Genesis 1:1-5; John 1:1-5 Right now the whole world is considering beginnings. But usually they’re the beginnings that we will make. “New year, new you” and all that. What about the beginning that God has made? Let’s think about that for a minute. Wind back the clock to the time before people and planets and protons, what […]
It’s universally popular. You can find it cross-stitched on Granny’s mantle-piece and emblazoned on a rock star’s T-shirt. It tumbles from the lips of bible-thumping fundamentalists and soft-spoken gurus. But what does it mean? Let’s consider four points… Because God is love, there is relationship, radiance, room and response. Relationship 1 John 4:8 says “God […]
Thomas Jefferson once wrote: “When we shall have done away the incomprehensible jargon of the Trinitarian arithmetic, that three are one, and one is three; when we shall have knocked down the artificial scaffolding, reared to mask from view the simple structure of Jesus; when, in short, we shall have unlearned everything which has been […]
It’s one of the first sounds a baby will make. ‘Ma ma ma ma’. Or ‘Ba ba ba ba’. Which is why, in so many languages, the proud parents take their babbling children to be speaking their names. ‘Mama’ or ‘Amma’ is a very common word for ‘mother’. And ‘Papa’ or ‘Baba’ is similarly common […]
What lies beyond death? The Hindu might claim reincarnation. The Muslim seeks a paradise, with Allah conspicuous by his absence. The atheist asserts there is nothing. What is the Christian hope? In words that are read out at funerals the world over, Jesus says this: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, […]
“He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:39) We can think of many examples of it… — The musician lost in her music yet, at the same time, most fully herself. — The athlete pushed beyond his ‘limits’ but finding new […]
Suppose I told you that anyone could drive my car. What kind of car would you imagine? And if I told you that anyone could have my car, what would you suppose? Would you imagine a sports car? Probably not. More likely I was offering a rust bucket due for an expensive MOT. If we […]
What does true prayer look like? Luke chapter 11 gives us the ultimate picture: “It came to pass, that… Jesus was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11:1-2) And from there, Jesus teaches them the Lord’s Prayer. This is where […]
Tom Torrance was an army chaplain in World War Two. He reckoned that the number one question soldiers asked him was this, “Is God really like Jesus Christ?” With the bullets flying and lives on the line, that’s what they needed to know. Because if God is like Jesus then, ultimately, it’s going to be […]
When it comes to prayer I think the most common question I’m ever asked runs something like this: “Should I really pray to God about such and such?” So many Christians seem to feel that “bothering God” with the minutiae of their lives is beneath the majesty of the Most High. God seems to have […]
