Sadly, if not unsurprisingly, a headline of “The recipe for happiness? An enduring marriage and an affair with lots of sex” has rocketed to the top of the most-read articles on The Telegraph’s website.
If you read it, it’s worth playing the “spot the unsubstantiated claim/logical inconsistency/historical inaccuracy” game.
Here were my favourites:... continue reading
Teaching children to pray can be a challenging task. They're often quite keen to open their mouths and be honest with the Lord about what they want - a refreshing and, at times, amusing trait. But encouraging them to pray biblically can be a little harder.
That's where thumb prayers can come in. A simple technique to help children remember some key areas of prayer. And all you need is, well, your thumbs!
Thumbs up!
Thank you God for being great... Colossians 4:2
With thumbs in the air, encourage the children to thank God for who he is and the many good gifts he has given us.
Thumbs down!
Sorry for the times I've messed up ... 1 John 1:9
With thumbs pointing to the ground, encourage the children to say sorry to God for the times they have thought, said or done things that are not what he would want.
Thumbs out!
Please help other people to get to know you ... Matthew 6:10
With thumbs pointing out towards the outside world, encourage the children to think about their friends at school who don't know Jesus and ask God to help them get to know him better.
Thumbs in!
Please help me to become more like you ... Ephesians 3:16-19
And finally, with thumbs pointing in to their hearts, encourage the children to ask God to help them become more like Jesus ... and set them free to ask for all those other things that matter dearly to them!
I will extol the LORD at all time; his praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the LORD with me: let us exalt his name together.
Psalm 34:1-3
Earlier today we posted a blog on how encouraging it can be to your spiritual life to have an accountability partner or be in a prayer triplet.
Our One2One Bible reading notes are written just for this setting and to encourage you to get started we're effectively doing a 'buy one get one free' offer. For the next 7 days you can get 50% off our One2One studies from our websites in the UK, USA, Australia or New Zealand. Use the code one2one at the checkout.
For our UK followers here's a little extra, you can also get 30% off the excellent Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges. Simply use the code battlesin at checkout to get this special offer.
Offers expire 24/08/12.
Tim Tebow isn’t much of a name this side of the Atlantic; but in the US, he’s a star. He’s an American football quarterback. And he’s a Christian.
And in a recent interview, he makes clear that the third of those descriptions of him is more important than the first two. But, he says, it’s a “constant battle” to keep his priorities straight.
What’s interesting is that he has a Christian friend, what he calls a prayer partner, to help him to live for Christ first and foremost. And he outlines why he needs one and what one does.... continue reading
If you’re anything like me, you struggle with besetting sins. Those sins that rear their heads on an irritatingly regular basis and that you can’t seem to conquer no matter how hard you try.
They might be very obvious to those around you. They might be hidden away far from the sight of those you love. But they’re there. Repeatedly reminding you, reminding me, that we’re rebels at heart.
The trouble with besetting sins is that they all too often encourage us to believe things that aren’t true. They encourage us to doubt our status as God’s precious children, doubt God’s grace and doubt the possibility of change. Something that brings Satan much pleasure – something that can leave us inert and languishing in guilt. But God’s word tells a very different story. And as Christians we are called to focus on that truth today and everyday:... continue reading
Judge rules boy's life support can be switched off despite parents' hope of miracle
Black Bishop encourages Christians to leave Democratic Party
The Nation: to be American, Christian and oppressed
Churchgoers believe in sharing faith, most never do
Girl of 10 can choose to convert from Judaism to Christianity, judge rules
Atheist group takes aim at Christians, Mormons during DNC
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I can still remember Elen’s first Christmas, though I have to confess that this is mainly due to the fact that for the first time in my life I wasn’t the one getting all the flashy presents – she was!! At the time she was just a dribbling 7month old who didn’t even know how to use all the super-cool stuff her doting relatives had lavished upon her. Myself on the other hand had to suck it up and get used to the idea that I had been relegated from the designer clothes and tech gadgets league to the box of chocolates and budget socks league!
Gutted!!
Truth is I wasn’t really that bothered at all. After all it was Elen’s first Christmas and I wanted her to be blessed to the max. Plus I quite like budget socks!! She might not have remembered much of that Christmas, but her second one – now that was a different matter…... continue reading
London (and elsewhere around the UK) is still filled with events relating to the Cultural Olympiad - an arts festival that runs alongside the other sporting activities, which are now just starting to be a fading memory.
I travelled up to London to catch the festival atmosphere in the sunshine over the weekend, but very quickly became entranced with an artistic installation in the South Bank Centre* called aMAZEme. Essentially, it is a maze built out of 250,000 books that you can wander round and explore.
The maze in itself is not hard to navigate. But what really interests are the books themselves. They lie open on the walls, and you can pick up, browse and read. I recognised many books I have read myself. Some with intriguing titles. Some I wanted to buy. Others that I couldn't believe a publisher would put their money behind.... continue reading
