The evening service had just finished, and as we packed away the final bits of PA equipment from the school hall there was the usual buzz of conversation after the service. But the question on some peoples lips was, "Did you notice one of the lines in one of the songs tonight?"
For the last three weeks during the evening service my church has been going through the book of Job. It's been fantastic to reflect on suffering - and, more importantly, on God. To fit in with the series, we've introduced a song by Keith and Kristyn Getty called 'When Trials Come'. It's a great song that talks of God's faithfulness to us and His enduring love in the midst of trials and suffering. It talks of the triumph of the cross and, in the last verse, about a day when all things will be made new.... continue reading
I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came upon me;
I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, save me!”
The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
The LORD protects the simplehearted;
when I was in great need, he saved me.
Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.
For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
Psalm 116 v 1-9
Earlier in the week we reviewed Kevin DeYoung's new book.
For the next 4 days we are doing it for £7.80 instead of £11.99, that's 35% off!
Order your copy now!
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The new atheists may be grabbing the headlines, and materialism making the running in everyday life. But people will still turn out for carols by candlelight and an opportunity to hear the old old story!
That means that Christmas is still the greatest opportunity we have for bringing the good news of the gospel before family, friends and neighbours. But we have some serious work to do to rescue the real message of Christmas from the fairy-tale version that most people think is the real thing. Salvation has a habit of being pushed out by Santa.
Given the size of the gospel opportunity, it's not too soon to start thinking about it - no matter how much we hate the start of the Christmas music in shops and on the radio. On the blog in the next few weeks we'll be offering you some intriguing insight to the Christmas story, and some extremely practical ideas on ways you can get ready to use the Christmas season for godly gospelling. We'll be encouraging you to:... continue reading
There has been much written about holiness over the years. From the early church Fathers onwards, there has been a call for the church to be holy. So why is there are a need for yet another book on the subject?
Here's two reasons:
Kevin DeYoung sees the need for us as a 21st century people, living in the body of a Western 21st century church, to grab holiness by the scruff of the neck and shine it into our lives.... continue reading
Fantastic day at the Evangelists' Conference yesterday with John Woodhouse, Principal of Moore College Sydney. The day was trying to get to grips with how to preach Old Testament Narrative evangelistically. And it came at a great moment for me personally.
I've just started to prepare for a sermon in a couple of weeks' time, and I was given the story of Jephthah from Judges 10-11. This particular judge is raised up by God to beat back the Ammonites, but as he goes into battle he makes a vow to the Lord that If he gets victory, he will sacrifice the first thing that comes out to greet him from home. Victory comes. But his only daughter comes to greet him, and is duly sacrificed.... continue reading
Ed Drew, the children’s worker at Dundonald Church in south-west London, has written the following very helpful piece about how we can respond to Halloween.
Halloween is on the way, on 31st October. In all likelihood, all of us will either have children coming to our doors or have our own children invited to Halloween parties.
Firstly, let’s not overreact.
I would guess that very, very few of those we know think it’s much more than a bit of harmless fun. We can appreciate that most of those who dress up, go to parties or go knocking on doors, are children who don’t know better. We can be gentle in how we approach those who are celebrating Halloween.... continue reading
Paul writes: And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15b-17 ESV)
I used to think that singing in church was all about me and God - the fact that other people were in the room was often fairly irrelevant, and actually sometimes quite annoying. I was there to have a moment with God, express myself to him, 'do worship'. And there is a sense in which the passage above encourages that, but when we look closer there is so much more going on.... continue reading
