Name in vain??

What’s it mean to take the LORD’s name in vain? I’m blogging on it tomorrow for the King’s English.

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Any questions?

I’ve written a fair bit about the bible being a thoroughly Christian book.  (See for instance the Christ in OT tab above).  My position might be summarized like this: Jesus is the one Revelation of an otherwise unknowable God.  It is therefore Christ who has always been the appearing, hands-on LORD and He has always [...]

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This is the life – 1 John 3:11-24 sermon

Audio Powerpoint A few days ago I was strolling along the beach with my wife.  We bought some amazing tropical fruit from a roadside vendor, I went for a swim and then lay down on a deckchair sipping a cold beer.  I said to Emma “This is the life.” When have you said that phrase?  [...]

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Levi becomes levitical

Something that didn’t make it into this morning’s sermon on Luke 5:27-32: Levi’s parents must have named him with high hopes.  The Levite’s in the Old Testament were the priests.  A Levite was meant to be God’s go-between.  Levi is meant to be the human face of a loving LORD.  He’s meant to bring people [...]

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Who Do I Know Who Needs To Know?

I’m sure many of you have done similar things, I’d appreciate your feedback… ……………………………………… Following on from this post….   Who Do I Know Who Needs to Know? There’s no science behind this.  It’s just an opportunity to sit down and think prayerfully about our friendships.  Think of family, friends, neighbours, workmates, club members, children’s [...]

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God’s Mission: Building a Family

This is something I’m using with churches to help them think evangelistically… Building a Family Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not [...]

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Happy Friday

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Application – the Evangelical Cure-All

What is the bible for? I’ve just read a prominent UK evangelical blogger answering: “Application”! Time to repost this one then…   Like coathangers, we own a hundred bibles but have no idea how they came to be ours.  One of them is called a “Life Application Bible.” As far as I can tell, it [...]

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In or Out? In on Out.

Evangelicals believe in conversion.  It’s absolutely foundational.  The human race is either in or out.  We’re born out.  We need to come in through Christ. But then, what are we coming in to?  Because if you only think in terms of “in or out” then it might start to sound like the Christian community is [...]

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We don’t need good evangelists…

We need a good evangel. Thankfully we’ve got one. But here’s what this means: Evangelists don’t need to study evangelism They need to study the evangel. But you try telling that to evangelist types!  

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Evangelism should not begin with the phrase…

“Ok here’s the deal…” (How much of it essentially does!?) It begins with the phrase “Ok here’s the story…”

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Given

The Father gave Jesus to us. Jesus gave Jesus for us. The Spirit gives Jesus in us.

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There is no-one like you

In Australia I heard a worship song that was new for me:  “There is no-one like you.” Not the Dave Crowder one.  This one is, almost note-for-note, sung to the tune of “What if God was one of us.”  To the point where the urge to sing “…just a slob like one of us” became [...]

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It’s ok to be drunk, it’s not ok to be fat

In the world’s eyes, it’s okay to be blind drunk, but it’s not okay to be fat. From my favourite blog in the whole world    

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I’ll be back

I’ll return to this blog next week. In the meantime, I’m blogging at the King’s English e.g. “Stranger in a strange land” or “Burning bush“    

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Happy Friday – Open Thread

Go on – make us laugh.   I’ll see you in the comments

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Comedy and Christianity [repost]

. Here’s the audio of my talk on the subject All this began here. Then I had some initial thoughts on the usefulness of comedy here There’s an excellent CS Lewis quote here Here is a very expanded early version of the talk: part one, part two, part three, part four. Then some follow up thoughts [...]

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The Protestant Grace Ethic

I’ve been listening to some thought-provoking lectures by Vishal Mangalwadi on how the bible has shaped the West.  This one entitled, “Why Are Some Rich While Others Are So Poor” speaks of how traditional cultures have handled wealth.  Those without the influence of the bible have only known two responses.  Either you horde it or [...]

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