The Different Faces of Temptation: A 21st Century Take
I’m part of the preaching team at my home church, Carey Baptist, and this Sunday get to preach on “Temptation”. It sounds like a quaintly Victorian concept, something you really shouldn’t take seriously – after all, one of my favourite chocolates is named “Temptations” and the manufacturer expects me to eat them, not avoid them. Isn’t “temptation” about the fun in life – with only the most dull and drab refusing to dive into all that is on offer? Perhaps, but I’ve enjoyed digging into Matt 4:1-11, the well know passage...
Read MoreRefresh: Churched, Un-Churched and De-Churched
This was a relatively early post on this blog – dating all the way back to Nov 2015 – but continues to be one of the most frequently downloaded. If anything, the topic is even more pertinent a decade later. Churched, Un-Churched and De- Churched If you’re up with the discussions on the future of the church you’ll know that commentators distinguish between people who are un-churched (as in never had any significant contact with a church) and those who are de-churched (as in once were involved, but no more thank you very much). While the church has always worried about those who...
Read MoreWhen the elephants fight, the grass suffers…
A good friend recently drew my attention to a fascinating Swahili proverb, best translated “When the elephants fight, the grass suffers.” We had been talking about the rise in global unrest, and who the victims are. When the big players fight (or when the elephants fight), it is a host of innocent bystanders (the grass) who suffer the most. True, sometimes elephants fight to the death, especially during the “musth” period when testosterone filled bulls can become very aggressive, but most often they simply walk away, while the grass below takes a lot longer to...
Read MoreRefresh: Easter Cancelled. They’ve found the body…
Today’s Refresh is suited to the post Easter period. It’s wonderful to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, but how likely is it that it happened? The blog is a light taster of this important topic – if you want to read some of my more developed thoughts on this and other apologetic subjects, see my book Why Christianity is Probably True. But for now, enjoy this post from Sept 11, 2015. It was part of a short series on apologetics. Refresh: Easter Cancelled. They’ve found the body… Graffiti was an art form during my university days. It adorned three of the walls...
Read MoreEaster 2025 – Why Timing Matters
To be honest, it’s been a really busy week and so I asked myself, “Why not just use an old Easter post for resurrection Sunday? After all, it’s not as though the message of Easter 2025 is different to Easter 2024 or Easter 1924.” At a certain level that is entirely true – and at another level, entirely false. To some extent it depends on if you view Easter as primarily a comfort, or as a challenge. If you see Easter as essentially a comfort, there is a timelessness about the message. Easter is the reminder that even death by crucifixion could not destroy Jesus....
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