Who’s laying the table? Here’s a brilliant bit of drama—it’s a short interlude in Jesus’ awesome God-come-to-save-us narrative in Luke’s Good News book, but it does take a fair few words to bring the best of it to your attention. Make yourself a nice hot drink and settle down for an eight minute read. Brace yourself; the scene… Read More »
Preaching isn’t just about words. It’s about presence—God’s presence. I know where I am going with this, so the answer is… prayer! Not the polite kind, with safe words wrapped up in pretty ribbons. I mean the desperate, interceding, imploring, “OH, God!” tear-streaked kind. The kind that shakes the heavens and makes the angels skid to a halt.… Read More »
Watch out for the stalker of passive legalism, However you go about mentoring, especially within the Church, it is paramount to centre our guidance on grace rather than legalism. Grace is the lifeblood of the gospel—the unearned, unmerited favour of God that transforms hearts and lives. Legalism, on the other hand, suffocates. It traps people in performance, as… Read More »
Let’s talk about essential foundations. A few years ago, on holiday in Fethiye, Turkey, I borrowed a canoe and made my way across what I considered a short distance over the sea to what I thought was a nearby island. A few hundred yards from the island, I suddenly found the canoe being covered by bees! They had… Read More »
Jonah, Noah, and the Heart of God’s Grace Most people have read or heard the stories of Jonah and Noah—both of whom share a common element: water, and a lot of it! Beyond that, however, their stories diverge: one will get wet, while the other endures the close quarters and smells of countless animals. Jonah and Noah are… Read More »
As you get a bit older, you start seeing the sense in not messing about with matches. It’s not that you can’t, it’s more like you shouldn’t. I find myself thumbing through the Bible for some down-to-earth advice and it turns out, there are some pretty clear pointers for living well. They aren’t exactly rules, but they’re for… Read More »