Church
There is an increasing trend of events being cancelled or refused bookings by venue hosts because of the nature of the activity intended. This is part of a trend known as ‘cancel culture’. On the face of it, this seems reasonable, but it has led to difficulty for organizations that seek to promote events that uphold Biblical values. For example, the American evangelist Franklin Graham (eldest son of Billy Graham) had a number of meetings cancelled earlier this year in this country because the venue refused to fulfil the booking after be subjected to pressure from lobby groups. LGBT event organisers have boycotted a venue in Blackpool that had accepted… Continue reading
Although the vast majority of churches (along with most of society) have remained compliant with Covid-19 restrictions throughout the pandemic, there are signs of frustration within some church circles who suggest the church is being treated unfairly as restrictions are eased.
On the extreme end of the spectrum (in the US), a number of churches have sought litigation against local authorities citing breaches of ‘freedom of religion’ and protesting that the ‘government does not get to dictate the method of worship of the faithful’.
Fortunately, we are not aware of this provocative approach in the UK. However, there are indications that churches this side of the pond are considering some… Continue reading
In the UK, we are now many weeks into the lockdown and we get the sense that the gradual easing of the restrictions is not too far away. With the benefit of time, we are now far enough into the pandemic to begin to tentatively answer some questions we have heard in Christian circles – questions like is Covid-19 is an act of God? So, let’s cautiously unpack the answers to some of the questions that are common within the church landscape.
Is Covid-19 an Act of God?
The answer to this is ‘yes’ and ‘no’ but mostly ‘no’ given the way the question is usually framed. In a very… Continue reading
Amidst the increasing hysteria about climate change, much of the church seems hopelessly confused between the secular worldview and the Biblical worldview when trying to respond to the aggressive nature of environmental activism.
As followers of Christ, our understanding of why the world is the way it is and what lies ahead should be primarily shaped by the Bible. To help articulate a Biblical understanding of this issue we have written a new article that seeks to frame climate change within the prism of Scripture. This is not an exhaustive study, but we hope it will serve as a starting point – feel free to read – Climate Change and… Continue reading
The Bible makes frequent references to marriage being a picture of the church’s relationship to Christ – consider two of the most obvious examples below:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed… Continue reading
Danny is sometimes asked to preach at St Andrew’s Baptist Church and recently he gave a sermon entitled ‘Three Quick Lessons from King David’.
Although David was God’s anointed King over the Israelites, his reign took quite some time to come to fruition. However, when he was finally recognised as King over a united Israel, his passion and zeal for the Lord were on display in subtle (and not so subtle!) ways. From 2 Samual 5:17 – 6:23 there are three intriguing incidents in quick succession that have timeless application, despite being challenging reading in our culture.
The main points could be given the sub-headings below:
- it is healthy to… Continue reading
Danny was the preacher at St Andrew’s Baptist Church on Sunday and he referred to three passages that map the spiritual journey of the Ephesian church: one from Acts, one from Ephesians and one from Revelation. This was with the specific situation at St. Andrew’s in mind, although there is application for any believer.
If interested, feel free to listen below – hope it is a blessing: