Ring the changes

I'm trying something different at my homegroup this week.

As we're starting looking at the book of James, we're going to read the whole thing in one as a starter to the series. I'll ask individuals or pairs (if enough turn up!) to focus their minds particularly on a specific chapter. But from everyone at the end of reading right through it, I'll ask them two questions:

• What do you think is the "big push" of the book as a whole?
• Which bit are you most looking forward to thinking more carefully through - and why?

We'll then think a bit about the context, author and first readers of the letter by looking at the opening few verses and the closing verses.... continue reading

On to a Good Thing

1. New eBook: Piper Celebrates the Influence of Lewis

A free e-book by John Piper about C.S. Lewis.

2. TGC Worship

A new blog from The Gospel Coalition, TGC Worship.

3. Bibles Open

A helpful article for preachers. When you preach, how long do Bibles stay open?

4. Reading Profitably

Joe Thorn shares some words from Henry Scudder.

5. I Was a Pragmatist

An interesting article from one of our authors, Jeramie Rinne.

6. And finally…

Our video of the week, the Questions Christians Ask Trailer

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

Making the Case for a New Bible Overview

I still remember the moment when I first walked down into the Norrington Room of Blackwell's bookstore in Oxford. It would have been the mid 90s, when I was a teenager. The experience brought home to me, more forcefully than any statistic, that I would go to my grave having read only a tiny proportion of the world's books. The Norrington Room was at one time (and it may still be) the largest single room selling books anywhere in the world. It has more than three miles of shelving in an open plan layout that leaves you gasping, overwhelmed by the vast quantity of book spines - each spine representing months or years of labor by someone passionate about their subject.

With so many books filling up not just the Norrington Room but our global shelf-space, and only a limited number of years to do our reading, it seems fair to require every new book to have a solid rationale for its existence. You could call this the Norrington Room Test. So, with that in mind, how would I defend the publication this year of my Bible overview, "The Book of the Covenant," especially given the large number of Bible overviews already available?... continue reading

Redefinition of Marriage: A Letter to the Bishops

Dear Bishops with seats in the House of Lords,

Today is the vote in the Lords on the redefinition of marriage. There’s pressure on you not to attend, and not to vote against it if you do. People are making the point that if you stand against this measure, there may be moves to deprive the bishops of your seats in the Lords. You’ve been made well aware that by convention only two of you vote on any one measure. And some of you, of course, don’t want to oppose taking marriage out of its biblical context and definition anyway.... continue reading

God goes on holiday in the summer

"I hate the summer - God goes on holiday every year".

The comment caught me surprise. As someone who has a relatively busy lifestyle - and no children - I quite look forward to the summer months. Fewer meetings, more BBQs - an outside chance that the weather might just be warm enough to get a small tan. The weeks when school is out bring a welcome change to the pace to life - a chance to spend more time enjoying my relationship with God without the hamster wheel of responsibilities that crowd most other months. But not everyone feels that way.

There are those who are elderly and frail - those who only leave their home to go to church events or a medical appointment. As summer approaches, they don't see "holiday" they see a 6-week gaping hole in their diary that increases isolation and intensifies their pain.... continue reading

Fighting the Monday feeling

Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.

Accept, Lord, the willing praise of my mouth,
and teach me your laws.

Psalm 119: 105-108

Australian Jesus?

Yesterday’s news held an interesting revelation: turns out Jesus has been born again! But this time round he’s come in the form of an Aussie called Alan John Miller. Not convinced? Here’s the evidence… AJ remembers.

He describes the crucifixion as not so “harrowing for [him] as it was for others like Mary who [were] present” and claims not to have been in a state of fear or pain. The Bible, he says, is a distortion of his original ‘lessons’ and his current campaign is an attempt to “reverse the untruth taught on earth associated with beliefs attached to the Bible.” The irony is that he continually refers back to what he believes is a corrupted book for support. Mentioning his ‘good friend’ Lazarus, for example, AJ reminds us of the biblical records. However, the only verification of his relationship with his partner Mary – whom he argues was his first-century wife, pregnant with their daughter when he died – apparently stems from the renowned Da Vinci Code.... continue reading

Christianity in the News

Christians' discrimination cases rejected by human rights court

Digital Bible will be 'personalised'

Boy Scouts' Membership Change May Grow Christian Youth Clubs

Church of England leaders propose female bishops by 2015

Most Undocumented Immigrants Are Christians From Latin America and Caribbean

British Christianity dies while Islam thrives. Why?

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