i can’t remember any time recently when i wanted to kill the pastor of the church i was in [Ben the Priest is kinda cool!]. In fact it’s probably more likely that there were people thinking those kinds of thoughts about me during some of my more challenging or hectic messages back in the day. But this morning at St John’s we were looking at Luke 4 which is an interesting passage and one that [...]
I'm single and I love it! Sometimes... Sometimes not so much. Valentine's day has just been and gone and, while it's not an occasion that I've ever taken very seriously, it does bring one's singleness to the forefront of one's mind. I was walking through the shops last Friday (the day before Valentine’s) and saw all the people selling roses and stuff like that. There was a part of me that just wanted to buy [...]
Wow! This is a hectic psalm so grab your Bible or google the passage and read the whole thing. This is God claiming His position in the Universe ['The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to where it sets' verse 1] and as the Lord of peoples lives ['“Listen, my people, and I will speak; I will testify against you, Israel: I am God, your [...]
some more quotes from ‘Prayer: Does it make any difference?’ by Philip Yancey, which i am really enjoying at the moment: 'In Jesus' day tax collectors, prostitutes and unclean persons reached out their hands to receive God's grace while religious professionals closed theirs into tight fists. In receiving a free gift, having open hands is the only requirement.' [pg. 23] 'Most parents feel a pang when the child outgrows dependence, even while knowing the growth [...]
i have been busy reading brian mclaren's 'Generous Orthodoxy' and as a previous not-a-big-fan-of-brian-mclaren am absolutely loving it and highly recommend it - breaks open a lot of different boxes and helps clarify a bunch of christian labels in a very helpful way... here is an extract from the latest chapter which i really enjoyed titled, "Why I am Mystical/Poetic." and the context is using metaphors to understand God: 'So we reach for another metaphor [...]
“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." - C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
so we wait with bated breath til some Christ-followers can actually write, direct, film and act in a movie that is worth watching... there have been some that come close but at the moment it's still 'secular' movies like The Blind Side and Dead Man Walking that seem to portray Christian love, grace, acceptance and forgiveness better than any 'Christian' film i am yet to see, and i sadly still believe that most 'Christian' movies [...]
