Not everyone is like you. I hope that doesn’t come as a surprise! Sure, they might look like you. They might have the same number of arms and legs. Yet other people see the world in a wildly different way to what you do. That is due to all kinds of factors, including culture, age, …
If you’ve grown up in the West, honour and shame are probably not things that impact you very much. Westerners are not known for feeling shame deeply. If you do something embarrassing, that’s unfortunate but not that bad. If it’s funny, it may well end up on YouTube! Those who have grown up in the …
While I was on annual leave, my wife and I decided to visit a few different churches in a few different church traditions. Having been part of the Presbyterian tradition now for a long time, we thought it would be good to see a broader spectrum of the churches in Perth. We also thought it …
One of my main jobs is as a preacher. I have the privilege of explaining and applying God’s word to people most weeks of the year. As an organised person, I plan my preaching programme well in advance. I can tell you which sermon series I am preaching for every Sunday in 2021, and in …
What to wear is not the deepest or most pressing question that preachers need to keep in mind as they prepare to open God’s word with his people. The most important issue is being faithful to the Biblical text, followed by usefully applying that text to the specific congregation of people they are preaching to. …
I plan the sermon series to be preached at All Nations months in advance. In fact, the books to be preached on are chosen in the previous year, with the detail added a few months before the sermon series is preached. That means that we intentionally work through the whole counsel of God over time …
In the early church, most gatherings were in houses. Church buildings didn’t become common until after the conversion of Constantine in the 300s. This means that when Paul wrote to churches in Ephesians, for example, this probably meant the collection of churches in the city of Ephesus that met in a variety of homes. We …
It is Christmas. Again. There are some that love tradition, doing the same things in the same ways every year. Even if you don’t love this kind of thing, you cannot avoid it. The supermarkets are full of the same music, the decorations are dusted off and put up, and various meals are organised for …
Sometimes you might hear someone say something like this: “I hope the sermon today is interesting; I hope the preacher uses funny illustrations and makes the Bible interesting”; or “I love that particular Christian blogger; they make the Bible relevant to me”; or “I think non-Christians won’t be interested in the Bible; let’s reduce the …
There is an old chorus called “Tell me the old, old story” which revels in the wonder of being told about the gospel once more. From the perspective of someone who has been a believer for many years, the song expresses that we love to hear it again and again. I love this song, but …