Posts from August 2019
Another Perspective
I hesitate…I stop and start as I try and put this together. Why? Because it’s different…I’m different. Isn’t this what Julie’s been telling us? Isn’t this what makes unity in Christ unique? Yes, I know all that but… I set my laptop aside and wander into the kitchen. Pulling down my jar of licorice-allsorts I glance through them and suddenly notice that there are two identical ones. Well, guess what Julie, I think CBBC might even beat that! Why? Because…
Pastors Ponderings
The ponderings this week comes via Mrs Jesus Follower: The Happy Game’s not Working ☹ I’ve always been a ‘Pollyanna’. You may not know that story but, to put it simply, I think my role in life is to make everything and everyone happy. I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to change things; to make everyone happy; to make things look good. Life’s not like that. I’m not sure how often you’ve read Ecclesiastes but I usually find…
Pastors Ponderings
Recently, Daniel continued our series on Romans by preaching a message from Romans 2. In it Daniel pointed out how carefully we need to read the book as Paul uses many literary devices in his letter. Particularly he draws his audience in regularly by saying things he knows they will agree to so that he can swing his argument around to them. Initially they are led to believe that Paul is saying how bad ‘the other’ people are living the way they…
To love or to condemn?
How do I respond to those living a lifestyle that makes me uncomfortable? How do they see me? What attitudes am I conveying to them? Praise God for leaders with the courage to speak up and put these challenges out there for us to face. Praise God for those who continually make us think, read, pray, search your Word and ponder the questions from which we’d like to run! I’m scared, I’m uncomfortable and yet I’m excited and not wanting…
Pastors Ponderings
When we started our study of Romans, I said that Paul wrote this letter in a deliberate attempt to persuade us to change our behaviour. So, what is Romans Chapter 1 pointing to and challenging us to change? Romans Chapter 1 is a brilliantly crafted argument. Paul has us, his readers, agreeing with him for most of the chapter. He catches us with the bait; “Look at what that person is doing, it’s awful.” “Look at her, can you believe…
Pastors Ponderings
Have you seen the memes for autocorrect, where people send totally inappropriate messages simply because the autocorrect changes the spelling? Most of them are rude, although I found one clean one: It is ok for us to send written communication, it’s an easy fix. It wasn’t the case when Paul was sending letters in the first century. Letter writing was an art and very expensive. So, Paul would have had a secretary (an amanuensis) who would write on the papyrus…