It happens in nearly every office, pub, restaurant, park and theatre. That moment when, in the middle of a relaxed conversation, someone suddenly takes God's name in vain. In a split second, our heavenly Father's title becomes little more than an expression of exasperation; our precious Saviour's name a swear word. Sometimes the speaker intends to offend, more often they are indulging in mindless, culturally-approved emphases with little or no thought for anything or anyone spiritual. And as they do, our hearts sink and our palms sweat. Part of us saddened by the devaluing of something so dear to us - the rest, panic-stricken by that niggling suspicion that we probably ought to say something but we have no idea what.
So how can we respond in such situations? It's a question that one of our blog readers posed last week.... continue reading
In recent years, there has been a swathe of stories reporting the alleged involvement of celebrities in child molestation. The behaviour of a small number of paedophiles has been scrutinized online and a watching world has been left feeling sickened. Silhouettes of victims on newsreels tearfully tell of trauma past and the ongoing struggles of a life ruined forever. The awfulness of such stories can barely be quantified.
In quiet conversations in churches around the globe, there are Christians who tell their stories too … those who know just what it feels like to be sexually abused as a child. They know how deep the pain pierces. They have shared in the tears that flow for so many years. But, in Christ, they can testify to a different ending. The abuse can never be forgotten but theirs is not a life ruined forever. They know the reality of a life being rebuilt. Today, on The Good Book Blog, we hear from one such survivor:... continue reading
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures for ever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100
Archbishop: Britain not a ‘Christian country’ – if judging by numbers in the pews
Eight arguments about whether the UK is a Christian country
Attorney General: Rise of fundamentalism is 'damaging' Christianity
Southern Baptist conference grapples with questions of sexuality for first time
China on course to become 'world's most Christian nation' within 15 years
Jesus Christ's resurrection relevant to all Australians, Sydney Archbishop says in Easter message
Jack Straw comes out in support of David Cameron on 'Christian Britain'
Disclaimer: The Good Book Company is not responsible for the content of external sites and does not necessarily agree with the content of articles listed.
A new report this week showed that “violent crime is continuing a long-term fall in England and Wales”. Data from hospital emergency departments shows a 12% fall in injuries from violent crimes, with 32,800 fewer victims than the previous year. With just one exception, violent crime has fallen every year since 2001. It’s not an isolated trend either. One expert is quoted as having said: “Violence is falling in many Western countries and we don’t know all the reasons why”.
There are a number of possible reasons. The experts link the fall in violence to declining rates of binge drinking. Disposable income has fallen as the price of alcohol has increased—and, intriguingly, the cultural attitude to alcohol among young people appears to be changing. Perhaps all those TV adverts and tedious PSHE lessons in schools spelling out the dangers of excessive drinking have proved effective.... continue reading
Dear David,
Thanks very much for putting Christianity back on the front pages of the papers by claiming, as our Prime Minister, that this is a Christian nation. I notice that you’ve been getting some flak from people who don’t think this is, or should be, a Christian country.
And the thing is, David, that they’re right.
This isn’t a Christian nation. And it never has been. There’s no such thing as a Christian state, with borders and land and law enforcement and so on. There was once a nation that collected all God’s people into one place, with civic laws and a penal code and so on. It was called Israel, and it existed until Christ came, and explained that his kingdom is not of this world, recognizes no borders, and whose only land in this world right now is the hearts and bodies of his subjects, what he called 'his church' (that's not the same thing as the Church of England, David, though part of that denomination's membership are included in it). It’s only because Christ came and turned the centrifugal force of Old Testament Israel into the centripetal force of the New Testament church that our nation has any of his people living in it at all. While Israel was to be a light to the nations, now the church is to be the light in the nations.... continue reading
Did you know that yesterday was Charlotte Brontë's 198th birthday? I didn't. But Google kindly told me when I logged in.
Did you know that today is Earth Day? Again, I didn't - but Google came to the rescue again, with an animated doodle this time. I enjoy those ones - do you? They keep me on the Google page for longer, and reinforce whichever special day it is. My favourites are the games - especially when they reinvented Pacman, a game I spent far too much time on as a student…... continue reading
1. Everyday Church ebook - just £6!
Get the ebook version of Everyday Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis for just £6!.
2. The Preacher’s Cheat-Sheet
Tim Challies shares two lists that help him prepare to preach.
3. Every Christian’s 2nd Most Important Book
Garrett Kell at All Things for Good considers the second most important book for every Christian.
4. What will they hear next weekend?
After the Easter weekend, Aaron Armstrong looks at this question.
5. And finally...
This week's video of the week, ‘The Reality of the Resurrection’:
Found something that you think should make it on to the On to a Good Thing round-up? Send it to: ontoagoodthing@thegoodbook.co.uk
Last weekend I decided to do a straw poll. I asked a selection of my friends a simple question: why did you leave church as a teenager?
There was a range of answers. Boring services, lack of peers, pressure of studies all reared their head. But there were 3 others factors that loomed much larger:
Faith wasn't shown to be rational
"I had questions. Lots of questions. I was being bombarded with science and secular philosophy at college and it didn't fit with what the Bible was saying. I wanted to understand why. I asked my youth leaders to explain how I could be sure that the Bible was right and the teaching I was getting Monday to Friday was wrong (or of less importance). They simply told me to believe. I guess it wasn't a heretical answer by the church's standards but it wasn't a helpful one. It left me with the impression that Christianity was a blind faith rather than a faith based on reason and facts. And so I walked."... continue reading
"But I don't want to sit down... I want to be out doing something..."
A familiar cry during the Easter break. Children liberated from the structure of school, and fueled with more chocolate than might be ideal, want to bounce. And why not? They are children after all!
But how can parents (and grandparents and aunts and godparents and friends) harness some of that boundless energy and creativity and use it this week to help their children understand the gospel better?
One way is to encourage them to tell the Easter story not just listen to it. A drama, a puppet show, a powerpoint presentation, a collage or painting, a photo story, an acted scene videoed and edited by them, a song written and performed all engage children (and adults for that matter) in the Easter story in new ways.... continue reading
