word | spirit | world | church
Luke’s gospel is full of references to the Psalms. In Jesus’ thesis statement for hermeneutical endeavour in Luke 24 he speaks of Moses and the Prophets, a typical Hebrew form of speaking, meaning the Old Testament. A few verses later when meeting with his disciples he says that Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms testify… Continue reading Luke and Psalm 118.
Trees are one of the Bible’s major symbols. We know that because the cross is described as a tree and the Bible is bookended by trees. If we follow G. K. Beale in thinking that the bookends of the story are important in understanding that story, then Eden and the New Jerusalem are ever before… Continue reading Zacchaeus the Fig
The church is facing a number of issues right now. Here in the UK the ongoing crisis of leadership in the wake of numerous high-profile cases of Pastors abusing their positions might be the most obvious. I’ve written about another crisis, of discipleship, where the average Christian’s faith doesn’t touch the sides of their life. Christians… Continue reading Living within the tides of crisis
Have you ever noticed that in Genesis chapter one, the days are the wrong way around? When I say the wrong way around, I mean backwards to what we expect, and before you rush off to compare the order of creation and question whether it means anything meaningful that the sun and moon come so… Continue reading Evening, then Morning
Getting your head around the sacrificial system in the Old Testament can be difficult. Here’s my attempt to briefly summarise the various sacrifices. I’ve been helped by Leithart’s summaries in In Earth as it is in Heaven in this, but I haven’t followed him entirely (mistakes mine etc!). Tribute Offering The first sacrifices we find are the minchah or… Continue reading The 7 Sacrifices of the Old Testament
There’s this strange moment in Noah’s life where he gets drunk, falls down naked, his son Ham sees him naked, and then he curses Ham. It leads to the frequent accusation that Noah was a drunkard, which at best might be true but is missing the wood for the trees. You can read the story… Continue reading What happens with Noah & Ham?
When trying to describe sin and how it lives and corrupts our hearts, people often come up with “all sin is” statements. “All sin is idolatry” is a common one. The other day I said to a friend, “all sin is taking, isn’t it.” The very next day I found myself saying to someone else, “all sin… Continue reading A Bestiary of Sin
Ok, mildly clickbait title, the more accurate question is “why has church planting slowed among the new churches, in the UK.” The majority of the church-planting movement I’m in (Commission, part of Newfrontiers) is based in India. They plant churches, despite being openly persecuted in some states, with rapidity. I’m told that around the world… Continue reading Why have we stopped planting churches?
In a previous post I quipped that the Bible was written by Jesus, to Jesus, and about Jesus. It’s a neat bit of rhetoric but needs some unpacking to communicate clearly. It’s possible to get the wrong end of this. The Bible is written by Jesus Let’s start with what I’m not saying. I am… Continue reading The Bible is by, to, and about Jesus
There’s a series of important questions around what songs you sing on a Sunday: their theology and how well it coheres with the church’s, their singability by this particular congregation, song choices that best encourage and inspire expressions of praise, and what songs fit the moment or ‘stage’ of the morning you’ve reached. I’d like… Continue reading What songs do you sing?
nuakh 