our need as preachers…
It is the unavoidable certainty in life; but also the great taboo. In the midst of life it is never far away; but many are afraid to contemplate it. Yet we find it in Scripture: a dark thread running all…
Thursday, October 21st was apparently ‘Back to the Future’ day – the day to which the characters played by Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd were propelled forward in time in Back to the Future II exactly 30 years ago.…
‘What are the marks of a true church?’ is a question that has quite rightly occupied the minds of theologians through the centuries, because the history of the church is littered with many bodies that have claimed to be churches,…
