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Two caterpillars are sitting on a wall when a butterfly goes past. One says to the other                “You won’t get me up in one of those things.” Jokes and parables have something in common.  They rely on a good punchline.  The punchline, not just to the parable of the prodigal son but to all three of the Luke 15 parables is found in the last few verses of the chapter as the Father and the…

On the face of it, Paul’s letter to Philemon looks like a private, personal appeal and yet, there it appears as a public instruction in Scripture.  Given that Paul includes others in his address and particularly the whole church community meeting in a home suggests he intended it as such.  What is it about Paul’s appeal to Philemon that makes it relevant not just to him but to the wider church…

So your child comes home from school and tells you that they learnt about the parable of the Good Samaritan.  You get them to tell you the story.  They remember it perfectly.  “fantastic” You think.  So you follow up with the question: “And what was the parable about? What did it mean?” They think for a moment and then they answer: “Kindness.” Is that what the story is about? It’s what…

I frequently see arguments that run along the following lines.  The Bible isn’t God’s Word, Jesus is.  Therefore, we should prioritise the words and actions of Jesus over the rest of the Bible.  The bible never claims to be God’s Word or inerrant, so we should not make those claims for it. First of all, notice that such arguments rely on a false dichotomy.  Is it not possible for both Scripture…

A lot of churches give their Sunday kids group leaders and helpers a break over the summer and run with all age gatherings.  So, if you are one such leader, I hope you are enjoying a bit of a break and will feel energised for September.  I also hope that you are feeling encouraged as you look back on the last term.  However, I appreciate too that it can feel at times like a slog.  There will be…

We are very familiar with Jesus’ letter to the church at Laodicea.  This the church where Jesus says that he is standing at the door, knocking, ready to come in.  It’s also the church where Jesus says that they are lukewarm and that he is ready to vomit them up.  The reference is to two water springs that supplied the city, one hot, one cold leading to  tepid water.  Jesus is saying that they are…

Today is our wedding anniversary.  So, I wanted to start my post by saying a couple of thank yous.  First to my wife, Sarah, it’s a joy to be your husband and  I am grateful not just for the 19 years of married life but for the 22 years it has been a privilege to know you.  Secondly, a marriage isn’t built in isolation and so we are thankful to many friends who are there for us and have been…

Here’s a sermon I preached a little while back on Ephesians 3:14-21

Here’s a sermon I preached a little while back on Luke 15

If you are looking for some studies to work through over the summer break, why not have a look at this little e-book available on our publications page. The story of Joseph has been popularised, particularly through productions such as Joseph and his technicolour dreamcoat. However, the result has been a mythology that is a long way away from the Biblical account. Joseph is not picked on because…

I’m not sure if you are meant or allowed to have a favourite doctrine but if we are, then mine would be the doctrine of justification by faith alone.  I think that this doctrine is crucial to our understanding of how other doctrines work and also to practical Christian living.  In terms of other doctrines, I remember Mike Ovey observing that as he’d engaged in the Penal Substitution debate it had…

Any church can expect to have people holding to a range of views in it.   You might expect people from different theological backgrounds, there might also be specific disagreements on issues from when and who to baptise, what songs to sing accompanied by what instruments and then there may be a range of ethical and political issues that people differ on, from the pros and cons of Brexit to…

Pick up something that is valuable to you.   I worry that at this point many of you have reached for your mobile phone.  Whatever it is, grip it tightly in your hand.  What would happen if you were to hold onto it that tightly for a long time?  Well, I expect two things would happen.  The first is that after a while, it would begin to hurt.   Secondly, at some point you are going to have to make…

Word order in Greek and Hebrew matters.  It tells you where the emphasis or focus is.  What is the priority.  So, here’s something fascinating.  We are familiar with Romans 5:6 which says “For, while we were yet sinners, at just the right time,  Christ died for us.” It’s a fantastic verse.  However, get this.  The Greek word order runs as follows. “For, yet Christ, while we were sinners, at…

Casey McCall has picked up on and adapted the title of Stephen Corbett and Brian Fikkert’s book “When Helping Hurts” to talk about “When Helping hurts in pastoral counselling.”  His main point is that pastoral counselling does more harm than good when those seeking it confuse it with therapy.  To some extent I want to agree with that and to distinguish pastoral counselling from “therapy”…

It is rare to find a church that is completely homogenous in terms of beliefs and traditions.  My own experience of leadership has been in churches where people have come from all kinds of backgrounds, reformed, Baptist, Brethren, Anglican, Pentecostal, charismatic, cessationist, young earth creationist, old earth/theistic evolution, egalitarian, complementarian etc.  There’s a good chance that…

Another “how much more” is coming up.  The intent is to point us to the uniqueness and greatness of Christ.  The “therefore” here links us back to the point that our boast is solely in Christ alone.  Jesus is set up as  one, crucial man in comparison to the previous man, Adam.  The point is going to be that if sin and death came through one man, Adam, so much more, life comes through one man,…